The Race Report Thread 2009-2012
06-20-10, 02:24 PM
#4701
Senior Member
Housatonic Hills 3/4:
Some have said this is the hardest race in Connecticut, and maybe even New England. I don't have enough experience to assess the validity of these claims. But I know one thing, it was hard.
I did a hilly RR yesterday and signed up for the 3/4 instead of the 4, so I knew I was in a little over my head. Made it about 3/4 of the first 25mi lap before getting popped off the back on the steep stair step climb. Chased back on with one other guy. Just made contact when we hit the KOM climb. Damn. Got dropped again and hooked up with a group of ~20 riders. We worked together throughout the 2nd lap. People were yelling because people weren't pulling. Lots of egos clashing. I got pissed and took a couple big pulls...then got dropped on the stair step climb by the chase group. Damn. Finished with two other rides way OTB.
But, the race was run well the course was good and the "free" food at the end was awesome. I will come back to this race, with hopefully better fitness so I can stay in the group. I did notice that the 3s are a little more aggressive than the 4s. Yesterday I could move through the pack easily and people didn't fight for wheels nearly as much. Today I had a ton of trouble. I was riding the gutter at one point and when the shoulder got smaller the guy on the left wouldn't budge so I narrowly avoided going into the grass. Good fun.
Some have said this is the hardest race in Connecticut, and maybe even New England. I don't have enough experience to assess the validity of these claims. But I know one thing, it was hard.
I did a hilly RR yesterday and signed up for the 3/4 instead of the 4, so I knew I was in a little over my head. Made it about 3/4 of the first 25mi lap before getting popped off the back on the steep stair step climb. Chased back on with one other guy. Just made contact when we hit the KOM climb. Damn. Got dropped again and hooked up with a group of ~20 riders. We worked together throughout the 2nd lap. People were yelling because people weren't pulling. Lots of egos clashing. I got pissed and took a couple big pulls...then got dropped on the stair step climb by the chase group. Damn. Finished with two other rides way OTB.
But, the race was run well the course was good and the "free" food at the end was awesome. I will come back to this race, with hopefully better fitness so I can stay in the group. I did notice that the 3s are a little more aggressive than the 4s. Yesterday I could move through the pack easily and people didn't fight for wheels nearly as much. Today I had a ton of trouble. I was riding the gutter at one point and when the shoulder got smaller the guy on the left wouldn't budge so I narrowly avoided going into the grass. Good fun.
06-20-10, 02:58 PM
#4702
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Saturday: NJ State RR. Goal was to help my teammate, and I did just that. Chased down every single attack, then gave a killer leadout. She ended up 9th, but it was a good day. Worked hard and felt fantastic.
Sunday: Housatonic Hills, women's 4. Went into this with very low expectations for myself, but the legs showed up and I had a great race. We lost about half the field on the neutral start up the first hill, then it shattered from there. I lost contact with the lead group pretty early, worked my little butt off on the first lap, took a bunch of monster pulls, dropped most of my chase group and upgraded for a faster one. Rinse and repeat.
Finally in a group with five or six others, kept the pace high and continued to pick people off. Hills, hills, and more hills later it was me, my teammate, and one other girl, and we booked it to the finish. Attacked my little group going into the final descent, got caught close to the finish but figured that if I was hurting it was worse for them and went hard again, took fifth.
This was a fantastic result for me and a really fun race. I felt like my climbing finally came together and I had a great time this weekend. I love bike racing.
Sunday: Housatonic Hills, women's 4. Went into this with very low expectations for myself, but the legs showed up and I had a great race. We lost about half the field on the neutral start up the first hill, then it shattered from there. I lost contact with the lead group pretty early, worked my little butt off on the first lap, took a bunch of monster pulls, dropped most of my chase group and upgraded for a faster one. Rinse and repeat.
Finally in a group with five or six others, kept the pace high and continued to pick people off. Hills, hills, and more hills later it was me, my teammate, and one other girl, and we booked it to the finish. Attacked my little group going into the final descent, got caught close to the finish but figured that if I was hurting it was worse for them and went hard again, took fifth.
This was a fantastic result for me and a really fun race. I felt like my climbing finally came together and I had a great time this weekend. I love bike racing.
06-20-10, 04:01 PM
#4703
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After a month of recovering from hitting the deck, I felt I was healed up enough to get back on the horse so to speak in the Wells Ave B crit -- Father's Day plans conflicted with the A race timing. After yesterday's somewhat hard workout, today was strictly a training and tailgunning ride so that my legs would start to again recognize a race.
