badhat

agreed

in an hour of racing i only hit that hill hard 3 times, once to test the waters early, once to get in the break and once on the last lap.

badhat

todays race (CSU oval crit) just cancelled on account of high wind, freezing rain, and a public health advisory to stay indoors on account of a forest fire burning west of town.

VT Biker

Member of the team is a photographer, so those were just personal photos. However, photos are up at 303 Cycling.

https://303cycling.com/2011-Louisvill...lts-and-Photos

VT Biker

Glad I stuck around for the Groove-Subaru crit. We lucked out, the earlier the race, the better the weather. CAT 4's started at 7:30. The wind is really howling now on the East side of town, and I can only surmise it gets worse the closer to the foothills.

One of the thing I noticed is I did not have the strength for the final lap, and ended up 18th. One lesson learned....do not challenge the preme. it really took a lot out of me, and coming in second does nothing. Secondly - I need to get better at positioning, as I am always out of position when it counts, or having to battle to get into position. I think part of this is I am learning that there is little reason to worry about position in a smaller field when there is a hill. Just stay in the pack, and unless a serious attack mounts, just hide behind others, and save all energy for the final 2 laps, working on positioning between laps 5 - 3.

badhat

i have an all diesel and i have the opposite problem. i feel like i'm gonna die for the first half of every crit.

VT Biker

I am learning a valuable lesson as well...do not confuse an attack mid-race with how strong you are compared to the field. It just means they are taking it easy until it counts.

VT Biker

I am more akin to a fuel-efficient Kia. Not much top-speed power, not much get-up-and go, and I am dangerous to others on the rode including myself.

Harlan

First cat 5 RR at Myles Standish State Forest today (2 training crits before this only) - 7th of 25. Break of 9 of us got away somewhere in lap 2 of 4 (22 miles). It splintered minutes from the line and I was toast. Can't wait for the next.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/77029889

miwoodar

The 4's were shockingly squirrely yesterday (Being new, I've become accustomed to being one of the more squirrely riders in my group rides - the role reversal took some getting used to). I don't think you alone could have done much to up the average! Thanks for the photo link. Looks like I got in a handful of shots.

I skipped Groove. Winds were 25mph when I woke up...the first thing I thought of was what kind of lines to expect from the field. Then I coughed up something that looked more like a slice of pizza than a loogy and I decided to rest instead. Family cold is in full effect.

chado445510

Hey! I was in that same break. I was the junior from CCB. There's a pretty good chance I talked to you during that time, and it really got ramped up at the end for sure!

Edit: I might as well put in my own.

Myles Standish RR. Jr. 15-18.

There was about 11 of us, on the second race of the day. It got off pretty easy, most of the first 5 mile lap was pretty tame. One kid got away somewhere in there, and we let him roll, mostly because no one except myself and one other wanted the guy back. It stayed about the same for the next two laps, then we finally started reeling the solo break back in. As soon as we got him I launched a counter attack and just went hard, and to my surprise, there was one other kid behind me (doubly surprised because I scoped him out to be bad, but he wasn't working in the chase, but I learned that it was because his brother was in the solo break). I just kept pulling, because I was pretty satisfied even with 2nd place, and everyone else was popped, and not coming back. He took a little pull then I took the lead again. On the final hill, I went for broke and just hit it hard. I got a little distance on him, but he eventually got back on my wheel, and took it by less than one tenth of a second and probably six inches. Whatever, 2nd place. Not bad.

Then there was the Cat 5 race and to save your screen space, I'll keep it short.
I was tired after the junior race and just wanted to hang on for my upgrade points, but I found myself in the break that Harlan was talking about. I made it to the line, but the pace truck was going too slow for the sprint and screwed everything up. I got 3rd in that one.

Harlan

Chad yep that was me you talked to, you really put me to shame haha. Good work! You riding any other races soon? I'm doing the blue hills classic in may but I want to find another before then. Tour of Flanders is on vs now don't forget.

chado445510

Yeah, I've got a stupid essay to write. the next race i'm doing is the UNH Race. It's a very hill course, so I'm pretty excited for it, but so far there's like 3 cat 5's there. I'll race it for the upgrade points, I guess.

