The 2011 bike racing season opened for me today. I'm not planning on doing much road racing this year, so I haven't really been training like I usually would. It was just so nice here today that it seemed like a good idea to race. I don't think I've ever opened my race season wearing without wearing leg warmers and/or arm warmers and/or a jacket.
The course is pretty basic, with really only 2 corners to speak of and a long climb to the finish line. It's always weird to get back to pack racing. I'm never a fan of cornering shoulder to shoulder with people, but the road is really wide on this course so there was generally a lot of room. There was only one crash, and several close calls of people trying to shove their bike were it shouldn't be. There is always a new crop juniors every year that are fearless and fit, but their skills don't necessarily match their ambitions.
All-in-all, it was generally a moderate pace. There wasn't much attacking, and I was happy to sit in and get the workout without trying to cover moves off the front. I survived the battle of attrition and finished 18th (out of 50+ starters I'd guess).
Showing posts with label race. Show all posts
Showing posts with label race. Show all posts
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Sunday, July 18, 2010
A win for the team
Yesterday was the Prospect crit. I've been wanting to do this race for that past couple years, but it hasn't worked out until this year. It's a cool course through a neighborhood in Longmont, which is way more interesting than the usual office park criterium.
Go-time was 2:20, and it was damn hot. It's a tight course, so I made sure to line up on the front row. The race started out with a neutral lap as we followed a pace car from one of the sponsors. After that, it was game on. I was tucked in mid-pack and feeling okay. The pace slowed down after 10 minutes, and I decided I should try to stir things up. Just then, my teammate attacked the field.
I moved up to about 4th wheel so I could be sure to follow any chasers. It was pretty early in the race for a solo breakaway, so nobody was really motivated to chase. I eventually worked my way up to the front and drove an easy pace to let my teammate's lead grow. I was pretty surprised that people were willing to let me sit on the front and disrupt any chase. For the rest of the race, I was either on the front of the chase group, or close to it. People were happy to have me on the front to "work". It was great.
As the race was winding down, I was sure that we weren't going to catch my teammate, and then I head someone in crowd say we could get lapped. Awesome, I thought. Zac caught up with us, and I dropped back to shepherd him past everyone and all the way up to the front. It was really quite awesome.
Go-time was 2:20, and it was damn hot. It's a tight course, so I made sure to line up on the front row. The race started out with a neutral lap as we followed a pace car from one of the sponsors. After that, it was game on. I was tucked in mid-pack and feeling okay. The pace slowed down after 10 minutes, and I decided I should try to stir things up. Just then, my teammate attacked the field.
I moved up to about 4th wheel so I could be sure to follow any chasers. It was pretty early in the race for a solo breakaway, so nobody was really motivated to chase. I eventually worked my way up to the front and drove an easy pace to let my teammate's lead grow. I was pretty surprised that people were willing to let me sit on the front and disrupt any chase. For the rest of the race, I was either on the front of the chase group, or close to it. People were happy to have me on the front to "work". It was great.
As the race was winding down, I was sure that we weren't going to catch my teammate, and then I head someone in crowd say we could get lapped. Awesome, I thought. Zac caught up with us, and I dropped back to shepherd him past everyone and all the way up to the front. It was really quite awesome.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Lookout Mountain Hill Climb
In the past, I've done the Lookout Mountain Hill Climb as a high priority race. This year it's a little interesting to be doing it as just a test of power. I didn't really care where I placed and I didn't have a goal time in mind. I just wanted to put in a good effort for 20+ minutes.
The weather was amazing. Better than any other time I've done this race. I underestimated how cool it was though, and had to run back to the car last minute to swap out some stuff. That put me a few rows back on the starting line, but no big deal since I wasn't gunning for places.
The usual start line chaos ensued. A couple guys next to me were clipped in and holding on to the rail at the start (not legal, FYI). Somebody in the second row couldn't get clipped in and ended up crashing as he stared at his feet. Some other dude nearly guttered me on the initial corner as he dove to the inside.
The pack seemed like it started off slower than usual. I was a little disappointed because I wanted to hit if from the get-go, but I couldn't get through/around enough people. Eventually things thinned out and I was just able to go at my pace. I felt pretty good. Occasionally I'd look down at my power numbers and I liked what I saw.
There's a point about 400m from the finish where the road levels off and it's a good place to get in your big ring and attack. I misjudged it this year. I thought it was still one corner up the road, so when a couple dudes flew by my I briefly let them go until I realized we were almost at the finish. Bummer, but at least it gave me a good reason to sprint to the line. I didn't pass them, but I did get right on their tail and finished with the same time.