The pace was never hard throughout, which was fine with me. No breaks stayed away except for 1-3 folks who took off with one to go. The notion of the kilo came into my mind with about 10 laps to go given the slow pace. I moved up with 325ap for 90" to the point where I thought was about a kilo out and launched. Jumped pretty quickly to 33mph (and 3rd or 4th place) from 27+mph, and held it together for 24 seconds at 570ap before sitting up -- not yet there conditioning wise. Final stats: 58', 179ap, 25.1mph.
The pace was never hard throughout, which was fine with me. No breaks stayed away except for 1-3 folks who took off with one to go. The notion of the kilo came into my mind with about 10 laps to go given the slow pace. I moved up with 325ap for 90" to the point where I thought was about a kilo out and launched. Jumped pretty quickly to 33mph (and 3rd or 4th place) from 27+mph, and held it together for 24 seconds at 570ap before sitting up -- not yet there conditioning wise. Final stats: 58', 179ap, 25.1mph.
06-20-10, 04:24 PM
#4704
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Housatonic Hills cat 4 - It was a hot day for a race like that. First race in the 4s, got dropped from the lead group on the descent after the KOM climb. Thought I'd spend the rest of the day alone, but the next group on the road rolled along and picked me up. Rode with that group, saw the main field going up the constitution hill climb but didn't have the legs to do anything about it. Tried to keep the pace up with a few other riders in the group to catch on with more riders just visible up the road, but nobody wanted to do work. Eventually everyone ended up in survival mode, and I fought some pretty brutal cramps for the last 5 miles of the race. [reposted in Housatonic hills thread]
06-20-10, 06:58 PM
#4705
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Saturday: NJ State RR. Goal was to help my teammate, and I did just that. Chased down every single attack, then gave a killer leadout. She ended up 9th, but it was a good day. Worked hard and felt fantastic.
Sunday: Housatonic Hills, women's 4. Went into this with very low expectations for myself, but the legs showed up and I had a great race. We lost about half the field on the neutral start up the first hill, then it shattered from there. I lost contact with the lead group pretty early, worked my little butt off on the first lap, took a bunch of monster pulls, dropped most of my chase group and upgraded for a faster one. Rinse and repeat.
Finally in a group with five or six others, kept the pace high and continued to pick people off. Hills, hills, and more hills later it was me, my teammate, and one other girl, and we booked it to the finish. Attacked my little group going into the final descent, got caught close to the finish but figured that if I was hurting it was worse for them and went hard again, took fifth.
This was a fantastic result for me and a really fun race. I felt like my climbing finally came together and I had a great time this weekend. I love bike racing.
Sunday: Housatonic Hills, women's 4. Went into this with very low expectations for myself, but the legs showed up and I had a great race. We lost about half the field on the neutral start up the first hill, then it shattered from there. I lost contact with the lead group pretty early, worked my little butt off on the first lap, took a bunch of monster pulls, dropped most of my chase group and upgraded for a faster one. Rinse and repeat.
Finally in a group with five or six others, kept the pace high and continued to pick people off. Hills, hills, and more hills later it was me, my teammate, and one other girl, and we booked it to the finish. Attacked my little group going into the final descent, got caught close to the finish but figured that if I was hurting it was worse for them and went hard again, took fifth.
This was a fantastic result for me and a really fun race. I felt like my climbing finally came together and I had a great time this weekend. I love bike racing.
06-20-10, 07:05 PM
#4706
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Saturday: NJ State RR. Goal was to help my teammate, and I did just that. Chased down every single attack, then gave a killer leadout. She ended up 9th, but it was a good day. Worked hard and felt fantastic.
Sunday: Housatonic Hills, women's 4. Went into this with very low expectations for myself, but the legs showed up and I had a great race. We lost about half the field on the neutral start up the first hill, then it shattered from there. I lost contact with the lead group pretty early, worked my little butt off on the first lap, took a bunch of monster pulls, dropped most of my chase group and upgraded for a faster one. Rinse and repeat.
Finally in a group with five or six others, kept the pace high and continued to pick people off. Hills, hills, and more hills later it was me, my teammate, and one other girl, and we booked it to the finish. Attacked my little group going into the final descent, got caught close to the finish but figured that if I was hurting it was worse for them and went hard again, took fifth.
This was a fantastic result for me and a really fun race. I felt like my climbing finally came together and I had a great time this weekend. I love bike racing.
