MDcatV

Great race weekend here in MABRA land. Big rolling RR on Saturday (Walkersville) followed by a brutally hard non-technical crit (tysons) on Sunday.

Walkersville - Masters 30+/40+ full field, loaded with Cat 1s and 2s and very heavy on the sprinters. Course is rolling but not selective, about 8 miles/lap, 7 laps for 56 miles. Team had 4 guys, 1 who focuses on the M30+ BAR. Given the field and our small team, we decided that we'd race attentively and reactively, just make sure if something was cookin' we were in it. Our plan was to have one team mate (who also brouses BF, I'll let him identify himself if he wants to) cover early moves, then have me bridge to him if something looked good, then cover mid - late moves, and in the last lap attack and either get away or make sure the field had a carrott so the finish was fast - that's the way our M30+ guy likes it.

Early move guy covered great, but nothing was sticking. A few breaks looked promising, so I expended energy bridging and counter attacking a couple times, but we were reeled in each time. Race got parade like mid-way through so I took a couple of flyers, but I'm just not cut from the "long solo for the win" cloth. Finally last lap, things are all together and I'm itching to go. There is a climb early in the lap, maybe the 2 mi. in point, I got up to the front on the downhill into it and attacked like a crazy person, this drew out a few others, including the 30+ BAR champ (non-sprinter). Then things got stupid fast. We got a good gap over the field, with 2 mi. to go, there is a straightaway, stairstep climb, right turn and 500M to a flat narrow finish. Straightaway, 2 team mates (edit: not my team mates, on another team) who were with us attack, I'm out of position and cant get to it right away, let another guy drag me part way there, he cracks. I'm off, we get to the stair steps just as I'm making contact - I needed to recover for a split second, then a decision - do I attack or let these 2 take me to the finish, even if 2nd wheel is much faster than me. While I'm considering what to do, I hear the hum of the field behind me, closing in fast. I instinctively jumped and started my sprint at the 1K. At 500M I thought I was going to win - nothing but the finish line in front of me, a small gap behind me. Unfortunately, the sprinter teams had other ideas and at 300M I was swallowed whole - sat up. Mistake I made was when I made contact with the 2 riders up, I should have either gone straight over top of them or stayed put. I chose incorrectly. C'est la vie. Team mates took 4th, 5th, and 8th in the field sprint. Me = DFL.

Tysons Corner Crit. Industrial Park crit, 60 mins. Non-techical 1.1-mile course but it has a very selective power climb at the start/finish. Full field, 100 - 125, dont remember. Team had a full compliment of riders (6 of us). Our plan was simple, drill the hill until the race cracked wide open. The hill starts at the bottom of a very fast section, then has a hard left turn and hammer to the top. We planned to have one rider hammer to the turn then another jam it over the top. Whoever got there first lap was supposed to drop it, whoever was 2nd was supposed to keep it going, then the next 2 were supposed to be ready to pounce. We worked it perfectly - 1st lap, team mate got us to the turn then I drilled the rest of the hill. Next lap, another team mate took it to the turn and I drilled the hill again. Next few laps, I dont remember because I was going so hard no one was coming around me and I was blinded by pain, spitting up in my mouth, gasping for air, but knew it was my role today. At about 8 laps in, I was getting to the "I'm going to have to drop out" point when an attack was launched behind me and boom, my two guys were right there in it! I drifted back to the field to recover - about 10 guys up the road, including my 2, one of whom is still finding his finishing legs, but the other is a proven, fearless, strong finisher. Perfect.

We spent the next several laps controlling the front of the race. My team has a policy, we dont "block". Instead, we rode uncooperatively and were willing to get a free ride if someone tried to bridge, or if another team was assembling at the front, we'd launch a pseudo-attack just to through off their rythm. Man, that is very, very hard, but we got it done, break stuck. 2 laps to go, there are 4 of us in the field and the break was going to stick. Our sprinter wanted us to "line it up" and really finish off the race in style. We started the train at the start finish line - I got to be 1st. Had to dangle off to the side and hold back a bit to make sure the others hooked up with me, once they did, it was game on. I was hammering for all I was worth down hill at about 40 mph, it was utter agony. 2nd wheel was talking me through it, encouraging me to get them up the 1st part of the hill and through the last turn, gawd did that hurt, finally made it to the last turn, about 500M to the finish where I pulled off - definitely bleeding from both eyes! Our lead out train stomped it through the finish, unfortunately our sprinter "Pettachied" and took 2nd in the sprint. Took me 5 mins to go the last 200M.

Our "fearless strong finisher" won from the break . Perfect race for our team other than not finishing out the field sprint, but it was just for show and nothing but grins on the line.

I can honestly say I've never gotten so much satisfaction while racing than as yesterday. I've been fortunate enough to win, including one at an NRC event, but knowing that I launched the break that our team won from, helped control the race when things got off, and did a money lead out was really the bomb.