I finished in a time of 21:13. I think that's my best ever up Lookout, which is great news. Especially because I wasn't rested up for this like I have been in the past when it was an 'A' race for me. I was also carrying a lot of extra weight uphill this time compared to usual. I wouldn't normally do a hill climb with my heavy PowerTap wheel, and I was also carrying some extra clothing for the descent.
All things considered, I'm happy with this result. I'm looking forward to my first road race of the year in a couple weeks.
The weather was amazing. Better than any other time I've done this race. I underestimated how cool it was though, and had to run back to the car last minute to swap out some stuff. That put me a few rows back on the starting line, but no big deal since I wasn't gunning for places.
The usual start line chaos ensued. A couple guys next to me were clipped in and holding on to the rail at the start (not legal, FYI). Somebody in the second row couldn't get clipped in and ended up crashing as he stared at his feet. Some other dude nearly guttered me on the initial corner as he dove to the inside.
The pack seemed like it started off slower than usual. I was a little disappointed because I wanted to hit if from the get-go, but I couldn't get through/around enough people. Eventually things thinned out and I was just able to go at my pace. I felt pretty good. Occasionally I'd look down at my power numbers and I liked what I saw.
There's a point about 400m from the finish where the road levels off and it's a good place to get in your big ring and attack. I misjudged it this year. I thought it was still one corner up the road, so when a couple dudes flew by my I briefly let them go until I realized we were almost at the finish. Bummer, but at least it gave me a good reason to sprint to the line. I didn't pass them, but I did get right on their tail and finished with the same time.
I finished in a time of 21:13. I think that's my best ever up Lookout, which is great news. Especially because I wasn't rested up for this like I have been in the past when it was an 'A' race for me. I was also carrying a lot of extra weight uphill this time compared to usual. I wouldn't normally do a hill climb with my heavy PowerTap wheel, and I was also carrying some extra clothing for the descent.
All things considered, I'm happy with this result. I'm looking forward to my first road race of the year in a couple weeks.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Groove Subaru Spring Crit
Man, another 8AM start. I guess I'm getting used to it. At least it means I don't tie up the whole day racing.
The course was on a very wide loop through an office park in Golden and it's pretty non-technical. Just one actual corner. My legs, sore from some Saturday intervals in the wind, felt immediately tired. A small group escaped from the front early in the race, and I thought they would quickly get swallowed back up. It started to look like nobody was interested in pulling them back in, so I made the decision to bridge up to them. I made it up, but the main field wasn't far behind. I guess that group was growing big enough to worry about.
Various other attacks went down in the first 20-30 minutes of racing. It was surprising, and cool, because I don't recall seeing that kind of activity in a cat 4 race often. I went off the front once hoping to get some other people interested forming a breakaway, but when I looked back I was all alone. With 20 minutes left in the race, there was no way I could go solo, so I sat up and reintegrated.
As usual, the finish came down to a bunch sprint. It was a pretty hot last lap, and I was too far near the back at the start of it to make much of a difference. I hung on for the finish in 16th place.
The course was on a very wide loop through an office park in Golden and it's pretty non-technical. Just one actual corner. My legs, sore from some Saturday intervals in the wind, felt immediately tired. A small group escaped from the front early in the race, and I thought they would quickly get swallowed back up. It started to look like nobody was interested in pulling them back in, so I made the decision to bridge up to them. I made it up, but the main field wasn't far behind. I guess that group was growing big enough to worry about.
Various other attacks went down in the first 20-30 minutes of racing. It was surprising, and cool, because I don't recall seeing that kind of activity in a cat 4 race often. I went off the front once hoping to get some other people interested forming a breakaway, but when I looked back I was all alone. With 20 minutes left in the race, there was no way I could go solo, so I sat up and reintegrated.
As usual, the finish came down to a bunch sprint. It was a pretty hot last lap, and I was too far near the back at the start of it to make much of a difference. I hung on for the finish in 16th place.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Rist Canyon Hill Climb
When I saw this race on the calendar at the beginning of the year, I wrote it off because I didn’t want to do just a hill climb up Rist. When I found out that it was much more of a road race, I decided to do it. I haven’t trained seriously since June. It’s been hard with Christine’s schedule and I also wanted the summer off to do other fun things. I like to support a local race, so I was ready for some punishment.
The race starts out climbing immediately as you go from Masonville up to Horsetooth Mountain Park. I was wondering if anyone would hammer it from the start. It seems like there’s always “that guy”. This time “that guy” didn’t show up until we came around the reservoir. On a flat section, he attacked hard and then blew up spectacularly.
We hit the south dam and the real attacks started. There were big surges up all of the dam hills, but the group stayed largely intact to the bottom of Rist. I’m not sure how intact, because I was actually doing a decent job of staying near the front for once. I felt more comfortable in this pack than usual, so that was nice.