Sunday: Housatonic Hills, women's 4. Went into this with very low expectations for myself, but the legs showed up and I had a great race. We lost about half the field on the neutral start up the first hill, then it shattered from there. I lost contact with the lead group pretty early, worked my little butt off on the first lap, took a bunch of monster pulls, dropped most of my chase group and upgraded for a faster one. Rinse and repeat.
Finally in a group with five or six others, kept the pace high and continued to pick people off. Hills, hills, and more hills later it was me, my teammate, and one other girl, and we booked it to the finish. Attacked my little group going into the final descent, got caught close to the finish but figured that if I was hurting it was worse for them and went hard again, took fifth.
This was a fantastic result for me and a really fun race. I felt like my climbing finally came together and I had a great time this weekend. I love bike racing.
06-20-10, 07:05 PM
#4707
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Skyscraper Harlem Classic - Cat 4
Took 8th in a field sprint. Missed the solo attack due to being blocked. Very fast race, a few nasty crashes and 95 degrees. Tough day in Harlem.
Took 8th in a field sprint. Missed the solo attack due to being blocked. Very fast race, a few nasty crashes and 95 degrees. Tough day in Harlem.
06-20-10, 07:17 PM
#4709
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NJ State RR Cat 4: Originally my goal race but I've had a challenging month, including a bad crash, an infected bug bite and a course of antibiotics that messed with my system. Decided to work for another teammate instead. We had 4 in the race. The plan was to sit in first lap then use our TT specialists to attack on the second lap, and our designated leader to counter. All else fails, we were supposed to lead her out in the end. Pfft. We attacked but the winds were tough and the field wasn't letting anyone get away. I attacked once, in a flat section, and hurt myself so badly I was dangling off the back on every roller after that (which my teammates were attempting to attack). I honestly thought I was going to dropped. On the long straight run in to the finish I got on the wheel of our leader. Wait. I was supposed to be leading her out. 
I finally felt recovered in sight of the finish. We were near the back of the pack. She went as soon as the yellow line rule was relaxed, a little early for me but I tried to go with her. I rocketed past a number of women but didn't have the kick I usually have to bring it home. I saw my teammate with such a huge lead she could have sat up and celebrated the win had she been so inclined. I finished in 7th, not great for me on this course but I'll take it. My teammate won, and no one actually passed me during the sprint. If only I would starting thinking about positioning myself leading up to a sprint...
I finally felt recovered in sight of the finish. We were near the back of the pack. She went as soon as the yellow line rule was relaxed, a little early for me but I tried to go with her. I rocketed past a number of women but didn't have the kick I usually have to bring it home. I saw my teammate with such a huge lead she could have sat up and celebrated the win had she been so inclined. I finished in 7th, not great for me on this course but I'll take it. My teammate won, and no one actually passed me during the sprint. If only I would starting thinking about positioning myself leading up to a sprint...
06-20-10, 08:39 PM
#4711
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Well that sucked.
Niwot crit, p1/2. Bad legs, so I was tailgunning most of the day. Pretty comfortable though back there. Then about 50 minutes in I start getting super squirrely in the corners, can't figure out why. Overshot two in a row (ended up on the far curb) and pulled myself. Turns out I have a slow leak, front tire is down to maybe 70psi. But I didn't realize that at first so I waited too long before rolling over to the wheel pit. End O' Race. Disappointing.
Course was kind of nuts. Figure 8, but one end was a triangle rather than a square. Guys were cornering like morons, I felt like I was back in the 3's or something.
I take heart in the fact that I can race better at a national level than in some of these local crits. Though honestly, local crits near Boulder tend to be just as fast anyway, but with fewer guys to hide behind.
Niwot crit, p1/2. Bad legs, so I was tailgunning most of the day. Pretty comfortable though back there. Then about 50 minutes in I start getting super squirrely in the corners, can't figure out why. Overshot two in a row (ended up on the far curb) and pulled myself. Turns out I have a slow leak, front tire is down to maybe 70psi. But I didn't realize that at first so I waited too long before rolling over to the wheel pit. End O' Race. Disappointing.
Course was kind of nuts. Figure 8, but one end was a triangle rather than a square. Guys were cornering like morons, I felt like I was back in the 3's or something.
I take heart in the fact that I can race better at a national level than in some of these local crits. Though honestly, local crits near Boulder tend to be just as fast anyway, but with fewer guys to hide behind.
06-20-10, 09:51 PM
#4712
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For me it's less about physical positioning and more mental. I don't think I can recall ever starting my sprint too late. Either too early or right on time. Depth of field gets tricky.
