Originally Posted by
MrCrassic
Hey, everyone! Sorry that I haven't been that active on here for a while. School just started, and did not start any way like I would have liked it to (does it ever?).
Anyway, I took part in the Rutgers Classic this weekend, and for my first race it was a lot of fun! I downed a cold because of it, but I'd definitely do it again.
First, I don't think I trained all that hard for it, which showed in my results. I didn't know what to expect, so I didn't want to train like a beast for something I'm unsure of.
Our entire team is pretty new to racing, even though some of the guys have trained with Cat 1 racers for a while and have developed some extra skills here and there.
1: Individual Time Trial
I'm a little disappointed that this was 2.8 miles, and not the 4 that I expected. Nonetheless, I averaged 19.7 mph and placed 30th. I think my two big mistakes here were my cornering skills and the fact that I couldn't keep a hard, fast pace all the way through. I started pretty strong, but burned out towards the end.
2. Criterium
I placed 28th here, and my definite biggest issue is that I just simply need to train more. I could only keep up with the head pack for about half a lap before I dropped all the way to the back. I definitely burned out before lap 1 (we only did 5).
3. Circuit Race
I placed 25th here, and the same issue in the crit applies here as well. I think I need to especially train in sprinting and just developing my power (which I believe I have a lot of potential).
FYI, I raced Men's Intro and was with the Polka-dotted team with no name on the jersey (Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ).
All in all, I really am starting to like road racing, and can't wait to hurt for future races!
sounds more like a case of not having the experience of riding near, but not on the front, and/or getting back into a good position after sitting in the wind.
it'll come.
enjoy, and keep the rubber on the road.