sarals 

This is from my race report to my team, so there is a lot of technical gobbledegook in there.

Race: LAVRA Time Trial Series #4
Course: Velo Sports Center Velodrome
Events Contested: Flying 200 Meter Sprint; 500 Meter Time Trial; 2K Time Trial
Teammates: None

It has been a long time since I swung a leg over a bike in anger. The last time I actually raced was in February for the Winter Bump. Since then, I've been working on my strength and fitness, working out at Hellyer, learning the craft and art of track racing, specifically track sprinting. Today I finally raced the bike on a track for the first time ever. Because I am building towards the UCI Masters Track Worlds, to be held at the Velo Sports Center Velodrome in Carson, I needed to get track time and competition on the VSC boards. My strength is my sprint. Where am I with that? I have promising numbers from some cursory training efforts, but you never know where you really are until you jump into the fray. So, I entered this weekend's LAVRA sprint races, picking the flying 200, the 500 meter TT, and the 2K TT as my races.

I arrived early, staked out a spot to set up my trainer (space is at a premium in the VSC infield), and then did a partial trainer warmup, completing the warmup by doing a twelve lap ride on the track. My coach loaned me his "fast wheels", discs front and back, making the bike was as ready as it's ever been. I selected fairly low gearing, because my coach and I decided to be conservative and opted for cadence rather than slow starts trying to spin up a big gear. So, I was riding 85 gear inches.

The bike setup varies for the effort. For the 200, I used my sprinter handlebars, and for the 500 and 2K, I used my aerobars. I was dressed in my PV skinsuit and full TT helmet for all of the efforts.

When my turn came, I took the track for the flying 200 sprint. This effort is three laps, the last lap is timed from the 200 meter start line to the finish line, and that portion is ridden all out. The protocol is to launch the sprint from the balustrade coming out of turn four, diving through turn one into the sprinters lane by the 200 meter line, which is located roughly at the beginning of turn two. I rolled off easily, worked up to a moderate speed, enough to keep from slipping in the turns, and made my way up to the rail on my second lap. I used momentum coming out of the turns to carry me into the following turn in order to conserve energy. At the bell lap, I accelerated through turn three, out of four, and by the time I reached the start/finish line on the front straight, I was at full speed, and on the verge of over spinning. I was seriously undergeared for the effort! I held what I had, and drove hard around the track at my max cadence, 128 RPM. My time was better than I expected from the feel of the effort, it was 14.989. Mid pack, not terrible for my first attempt.

My next race was the 500 Meter Time Trial. This is a standing start from a launch gate two lap (on a 250 meter track) full on sprint effort. The start is critical in this event. Botch the start in any number of ways and time can be lost before you even get through the first lap. I attended a Lee Povey gate clinic Friday night, and got five gate starts and some great instruction. I was confident I could manage a good start. My power profile favors the 500, and even though it really hurts, I like the effort, a lot.

I used the time just prior to giving my bike to the starter to be mounted in the gate to concentrate on the effort, calm myself, and step my way through the start sequence. Once on the bike in the gate and ready, the countdown starts. The last five seconds of the countdown are audible tones. At two, I was up, at one I was back, and at zero, I hit it. I started the effort just as the gate unlocked, that part was good. Next, I needed to get the bike up to speed quickly and drive for the pole line before I got to turn one. That part was good. Then, I had to continue to accelerate off the saddle, all the time driving hard while keeping the bike low on the track. When I came out of turn two, I realized I was going pretty fast and I'd had a good start. Next, I took the saddle, and immediately went to the aerobars. That part could have been cleaner, but I don't think I lost any time there. I drove the bike down the back straight, into turn three, concentrating on pedaling through, keeping the power on, the cadence up, and the line tight on the bottom of the track. Stable and smooth. Out of turn four, I was still driving hard, and did all the way down the front straight. Through turns one and two, for the start of lap two, I was still going strong, and as I came out of turn two, I had the thought that I felt better than expected, there were matches left, and they needed burning. Into turn three I started to feel it, and out of four I was running out of gas. When I hit the line, I was going on guts and instinct, and really suffering! My time was 44.831, almost a second faster than what I did previously. This was a good time, and put me pretty much in the middle of the women. I was pleased, but yet, there is improvement to be had.

Next came the 2K. It was several hours before that event got underway. This eight lap (of a 250 meter track) event is too long to sprint, but too short for a true endurance event. However, it favors endurance riders with big engines, and that's not me. My coach and I feel that it's a good technique event for me to do, and I probably would do okay in it. The start is a standing start from the gate, once again, but it is not an all out effort type of start. It's much like a road time trial, but the launch is a little harder, and you're riding a fixed gear. I decided to approach the effort as I would a time trial, settling on a sustainable power number, and being as smooth and technically proficient as I could. Concentrate! When my turn came, I got another good start, got up to a sustainable speed and settled in for eight laps. I rode the pole line and tried to keep the bike low in the turns. Overall, I succeeded. With two to go, I felt I had enough in the tank to ramp up, so I increased the effort. Coming out of turn four for the finish I still had some left, so I ramped up as much as I could, and hit the line delivering a 3:26:600. Not bad. Not horrible, not really good, but not bad.

I now have a good feel for a track race. I'd like to stick my nose into a mass start event, either a points race or an elimination (miss n out), just to get it out of my system! I truly am a track sprinter, and I will continue to work to get better at that. It's technical, it's hard, but oh my, is it fun, and is it satisfying!