The pace up the lower parts of Rist were really reasonable. I felt comfortable, but the group wasn’t getting any smaller. Someone from H.A.R.T. threw in some really good accelerations that broke things up. I followed some of them, but I knew I was going to have a hard time accelerating like that right now. With the speeds slower speeds up Rist, drafting isn’t a huge issue, so it was better for me to go a constant speed than to try to match all of the accelerations.
As we came up on a steep section near the top, I just knew an attack was coming. I was completely gassed by that point and didn’t even try to go with them. My legs were cramping. A side cramp I’d had since near the beginning had turned into a tight back and I was struggling. I went into survival mode at that point and just tried to not let anyone pass me.
We hit the final steep switchbacks near the top, and I was really happy I put a 12x27 cassette on my bike. It’s hard to turn over the gears up there when the gradient is around 15%. I managed to hold my position and finish 7th. The caveat – I’d like to DQ two people in front of me that crossed the yellow line. :) I love how the ACA makes a big stink about the yellow line rule, and then rarely (it seems) enforce it with DQ’s.
I thought the pace was reasonable, but then I looked at the ride data at home. I climbed Rist in 50 minutes. Last year, I think I was doing around 52 minutes. Sick.
Allow me to gripe one more time. The results (again) were all screwed up. Maybe I’m a vampire, because this isn’t the first time I haven’t shown up on the initial results. I stuck around for a bit, and then went home, grabbed my moto, and went back to make sure they got my placing. I’m not generally all that concerned, but I’d at least like a record that I was there.
Cyclocross training starts.....now.
The race starts out climbing immediately as you go from Masonville up to Horsetooth Mountain Park. I was wondering if anyone would hammer it from the start. It seems like there’s always “that guy”. This time “that guy” didn’t show up until we came around the reservoir. On a flat section, he attacked hard and then blew up spectacularly.
We hit the south dam and the real attacks started. There were big surges up all of the dam hills, but the group stayed largely intact to the bottom of Rist. I’m not sure how intact, because I was actually doing a decent job of staying near the front for once. I felt more comfortable in this pack than usual, so that was nice.
The pace up the lower parts of Rist were really reasonable. I felt comfortable, but the group wasn’t getting any smaller. Someone from H.A.R.T. threw in some really good accelerations that broke things up. I followed some of them, but I knew I was going to have a hard time accelerating like that right now. With the speeds slower speeds up Rist, drafting isn’t a huge issue, so it was better for me to go a constant speed than to try to match all of the accelerations.
As we came up on a steep section near the top, I just knew an attack was coming. I was completely gassed by that point and didn’t even try to go with them. My legs were cramping. A side cramp I’d had since near the beginning had turned into a tight back and I was struggling. I went into survival mode at that point and just tried to not let anyone pass me.
We hit the final steep switchbacks near the top, and I was really happy I put a 12x27 cassette on my bike. It’s hard to turn over the gears up there when the gradient is around 15%. I managed to hold my position and finish 7th. The caveat – I’d like to DQ two people in front of me that crossed the yellow line. :) I love how the ACA makes a big stink about the yellow line rule, and then rarely (it seems) enforce it with DQ’s.
I thought the pace was reasonable, but then I looked at the ride data at home. I climbed Rist in 50 minutes. Last year, I think I was doing around 52 minutes. Sick.
Allow me to gripe one more time. The results (again) were all screwed up. Maybe I’m a vampire, because this isn’t the first time I haven’t shown up on the initial results. I stuck around for a bit, and then went home, grabbed my moto, and went back to make sure they got my placing. I’m not generally all that concerned, but I’d at least like a record that I was there.
Cyclocross training starts.....now.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Glenwood Springs
Glenwood Springs
Christine and I spent last weekend in Glenwood Springs for some racing and hanging out and we had a great time.
Christine and I spent last weekend in Glenwood Springs for some racing and hanging out and we had a great time.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Lookout Mountain Hill Climb
Yesterday I raced in the Lookout Mountain Hill Climb. It's only 4.5 miles, but the 1200 feet of climbing makes for a tough little climb. My main goal for this race was to beat my best time from a couple years ago of 22:04.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Air Force Academy Road Race
I raced the AFA RR yesterday. I finally feel like I had a decent race this season.
Thankfully, the weather cooperated enough for the race. It was a cold start at 7:50AM, but the roads were clear with only a few puddles to splash through. Lucky for the other riders, Dave, Austin, and were looking so hot in our new kits that it warmed up the rest of the group.
For the first lap, I sat on the front. Not a great idea from an energy saving standpoint, but it was nice to keep a reasonable tempo up there and prevent people from getting too worked up about any early escape attempts (of which there were several).
