Originally Posted by
carpediemracing
Personally I think you did a good job staying upright. In hindsight you probably could have made it without moving left as much but in the heat of the moment that's not an easy call to make. I couldn't tell if you could hear tires sliding or anything but that's the big warning sign. It looks like the riders in front of you were able to make the turn so following them could have been an option. Again, though, for me the conservative choice is always a safe one. You and I are not pros, we don't rely on places for our living, and we don't have other people relying on our race results. If you pick the conservative/safe choice all the time you may miss out here and there on a potential podium place but you'll also tend to miss some of the big stack ups. It's a trade off. I'm definitely a conservative racer nowadays.
On such a hairpin turn you should expect riders to swarm the inside and then go wide as they overcook the turn. It's human nature so it happens all the time. It's hard to plan an approach such a turn. For me I leverage my jump and typically follow just outside of the most inside rider (meaning in your race I'd be a foot or two to the left of the most inside rider in front of me). I'd be expecting them to go wide and I'll be ready to go to their inside. I'd be making a later apex turn than the rider in front so I'd be clear based on having an extra foot or two clearance to the curb, enabling me to turn in while the rider in front is still up against the curb.
If you don't have a powerful jump then it'd be best to lead or at least start the turn on the inside. In such a turn, if you're leading, you absolutely want to turn in as early as possible, which is the absolute opposite of "the right line". This is a perfect example of a turn where the "right line" is the worst line you could take. Obviously you don't want to go off the road at the turn out point, but if you start the turn on the inside then everyone behind you has to wait until you go wide at the exit. If you carry enough speed then you'll be able to keep the other riders back until you're about 2/3 of the way across the road on the turn out point. At that point someone might be able to get by you on the inside, but realistically, especially in the lower categories, you're not going to have anyone next to you until it straightens out.
On the other hand I think you did a great move once you realized you weren't in position before the last turn. You used some (a lot?) of your reserves to move up, places that I think you'd have been hard pressed to make up if you'd waited until the sprint. I think you made a good tactical decision at that time, regardless of the outcome.
Overall I think you're making great progress in your racing. You're mixing it up, you're getting into position to contest for a podium spot, you go in with some idea of what you want to accomplish, and you're thinking while you're racing. That's a lot more than most riders can say.
I told myself after the race that I'd rather take last than win with broken bones. I think that mentality will occasionally prevent me from winning but like you said, this isn't my job.
My gut reaction is to swing wide when something bad is happening in a turn but I think you're right about cutting in so long as I don't have someone immediately beside me which is hard to know sometimes. It's something to consider for next time.
I see what you're saying about the last turn and that was my plan. My position going into the final corner was where I wanted to be in the second to last corner and it didn't work out that way.
I knew that most cat 4 riders would be saving themselves just before the sprint like I have so many times before so I powered up through them in that stretch before the final turn without having to blow up. They were more concerned with holding a wheel and waiting which is a mistake I've made too many times. You're right that I wouldn't have been able to take those places once the sprint began.
I have a weak sprint but I was in perfect position to draft and sprint to hold my position in 3rd or 4th at least. I do think I had enough left in the tank to pull that off.
Regarding the decision to pull off the course, I would have made it if there was a greater hazard along the edge of the course. If the edge of the road was barricades and fans, I would have done something to make that turn work. I guess I saw the opportunity to avoid the risk and I took it. I think the slow motion makes it look like an easier decision than it really was. We were cornering at 30 mph and then the brakes come on and all I could think was 'uh oh.'
In terms of dominating the final turn, I practiced that many times in a race in Lititz, PA. It's the criterium where that famous crash happened where the rider in the lead overshoots the turn and hits the barricade head on and has the entire peloton follow him into the wall.
Here it is
After watching that video, I made sure to sprint up to the front and dominate that corner almost every lap to ensure that we didn't have a repeat of that crash. I didn't cut in early, I'd simply sprint hard right before the turn, go wide, cut to the apex and swing way out and I'd gap the other cat 4s every time. A lot of them don't take corners properly. They slow down before the turn, approach from the middle of the lane and then coast through to the outside. When I sprinted past, they didn't stand a chance. I could have done the same thing here if my burst before the turn was from the 5th position instead of the 10th.