Racing = fun
Winning = more fun
Winning as a team = AWESOME!

zimbo

Sounds like Sunday was a sweet day for the team. Congrats.

I'm looking forward to (eventually, hopefully) getting to a Cat3 so I can race with more teammates. We only have a couple of active 5s and 4s on the squad.

--Steve

Dead Extra #2

Congrats. Great write up.

branman1986

dood, great write up!

Sucks about Saturday, getting so close, yet so far away...Sunday more than made up for it! Way to kick some serious a$$!

DrWJODonnell

Sunday was great, something you should be proud of. However, as an attacker who believes in the "Vino philosophy," I must say that the DFL was much better in my mind. You went for it. Plain and simple you put EVERYTHING on the line and though you were swallowed by the pack, the cojones you demonstrated make you a winner in my mind.

Way to go both days. You sound strong!

DrPete 

MDcatV, I witnessed your team's performance in that race, and it was awesome. Congrats! Great finally meeting you too, BTW...

MDcatV

Thanks DrP - in a sport as cruel as bike racing, it's not often, but every now and then a plan comes through. Good meeting you also.

FatguyRacer

Nice write up. You cant imagine how many F-bombs were dropped by frustrated riders crossing that finish line, even the women! I've got close to 1700 pics from Walkerville to go thru (I was the photog on the red moto). The good ones are going to end up on my club's (ABRT/Lattitude) website gallery.

If you send me a pm of what bike/wheel combo you were riding, i can probably shoot you a picture. Your other teamate who won the 4/5 35+ (Im assuming that you ride for AABC based on where you said your teamates placed) had already asked me. Now if i can only find that needle in the haystack!!!

DrPete 

FGR, do you have any from Tysons?

*new*guy

Kevin Dillard was at Tysons, so I'm sure there will be plenty to choose from.

Lithuania

damn man awesome report. whenever i read a report like this it makes me feel like i need to find a team asap. the race just sounds totally different.

FatguyRacer

Sorry Dr. Pete. I didnt go. 15+ Hrs on a moto left me wasted. Did you know that motorcycling burns about 200 calories an hour?

DrPete 

We've got a good crop of up-and-coming 5's, and a good group of 4's....

DrPete 

His site is Velophotos.net, right? I've always really enjoyed his pics.

SaddleBags

"about 500M to the finish where I pulled off - definitely bleeding from both eyes! "
I love that line. Nice report and congrats on the great team finish.

DrPete 

Having attempted it in a 2-man break before MDcatV and his boys did it right, I can say that the "bleeding from both eyes" phenomenon was happening to just about anyone who tried to drive a hard pace up that hill... Except the guy who won the Masters' race by a minute and a half... Dude was out of the saddle hammering that hill into submission on every single lap.

galen_52657

I did the Walkersville 50+. Should have done the 40+. Like MDcatV stated, the course was non-selective. Every little sprinters hill was preceded and followed by a fast downhill. I never once got off the 53. The Jef Cup course the week before was way, way harder (and the field was way stronger). First lap was like a crawl. Next couple of laps there were weak stabs at getting away. Had a guy in the National Champ's jersey in the field and he made a couple of half-hearted attacks and the whole field chased him. During the middle portion of the race there were several little 3-4 man breaks that just dangled off the front then folded up under the mildest pressure from the field. Race was supposed to be 48 miles but on the second-to-last lap, moto official rolls up to the field and says 'this is the last lap'. Apparently we were going too slow so they had to chuck a lap to keep inside the time limit. Earlier I had chatted with the guy sporting the stars and stripes and offered to give him a lead-out if the race finished in a field sprint (I had no team mates, he had no team mates and I can't sprint). On the last lap on the stair-step rollers I got in a little break but nobody would work for long. On the finishing road I was three rows back from the front and at the yellow line when the moto gave us the whole road for the finish. I rolled to the front with stars & stripes on my wheel. We were still a long way off but I took off hard for the lead-out. Going all-out I shifted into the twelve while on the down-stroke and almost took my own front wheel out from under myself. Took me a second to get the bike back under control then get going again, burned my match 'till about 100 meters out when I started to run out of gas. Moved left to let the sprint proceed but stars and stripes did not quite have it and took 3rd.

All-in-all a fun day as nobody crashed...

*new*guy

yep, that's the one.

FatguyRacer

I wanted to choke him!!!! I had left the start finish with 2 to go thinking i had time to get back to for the final sprint. I sitting at the red barn taking pictures and he rolls up and says last lap. I didnt think anything of it cause i thought he was confused, I knew there were 2 to go. Nope. Thats was it. The 50+ race was the only one of 2 races I didnt get finish photos of. I cant remember the other one. It might have been the juniors or the cat 4 women. It was probably the juniors. That field was so broke up, its was hard to tell who was where.

Next year i'm gonna do the 35+ 4/5 race.