06-20-10, 09:59 PM
#4713
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Washington State Road Race Championship
Cheney(Spokane)
Cat 4's
It was raining. That's an understatement.
1/2/3 and masters were finishing up all pale and shivering....I stayed in my truck till the last minute.
The rain stopped!
Small field. Too bad. Less than 30. Pretty uneventful yet semi impressive effort from the main field involved. Strong and for the most part steady not squirrelly riders. A few good rollers and one medium wall-ish climb. 51 miles. Raced with mattm's teammate Kyle.
It came down to a pack sprint again.
I've had a rash of 3rd's in the last 2 weeks. Add one more.
P.S. I surrendered my medal to the 4th place feller from Seattle's Cycle U team as I live across the border in Idaho. ..kept the new water bottle and lube though
Happy Fathers night to all you Pops!
Cheney(Spokane)
Cat 4's
It was raining. That's an understatement.
1/2/3 and masters were finishing up all pale and shivering....I stayed in my truck till the last minute.
The rain stopped!
Small field. Too bad. Less than 30. Pretty uneventful yet semi impressive effort from the main field involved. Strong and for the most part steady not squirrelly riders. A few good rollers and one medium wall-ish climb. 51 miles. Raced with mattm's teammate Kyle.
It came down to a pack sprint again.
I've had a rash of 3rd's in the last 2 weeks. Add one more.
P.S. I surrendered my medal to the 4th place feller from Seattle's Cycle U team as I live across the border in Idaho. ..kept the new water bottle and lube though
Happy Fathers night to all you Pops!
Last edited by TheMudder; 06-20-10 at 10:01 PM. Reason: P.S.
06-20-10, 10:09 PM
#4714
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So my AP for tail-gunning a 6 corner crit before my mechanical: 250w for 33'. This is about 40w higher than my averages for "normal" racing. holding-600w for 10-20" every 10-20" sucks. It wasn't leg snapping hard. It just sucks the "pep" out of you.
Cliff's Notes version: It is harder to hold onto the back than to ride at the front.
Cliff's Notes version: It is harder to hold onto the back than to ride at the front.
06-20-10, 10:15 PM
#4715
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So my AP for tail-gunning a 6 corner crit before my mechanical: 250w for 33'. This is about 40w higher than my averages for "normal" racing. holding-600w for 10-20" every 10-20" sucks. It wasn't leg snapping hard. It just sucks the "pep" out of you.
Cliff's Notes version: It is harder to hold onto the back than to ride at the front.
Cliff's Notes version: It is harder to hold onto the back than to ride at the front.
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06-20-10, 10:30 PM
#4716
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So my AP for tail-gunning a 6 corner crit before my mechanical: 250w for 33'. This is about 40w higher than my averages for "normal" racing. holding-600w for 10-20" every 10-20" sucks. It wasn't leg snapping hard. It just sucks the "pep" out of you.
Cliff's Notes version: It is harder to hold onto the back than to ride at the front.
Cliff's Notes version: It is harder to hold onto the back than to ride at the front.
So my average effort for tail-gunning a 2 corner crit before my fabricated mechanical: "really,really f*in hard" for 35'. This is about 1 "really" higher than my averages for "normal" racing. Sucking wind for 20-30" every 2' sucks. It wasn't leg snapping hard. It just sucks the "pep" out of you.
Cliff's Notes version: It is harder to hold onto the back than to ride at the front. Especially when you know it's easier at the front but your body/mind just don't want to respond.
06-20-10, 11:00 PM
#4717
nom nom nom
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yeah. That was me. I saw your guy on the ground. I hope he's alright...? I guess there were a bunch of crashes in the last few laps, one took out an old teammate/friend who's got really good legs these days (Nate from Burnham). Kinda glad I missed out on all that...
You race for wheel & sprocket, right? you guys always have a bunch of guys at Wisco races and I'm not sure which one you are! We'll have to meet up.
You race for wheel & sprocket, right? you guys always have a bunch of guys at Wisco races and I'm not sure which one you are! We'll have to meet up.
06-20-10, 11:15 PM
#4718
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Nevada City Cat 3.
I managed to throw my chain and fall on the neutral roll out. Got myself up, the chain back on, and a spectating teammate gave me a push. The moto ref paced me back to the tail end of the group just as the lead moto gave the green. And that was pretty much the highpoint of the race. Got dropped like a hot rock on the first set of stairs. Suffered by myself for awhile, then with some other dropped masochists. We got lapped after awhile and I was waiting for the ref to pull me, but he never did.