On the second lap, I settled in near the back of our shrunken group. It was more sketchy back there, but it was also easier not being out front. On the long climb up Pine Dr, people made some surges. I was able to stay with the group, but I could tell I was getting tired. Apparently some other people were getting tired too, because there was 1 crash and another near crash on this lap.
As expected, things really heated up on the third and final lap. On the downhill sections, people were throwing in attacks and I had to work hard to stay with them. It certainly softened me up. I had to laugh a bit when one person launched a counter attack only to be chased down by his teammate. Classic.
We turned on to Pine, and there was a calm before the storm. I knew the attacks were coming and I knew I didn't have the legs. I stayed with the first few and then I finally popped and rode to the finish solo for 12th place. Dave finished in the 20's and Austin in the 30's.
The first year I did this race I got dropped on the first lap. Last year I got dropped on the second lap. This year I got dropped on the third lap. I don't like to get dropped, but at least I can say I'm making year to year progress. I'll have to work on my accelerations on climbs for next year.
Thankfully, the weather cooperated enough for the race. It was a cold start at 7:50AM, but the roads were clear with only a few puddles to splash through. Lucky for the other riders, Dave, Austin, and were looking so hot in our new kits that it warmed up the rest of the group.
For the first lap, I sat on the front. Not a great idea from an energy saving standpoint, but it was nice to keep a reasonable tempo up there and prevent people from getting too worked up about any early escape attempts (of which there were several).
On the second lap, I settled in near the back of our shrunken group. It was more sketchy back there, but it was also easier not being out front. On the long climb up Pine Dr, people made some surges. I was able to stay with the group, but I could tell I was getting tired. Apparently some other people were getting tired too, because there was 1 crash and another near crash on this lap.
As expected, things really heated up on the third and final lap. On the downhill sections, people were throwing in attacks and I had to work hard to stay with them. It certainly softened me up. I had to laugh a bit when one person launched a counter attack only to be chased down by his teammate. Classic.
We turned on to Pine, and there was a calm before the storm. I knew the attacks were coming and I knew I didn't have the legs. I stayed with the first few and then I finally popped and rode to the finish solo for 12th place. Dave finished in the 20's and Austin in the 30's.
The first year I did this race I got dropped on the first lap. Last year I got dropped on the second lap. This year I got dropped on the third lap. I don't like to get dropped, but at least I can say I'm making year to year progress. I'll have to work on my accelerations on climbs for next year.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Mad Cow 2009
Wind and suffering were the name of the game for me at the Mad Cow Classic in Grand Junction last weekend. This year the race organizers made some fun changes. To start with, they added a hill climb at the Colorado National Monument on Saturday morning. I skipped it this year, but hopefully I can do it next year. Another change for this year was moving the criterium to Saturday and holding it at the Grand Junction Motor Speedway. The speedway is a go-kart track and a pretty cool place to have a race.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Race season 09
I kicked off my '09 campaign last weekend at the CSU crit. Me and crits have never gotten along all that well but I'm working on it. At the very least, I wanted to go out and support one of the few local Fort Collins races. I even worked registration all morning.
The beginning of the race was a cluster-fuck of people trying to clip into pedals. We're all rusty, so that's forgivable. A bunch of people zoomed past me as I was stuck behind people getting clipped in. I was probably in the top 10-15 as we got to the first corners and there was some pretty sketchy bike-handling and cornering skills. I saw some people taking some dangerous lines and braking into and through (!!!) corners. Scary stuff. The sound of squealing brakes on carbon wheels is not a sound I enjoy. I feel like it sort of took me out mentally and I just ended up letting myself drift to the back.
Riding at the back of a crit is hard work. The speed surges are killer, but at least I could play with different lines through corners without getting in anyone's way. As the race wore on, I found myself having to close lots of gaps around people that were getting dropped. Eventually the rubberband that was holding me on to the back of the pack broke and I lost contact on the last lap.
Not exactly a stellar results, but I got in a good workout and I finished rubber side down. It felt good to be out racing again, regardless of what shape I'm in right now.
The beginning of the race was a cluster-fuck of people trying to clip into pedals. We're all rusty, so that's forgivable. A bunch of people zoomed past me as I was stuck behind people getting clipped in. I was probably in the top 10-15 as we got to the first corners and there was some pretty sketchy bike-handling and cornering skills. I saw some people taking some dangerous lines and braking into and through (!!!) corners. Scary stuff. The sound of squealing brakes on carbon wheels is not a sound I enjoy. I feel like it sort of took me out mentally and I just ended up letting myself drift to the back.
Riding at the back of a crit is hard work. The speed surges are killer, but at least I could play with different lines through corners without getting in anyone's way. As the race wore on, I found myself having to close lots of gaps around people that were getting dropped. Eventually the rubberband that was holding me on to the back of the pack broke and I lost contact on the last lap.
