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Old 05-06-08, 02:46 PM
  #6  
carpediemracing 
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Tariffville, CT
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Bikes: Tsunami road bikes, Dolan DF4 track

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Fitchburg is a very climbing slash FTP oriented race. Virtually no tactics, other than not to get dropped off the back or not to get caught behind a crash.

What are your strengths, what are you going for?

If you're in shape, you're in shape. Without too much specific training I was fine for 3 days in a row. I wasn't strong but I wasn't any worse than normal.

A couple Fitchburg things I've seen in the past. Read the rules. And read them again. Make sure you know where all the venues are, including parking.

If you're not going for the overall, then soft pedal the TT. There is no cut off. Or use it as a training ride. But don't bother with all the cool gear etc. Two teammates (3s, leadout and sprinter) that targeted the circuit and crit stages did the TT in their small ring. They won their two target races.

Circuit race - that hill is a pain in the butt, but what's worse is the pace cranking just after the top. It seems people took it easy the last time I did it on the flat section, and since a lot of guys simply don't know how to corner (yes, I'm talking 3s) it's pretty straight forward to blast through to the front before the last turn. However, if you break a spoke or something, you're SOL because, yep, no free lap. I was sitting 1st, 2nd, or 3rd up the hill the one lap I was in the field - then I broke a spoke. I timed the change - 45 seconds. I didn't get mad because I read a story where a pro didn't get mad at a slow change. Of course, I can't TT like a pro so I never caught on. I got lapped, stayed with them, and made it to the next day.

RR - if you get dropped, get lapped. Someone parked their enormous vehicle half in the road at the feed zone and a racer, trying to avoid it, fell onto my back wheel. I had to stop and let the guy get his cheek (face cheek, not the other cheek) out of my rear brake - and that was that. I tried my hardest not to get lapped because I thought they'd pull me. Later, I found out that if you get lapped, they let you finish the climb with the field and then add a lap of time. Obviously I didn't read the rules closely. Since the cutoff will be greater than a lap of time, get lapped. Let me say it again. If you get dropped in the RR, get lapped. I got dropped, didn't get lapped, and I was out of there (after they forced me to lay down in the medical tent for a bit - apparently I was a wreck).

Crit - it's a hard-ish crit simply because there are a lot of nervous non-crit riders and their teams time trialing at the front to keep things strung out. No faking it.

It's a very hard race to do well in, not nearly as hard just to finish. The year I went, the Junior that won the 3s later became the Junior World TT champion. Last year, a friend got 4th in the 3s. He really trained hard the previous winter after upgrading to 3, placed top 10 at Valley of the Sun in the 3s (not easy for someone who trained in CT all winter), etc etc. This year, with much less training, virtually no racing, and a lot of time off during the winter, he got 2nd at Battenkill - in the TWOs.

Good luck at the race,
cdr
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