About 35 or 40 minutes into the race I started looking for a discrete place on the backside to drop out, but the race was so well attended that there were no empty streets. And people were so friendly and encouraging that I felt like I really ought to keep going. Got lapped again, this time by an ex-teammate, so I tried to make a joke but it just came out as "GAkjalkjjsslllffff!!! Ha, ha!"
Managed to drop a bottle at the neutral water feed and the spectators nearby gave the guy **** for a bad hand off although it was totally my fault. When I came around I said "Sorry about that!" and he said "No worries! I remember you!" And a clean hand off.
I stayed in and finished.
After the race, I tried to find my wife and kids but the sidewalks near the Start/Finish were packed. Said hi to a few other guys from the race and everyone said the same thing: God, that was hard. One of the announcers came up to me and said "Great job sticking it out. God, it's a hard race, isn't it?" I told him that doing this race was the main reason I wanted to get to Cat 3. He said he totally understood.
A guy who looked like he was my age came up to me and asked if was in that race with "all those kids." When I said yes, he said "That's amazing. I just got a bike and I love it, but I could never do this." I told him he could. Eventually, but yes he could. Finally found my wife and kids back at the van. Hugs and kisses for Fathers Day and then a trip to In-And-Out.
It was a terrible, glorious day to ride a bike in Nevada City. Even when you suck at bike racing, it's a beautiful, beautiful sport.
I managed to throw my chain and fall on the neutral roll out. Got myself up, the chain back on, and a spectating teammate gave me a push. The moto ref paced me back to the tail end of the group just as the lead moto gave the green. And that was pretty much the highpoint of the race. Got dropped like a hot rock on the first set of stairs. Suffered by myself for awhile, then with some other dropped masochists. We got lapped after awhile and I was waiting for the ref to pull me, but he never did.
About 35 or 40 minutes into the race I started looking for a discrete place on the backside to drop out, but the race was so well attended that there were no empty streets. And people were so friendly and encouraging that I felt like I really ought to keep going. Got lapped again, this time by an ex-teammate, so I tried to make a joke but it just came out as "GAkjalkjjsslllffff!!! Ha, ha!"
Managed to drop a bottle at the neutral water feed and the spectators nearby gave the guy **** for a bad hand off although it was totally my fault. When I came around I said "Sorry about that!" and he said "No worries! I remember you!" And a clean hand off.
I stayed in and finished.
After the race, I tried to find my wife and kids but the sidewalks near the Start/Finish were packed. Said hi to a few other guys from the race and everyone said the same thing: God, that was hard. One of the announcers came up to me and said "Great job sticking it out. God, it's a hard race, isn't it?" I told him that doing this race was the main reason I wanted to get to Cat 3. He said he totally understood.
A guy who looked like he was my age came up to me and asked if was in that race with "all those kids." When I said yes, he said "That's amazing. I just got a bike and I love it, but I could never do this." I told him he could. Eventually, but yes he could. Finally found my wife and kids back at the van. Hugs and kisses for Fathers Day and then a trip to In-And-Out.
It was a terrible, glorious day to ride a bike in Nevada City. Even when you suck at bike racing, it's a beautiful, beautiful sport.
06-20-10, 11:26 PM
#4720
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06-21-10, 05:31 AM
#4722
Senior Member
Stayed upright, esp through the crazy crash about 175 meters before the line (crash started on right side, then guys in middle, then guys hammered the barriers on the left side). I was one of about the first 4 or 5 through, and no one seemed intent on pedaling. I did a little sprint to the line for 14th (7 paying spots, 2 man break won).
It was HOT. I tail gunned after sitting at the front for most of the first lap (checking the legs). I had three bottles, dumped pretty much all of them on me (felt queasy so couldn't drink). I wish I was more prepared for the hot races. Now I know.
Left right after as I had the missus and two young nieces with me and they were melting. Started pouring for the women's race.
Report here:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...-crit-cat.html
Yes, I have helmet cam footage. Yes, it catches some spectacular stuff. Yes, I'll work on it. Just finished Ninigret (Mystic Velo, May 16). Have to edit Nutmeg, if it's usable (rainy day, and it screwed up my Contour for the next day, New London, where it was dry). And Harlem. And two Rent races (one complete with a garter snake). And training clips (flooded area, sprinting after trucks and buses, and Vegas rides). I'm busy juggling 100GB of data between the small mac (used for editing) and various different primary and backup drives I have.