VT Biker

Almost NO wind at Groove in the morning. It is shielded by a small rise/hill directly to the West. However, if they are still holding any of the afternoon races, those are real hard man's races. It was low 60's this AM, and now it is snowing. Pro-1/2 race is scheduled for 5:00 PM. Given it was such a pain to pre-register for Groove (i.e. - snail mail only) almost all of their participants were same-day, which means they likely have an incentive to hold the race to try to maximize their gross receipts.

In regards to the Louisville Criterium, I think this race was a first race for a lot of guys, and so many were not sure about positioning, cornering etc..

Add to that a few juniors who were really aggressive. I was riding with them most of the race, and I remember a couple of times where they were in the middle of a three-wide pack, and then would purposefully cut off the corner trapping the inside lines. Kind of angered me, as it is dangerous and in the middle of a race with a moderate pack pace, unnecessary. However, I have a feeling it was a coached move, given they were both doing it, so maybe it is an accepted move in crit racing.

teetopkram

Ever have one of those weekends when you rode your ass off, are happy with how hard you went and your form to date, yet have NOTHING to show for it? This was my weekend.

Chain of Lakes RR; M35+; 4 laps of 14 mile loop with fairly long uphill finish: Did my job...covered most attacks on lap 1, tried to get into breaks or attacked laps 2 & 3; chased; blocked for teammate who got into successful break on final lap; marked riders; and helped with the lead out for a teammate, pulling off for the second to last guy, popping and spinning up the hill through the finish. Finished almost DFL.

Chain of Lakes Crit; M35+; 50 minutes; 8 corner highly technical course: For some reason a big split happened very early in race and about 13-14 guys were in it. I was toward the back, and having no teammates I quickly got to the front and put my head down to hammer...pulled for one lap, looked back, and there were only 5 of us left. So we chased for 40 minutes, losing two guys along the way. The main field got caught by the leading group but we didn't...that was our one success...finished in low top 20s. I did my fair share of work so I feel good about that.

Interestingly, in the 50 minute crit my best 20 min split equaled my last FTP test last month. Perhaps its time for a re-test.

Thanks for reading.

Racer Ex 

Now win two.

I like how you crushed the soul of the guy in third. Vaporized.

zigmeister

Didn't finish last in RR yesterday. That's an improvement for me.

GirlAnachronism

I am stupid. And Bethel hates me. That is all.

Okay, that's not all. But it probably should be. I felt ****ing fantastic today. Best I have felt at Bethel yet, and with the exception of last week I have been feeling pretty good. Fast race with lots of primes (thanks Aki!), big teams with their big guns attacking like crazy. Sat in the top five wheels the whole race with no problems, flew up the hill every time, got into a great position for the sprint, and completely. ****ed. it. up. Again. I am so frustrated with myself right now.

SalsaPodio

U of Iowa Collegiate Races

A/B Road Race - Two guys were on a break from mile 20. One guy stuck with it through the whole 65 miles. We caught one guy and I attacked from half mile out to get 2nd.
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/77055648

A/B Crit - 0.5 mile course, 45 laps. Somewhat steep hill. Break of four got away and I couldn't follow because I chased down the last three attacks. Won the field sprint for 5th.
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/77055600

Have 8 of the 25 pts I need for my 2 upgrade in three races. Hopefully I can get there by the end of the season.


Road Race finish.

substructure

Master 35+ 1/2/3, 86mile, road race.
I was way too aggressive in the beginning. I jumped at everything and nothing stayed. When we got to the last steep hill I started cramping but held on. Unfortunately, I had nothing for the sprint. 12th, $20.00.

zitter

1st place in collegiate d at ucsb road race, ill put up more info later

kindablue

This I should have done.
And I'm weak--> working on this daily.

Hopefully I'll be able to redeem myself at the AFA races later this month.

echappist

Lotsa good reads here. Thanks to all for sharing.

Zitter, as a former King of the D's, allow me to welcome you to the club

Grumpy, that's a helluva ride.

Brian Ratliff

Wow. This post pretty much describes my entire racing career.

I've heard from another, more experienced racer, that once you taste some wins (this was in the context of sprint finishes), you start figuring out the formula (this is assuming you have enough raw speed to be in contention, obviously). Until then you are kind of on the outside looking in.

Racer Ex 

It's true of non-sprinters also, confidence is not a bad thing to have in this sport. Once you've won (or realized you can win) you start racing to win, while a lot of the pack is still riding around for scraps that they think are somehow worthwhile (and yes, I know about upgrade points...)

Racer Ex 

Nice lawn gnome.