Not exactly a stellar results, but I got in a good workout and I finished rubber side down. It felt good to be out racing again, regardless of what shape I'm in right now.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Niwot Crit - Down goes Fraser
I had some bad karma today. On the way to the race I hit a prairie dog with my car, and I stepped in some dog poo when I was walking to the registration desk. Maybe I should have turned around and gone home. :)
I didn't start well, but I stuck in the middle of the pack. It was a really tight course so passing people was difficult. The further back you are in the pack, the harder it is because you have to sprint out of each corner just to keep up with the front of the race. There were a couple of long straight sections where I was able to pass some people, but I never had the gas to really get up to the front.
I found myself taking some dumb lines through corners just because I was following the wheel in front of me. Eventually I got my head on straight and started taking better lines through the corners. I was pleased with how my confidence through the corners was improving. I haven't raced a crit in well over a month, so it took me some time to get my "crit head" back.
About 3/4 of the way through the race, the pace really slowed. We were taking the corners at an unreasonably slow pace. I decided to try and move up on the inside of one of the tight corners, and it didn't go well. The decision to move up was sound, but I foolishly tried to pedal through the corner and ended up clipping my pedal on the pavement. Total bummer. I went down, but not too hard. The bike is fine, and I have a few scrapes. I'll live to race another day (probably July 20th) at another crit.
I didn't start well, but I stuck in the middle of the pack. It was a really tight course so passing people was difficult. The further back you are in the pack, the harder it is because you have to sprint out of each corner just to keep up with the front of the race. There were a couple of long straight sections where I was able to pass some people, but I never had the gas to really get up to the front.
I found myself taking some dumb lines through corners just because I was following the wheel in front of me. Eventually I got my head on straight and started taking better lines through the corners. I was pleased with how my confidence through the corners was improving. I haven't raced a crit in well over a month, so it took me some time to get my "crit head" back.
About 3/4 of the way through the race, the pace really slowed. We were taking the corners at an unreasonably slow pace. I decided to try and move up on the inside of one of the tight corners, and it didn't go well. The decision to move up was sound, but I foolishly tried to pedal through the corner and ended up clipping my pedal on the pavement. Total bummer. I went down, but not too hard. The bike is fine, and I have a few scrapes. I'll live to race another day (probably July 20th) at another crit.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Fort Collins Cycling Festival (Rist Canyon Road Race)
Oooh, so sore. I raced in the Fort Collins Cycling Festival today. (And boy are my legs tired. *rimshot*)
At 52 miles, this was already going to be a hard race with lots of climbing, but I guess that wasn't good enough for the organizers. Overnight, they decided to tack on some extra miles bringing the total to 64 and over 7000 feet of climbing. These weren't easy miles either. They included some killer short climbs. Apparently, they did this for safety reasons but I'm not sure why they waited until the night before to determine that their old finish wasn't safe. Another major league flub on their part was that they moved the feed zones (and didn't announce it to my knowledge). But enough of the bitching about the race organizers...
The race starts out by immediately going up a the steep hills by the stadium. There were people in the group that clearly weren't familiar with the course because they were hammering it early. I didn't look behind me, but I think we dropped several people within the first few miles. I had intended to stay near the front to keep from getting gapped on the descents, but instead I found myself near the rear of the newly shrunken group. After the final descent before Rist, I managed to get up to the front where I could cover the speed surges.
The climb up Rist was easier than I remembered last year. I stayed near the front and eventually 4 people were dangling off the front. I knew a couldn't hang and I had to dial it back a bit. Eventually I saw Tyson coming back so I knew I'd have someone to ride with. Every once and a while someone would be on our wheel, but they would usually blow up. We settled in finally with me, Tyson, and some dude in white.
Shortly after the feed, one of the front guys drifted back, leave 2 up front. Our group of 4 crested the summit together. Tyson bombed down the hill and maneuvered around a few cars, but I got stuck behind one of them because there was another car coming in the other lane. Tyson opened up a huge gap and it was up to the three of us to close it down. I was all ready to work in this group of three, but the other two didn't seem to be into it. The Aussie that was with us would shoot off the front instead of gently pulling through. It was like an attack. I don't know if that was his plan or what. The other guy was doing a lot of soft pedaling. It was frustrating, and eventually I decided I shouldn't be doing much work in that group. If Tyson got away and bridged, I was okay with that.
Eventually Tyson slowed down, and we caught him around Masonville. About this time, my legs were really cramping. I hung with this group until we headed north on Glade Rd and got dropped when I was taking a gel. (These new jerseys have pockets that are way too high.) At one point I got back on their wheels, but they dropped me again and I knew I was a goner. From here on out, it was a mental battle just to stay on the gas instead of easing into the finish.