I'm taking hard drive donations if anyone has them
cdr
It was HOT. I tail gunned after sitting at the front for most of the first lap (checking the legs). I had three bottles, dumped pretty much all of them on me (felt queasy so couldn't drink). I wish I was more prepared for the hot races. Now I know.
Left right after as I had the missus and two young nieces with me and they were melting. Started pouring for the women's race.
Report here:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...-crit-cat.html
Yes, I have helmet cam footage. Yes, it catches some spectacular stuff. Yes, I'll work on it. Just finished Ninigret (Mystic Velo, May 16). Have to edit Nutmeg, if it's usable (rainy day, and it screwed up my Contour for the next day, New London, where it was dry). And Harlem. And two Rent races (one complete with a garter snake). And training clips (flooded area, sprinting after trucks and buses, and Vegas rides). I'm busy juggling 100GB of data between the small mac (used for editing) and various different primary and backup drives I have.
I'm taking hard drive donations if anyone has them
cdr
06-21-10, 06:34 AM
#4723
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That bug bite was no joke! HurleyGirl, nice meeting you as well, and I'm impressed that you raced so well on that crazy swollen foot. Saturday was a fun race and the field seemed really strong--thanks to you and your teammates for keeping it interesting!
06-21-10, 07:48 AM
#4724
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Stayed upright, esp through the crazy crash about 175 meters before the line (crash started on right side, then guys in middle, then guys hammered the barriers on the left side). I was one of about the first 4 or 5 through, and no one seemed intent on pedaling. I did a little sprint to the line for 14th (7 paying spots, 2 man break won).
06-21-10, 09:19 AM
#4725
ɹǝʇsɯıʇ
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Had a decent showing at my first ToWC...
Road Race...
This was 3 laps of slow, followed by 3 laps of hurt. There were some nasty little hills on this course. I got stuck at the back at the start, and it was impossible to move up in the first 3 laps since the roads were so narrow. Luckily that didn't matter too much. Once the race sped up, the pack thinned out, and a few guys went off the front. Half a dozen of us were at the front most of the time trying to chase, but that was the last we would see of them. With 1 lap to go, I decided to give up chase so I would have gas left in the tank for the finish. I was at the front of the pack across the line, putting me 7th in GC.
Time Trial...
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not great at TTs. My plan was to try not to lose too much time overall. Mission accomplished. I finished 13th and this only bumped me down to 8th in GC.
Crit...
I was just planning to race as hard as I could. 3 laps in, a few guys jump off the front. After a lap, they had a 5-10 second gap on the field. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I attacked and began chasing. Took me 3-4 laps, but I finally caught them, and by that point we had 20 seconds on the main field with about 20 laps to go. There were 3 of us in the break, we were working together fairly well, but one guy (he was 1st in GC) was definitely doing most of the work. The time gap kept increasing every lap. With 4 laps to go, my shift lever breaks off while I'm in my 53-11. How friggin convenient. Fortunately I was able to hang on to the other 2 guys, but knew I would have no chance contesting the uphill sprint in this gear. I happily rolled across the line in 3rd place with a 40 second gap over the main field. That time gap was enough to push me up to 4th in GC.
Road Race...
This was 3 laps of slow, followed by 3 laps of hurt. There were some nasty little hills on this course. I got stuck at the back at the start, and it was impossible to move up in the first 3 laps since the roads were so narrow. Luckily that didn't matter too much. Once the race sped up, the pack thinned out, and a few guys went off the front. Half a dozen of us were at the front most of the time trying to chase, but that was the last we would see of them. With 1 lap to go, I decided to give up chase so I would have gas left in the tank for the finish. I was at the front of the pack across the line, putting me 7th in GC.
Time Trial...
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not great at TTs. My plan was to try not to lose too much time overall. Mission accomplished. I finished 13th and this only bumped me down to 8th in GC.
Crit...
I was just planning to race as hard as I could. 3 laps in, a few guys jump off the front. After a lap, they had a 5-10 second gap on the field. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I attacked and began chasing. Took me 3-4 laps, but I finally caught them, and by that point we had 20 seconds on the main field with about 20 laps to go. There were 3 of us in the break, we were working together fairly well, but one guy (he was 1st in GC) was definitely doing most of the work. The time gap kept increasing every lap. With 4 laps to go, my shift lever breaks off while I'm in my 53-11. How friggin convenient. Fortunately I was able to hang on to the other 2 guys, but knew I would have no chance contesting the uphill sprint in this gear. I happily rolled across the line in 3rd place with a 40 second gap over the main field. That time gap was enough to push me up to 4th in GC.