We passed the original turn off to the finish and my legs let out a sigh. Man how I would have liked to be finishing. My legs were dead, but I still tried to ride as hard as I could up the next hills. Up one of the hills, I got passed by a group of three. I couldn't get on their wheels as my legs were cramping ever time I tried to get out of the saddle. Once they got over Bingham Hill though, they really slowed down as the jockeyed for position. When I caught them, I told them it was too early to screw around and tried to up the pace so we wouldn't get caught from behind. They were having none of it, so I just sat on wheels.
Coming into the finish, I did everything I needed to do and put my self right where I wanted to be. I knew the Aussie would have a good sprint, so I forced him to come around me (by slowing down and letting a gap open). I got right on his wheel, but as soon as everyone started sprinting, it was clear I had nothing left to give.
Overall the result was good. Top 10. Had the race finished where it was supposed to, though, I would have been 6th, so that's hard to swallow. All in all, a good day though.
*edit* I don't know what happened with the results, but sometime after I left the race I got moved up to 8th place. I think I left about 30 minutes after the results were posted, so the protest period should have been over. But at least I moved up instead of down.
At 52 miles, this was already going to be a hard race with lots of climbing, but I guess that wasn't good enough for the organizers. Overnight, they decided to tack on some extra miles bringing the total to 64 and over 7000 feet of climbing. These weren't easy miles either. They included some killer short climbs. Apparently, they did this for safety reasons but I'm not sure why they waited until the night before to determine that their old finish wasn't safe. Another major league flub on their part was that they moved the feed zones (and didn't announce it to my knowledge). But enough of the bitching about the race organizers...
The race starts out by immediately going up a the steep hills by the stadium. There were people in the group that clearly weren't familiar with the course because they were hammering it early. I didn't look behind me, but I think we dropped several people within the first few miles. I had intended to stay near the front to keep from getting gapped on the descents, but instead I found myself near the rear of the newly shrunken group. After the final descent before Rist, I managed to get up to the front where I could cover the speed surges.
The climb up Rist was easier than I remembered last year. I stayed near the front and eventually 4 people were dangling off the front. I knew a couldn't hang and I had to dial it back a bit. Eventually I saw Tyson coming back so I knew I'd have someone to ride with. Every once and a while someone would be on our wheel, but they would usually blow up. We settled in finally with me, Tyson, and some dude in white.
Shortly after the feed, one of the front guys drifted back, leave 2 up front. Our group of 4 crested the summit together. Tyson bombed down the hill and maneuvered around a few cars, but I got stuck behind one of them because there was another car coming in the other lane. Tyson opened up a huge gap and it was up to the three of us to close it down. I was all ready to work in this group of three, but the other two didn't seem to be into it. The Aussie that was with us would shoot off the front instead of gently pulling through. It was like an attack. I don't know if that was his plan or what. The other guy was doing a lot of soft pedaling. It was frustrating, and eventually I decided I shouldn't be doing much work in that group. If Tyson got away and bridged, I was okay with that.
Eventually Tyson slowed down, and we caught him around Masonville. About this time, my legs were really cramping. I hung with this group until we headed north on Glade Rd and got dropped when I was taking a gel. (These new jerseys have pockets that are way too high.) At one point I got back on their wheels, but they dropped me again and I knew I was a goner. From here on out, it was a mental battle just to stay on the gas instead of easing into the finish.
We passed the original turn off to the finish and my legs let out a sigh. Man how I would have liked to be finishing. My legs were dead, but I still tried to ride as hard as I could up the next hills. Up one of the hills, I got passed by a group of three. I couldn't get on their wheels as my legs were cramping ever time I tried to get out of the saddle. Once they got over Bingham Hill though, they really slowed down as the jockeyed for position. When I caught them, I told them it was too early to screw around and tried to up the pace so we wouldn't get caught from behind. They were having none of it, so I just sat on wheels.
Coming into the finish, I did everything I needed to do and put my self right where I wanted to be. I knew the Aussie would have a good sprint, so I forced him to come around me (by slowing down and letting a gap open). I got right on his wheel, but as soon as everyone started sprinting, it was clear I had nothing left to give.
Overall the result was good. Top 10. Had the race finished where it was supposed to, though, I would have been 6th, so that's hard to swallow. All in all, a good day though.
*edit* I don't know what happened with the results, but sometime after I left the race I got moved up to 8th place. I think I left about 30 minutes after the results were posted, so the protest period should have been over. But at least I moved up instead of down.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Gila Stage 5 - Gila Monster Road Race
The end is near. Today was the 70 mile Gila Monster stage.
The 4's rolled out in jovial fashion and we were all chatting it up and having a good time. A break went off pretty early and I was pretty happy about that since they would swallow up the sprint time bonuses. I was on the front as the break went off, and put their hand on my back as if to tell me to chase it. I chuckled and told them to have at it because I certainly wasn't going to chase.
The pack stayed together for a long time, which made for some crowded roads later on. The riding was a little sketchy because everyone decided that suddenly on the last day they needed to be at the front and try to improve their GC spot.
Right after the feed zone (around 40 miles into the race) Rob got a flat. He was in front of me and I saw him pull off. I pulled into the dirt Dukes of Hazzard style and gave Rob my wheel since he was better placed on GC than me. Ross had seen us stopped on the road and he slowed down to pace Rob back up to the field. It was all a pretty pro affair.
My wheel change was fairly slow, and they gave me a tank of a wheel to ride on. I chased with a small group for the next 10 miles and we finally caught the main field at the base of the decisive climb of the day. I was pretty blown from the chase, but I managed to climb okay still. I caught a lot of people, and eventually made it up to Rob and Jason. Jason was climbing strong and finished with a small group a minute ahead of me. Rob and I road with another guy for a bit, and finally Rob pulled the rip cord finished solo. I finished side by side with Taylor from RMRC.
I finished in 28th overall for the whole stage race, and Rob finished in 26th.
After the race, we hung out at Rob's parent's place for some burgers, brats, and copious amounts of recovery beer. The team owes a lot of thanks to Rob Sr. & Susan Love, Marty, and Stuart for their logistic and feed zone support. I saw plenty of teams relying on neutral support, and it was so nice to have our own dedicated support team.
The 4's rolled out in jovial fashion and we were all chatting it up and having a good time. A break went off pretty early and I was pretty happy about that since they would swallow up the sprint time bonuses. I was on the front as the break went off, and put their hand on my back as if to tell me to chase it. I chuckled and told them to have at it because I certainly wasn't going to chase.
The pack stayed together for a long time, which made for some crowded roads later on. The riding was a little sketchy because everyone decided that suddenly on the last day they needed to be at the front and try to improve their GC spot.
Right after the feed zone (around 40 miles into the race) Rob got a flat. He was in front of me and I saw him pull off. I pulled into the dirt Dukes of Hazzard style and gave Rob my wheel since he was better placed on GC than me. Ross had seen us stopped on the road and he slowed down to pace Rob back up to the field. It was all a pretty pro affair.
My wheel change was fairly slow, and they gave me a tank of a wheel to ride on. I chased with a small group for the next 10 miles and we finally caught the main field at the base of the decisive climb of the day. I was pretty blown from the chase, but I managed to climb okay still. I caught a lot of people, and eventually made it up to Rob and Jason. Jason was climbing strong and finished with a small group a minute ahead of me. Rob and I road with another guy for a bit, and finally Rob pulled the rip cord finished solo. I finished side by side with Taylor from RMRC.
I finished in 28th overall for the whole stage race, and Rob finished in 26th.
After the race, we hung out at Rob's parent's place for some burgers, brats, and copious amounts of recovery beer. The team owes a lot of thanks to Rob Sr. & Susan Love, Marty, and Stuart for their logistic and feed zone support. I saw plenty of teams relying on neutral support, and it was so nice to have our own dedicated support team.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Gila Stage 4 - Crit
Another day, another race. Today was the criterium in downtown Silver City.
One of the great thing about Blue Sky Velo is that we have enough people to take up some space and set up a nice warmup tent. (I'll eventually post some pictures. Slight rant - Ross took some pictures with his Sony camera which uses its proprietary memory stick, and doesn't even have a standard USB interface. Screw you Sony!) We rolled up to the marking lot early coned off some spots for our other cars and our warmup tent.
The start line was a little hectic for me. I got to the start/finish area a little later than I wanted, and I still had to sign in. (In stage races you need to sign in.) The annoying race official wouldn't let me cross the road to sign in because there was still a racer on the road. A single racer. Nevermind she was like 3 minutes away from crossing the finish line. So lame.
Eventually I got signed in and ended up getting a spot in the second row. I had wanted to line up on the inside because there was a narrow corner shortly after the start line and I didn't want to get guttered on the outside, but I ended up being on the far outside. The race started surprisingly slow (I thought), and I easily made my way to the front of the race and took the narrow corner without an issue. It turns out that the corner wasn't as narrow as I thought it was, so the rest of the race it wasn't a problem.
The course was pretty non-technical. Only four corners. The main "feature" of the course was a climb between the 2nd and 3rd corners. The first couple times through this section were hard on my legs. After that, though, I was punching up it pretty easily every time.
I spent time all over in the pack - sometimes in the back, sometimes in the middle, and a few times I went off the front. It's common to have sprint laps in a crit where a prize is given to the first person across the line. They're called prime laps (pronounced "preem"). Coming up to the fourth corner on a prime lap, I managed to get off the front. It wasn't really my intention, but it just worked out. I thought it was a prime lap, but I wasn't sure since nobody else seemed to be contesting it. While I was off the front, Rob was behind me on the front of the pack doing an excellent job of blocking. I took the prime without even getting out of the saddle. My huge prize was a pair of socks and $20.
With 6 laps to go, Rob got a flat. Fortunately we were just coming up on the wheel pit, so he pulled in and got a wheel from SRAM neutral support. If you're going to get a flat in a crit, it's pretty sweet if SRAM is there to give you a ZIPP 404 carbon wheel. You're allowed to free lap in a crit if you have a mechanical, so Rob was able to hop back in the group the next time we came around. And boy did he ever come back into the group. I was near the front and Rob passed me going mach 1 through the outside of the first corner.
Towards the end of the race, people were riding really sketchy. I wanted to get around them and up towards the front, but I just could find good lines through the crowd. I think if I was more confident in the corners, I could have worked up to the front. I'm going to work on it. I normally don't even bother to sprint at the end of the crit because there's not much of a reason to sprint for 30 place (or wherever I happen to be placed). I decided to see how my legs felt today and I did some sprinting. I bet I passed a half dozen people in the final stretch, so that was cool.
I'm not sure where exactly I finished, but I was in the lead group. Rob unleashed a sweet sprint and took 4th.
We had someone take 4th in the 3's race too. Unfortunately, one of our guys went down hard on the last lap of that race. The initial stories I've heard were that somebody put a handlebar into Jeremy and took him out. (This guy had apparently been displaying some poor decision making throughout the race too.) Jeremy got some road rash, but he doesn't appear to have broken any bones. He hit the deck hard though, and cracked his helmet. As a precaution, they took him to the hospital. I'm still waiting to get an update. It's been a rough couple days for Jeremy after a terrific start to the race. I hope he can race tomorrow.
One of the great thing about Blue Sky Velo is that we have enough people to take up some space and set up a nice warmup tent. (I'll eventually post some pictures. Slight rant - Ross took some pictures with his Sony camera which uses its proprietary memory stick, and doesn't even have a standard USB interface. Screw you Sony!) We rolled up to the marking lot early coned off some spots for our other cars and our warmup tent.
The start line was a little hectic for me. I got to the start/finish area a little later than I wanted, and I still had to sign in. (In stage races you need to sign in.) The annoying race official wouldn't let me cross the road to sign in because there was still a racer on the road. A single racer. Nevermind she was like 3 minutes away from crossing the finish line. So lame.
Eventually I got signed in and ended up getting a spot in the second row. I had wanted to line up on the inside because there was a narrow corner shortly after the start line and I didn't want to get guttered on the outside, but I ended up being on the far outside. The race started surprisingly slow (I thought), and I easily made my way to the front of the race and took the narrow corner without an issue. It turns out that the corner wasn't as narrow as I thought it was, so the rest of the race it wasn't a problem.
The course was pretty non-technical. Only four corners. The main "feature" of the course was a climb between the 2nd and 3rd corners. The first couple times through this section were hard on my legs. After that, though, I was punching up it pretty easily every time.
I spent time all over in the pack - sometimes in the back, sometimes in the middle, and a few times I went off the front. It's common to have sprint laps in a crit where a prize is given to the first person across the line. They're called prime laps (pronounced "preem"). Coming up to the fourth corner on a prime lap, I managed to get off the front. It wasn't really my intention, but it just worked out. I thought it was a prime lap, but I wasn't sure since nobody else seemed to be contesting it. While I was off the front, Rob was behind me on the front of the pack doing an excellent job of blocking. I took the prime without even getting out of the saddle. My huge prize was a pair of socks and $20.
With 6 laps to go, Rob got a flat. Fortunately we were just coming up on the wheel pit, so he pulled in and got a wheel from SRAM neutral support. If you're going to get a flat in a crit, it's pretty sweet if SRAM is there to give you a ZIPP 404 carbon wheel. You're allowed to free lap in a crit if you have a mechanical, so Rob was able to hop back in the group the next time we came around. And boy did he ever come back into the group. I was near the front and Rob passed me going mach 1 through the outside of the first corner.
Towards the end of the race, people were riding really sketchy. I wanted to get around them and up towards the front, but I just could find good lines through the crowd. I think if I was more confident in the corners, I could have worked up to the front. I'm going to work on it. I normally don't even bother to sprint at the end of the crit because there's not much of a reason to sprint for 30 place (or wherever I happen to be placed). I decided to see how my legs felt today and I did some sprinting. I bet I passed a half dozen people in the final stretch, so that was cool.
I'm not sure where exactly I finished, but I was in the lead group. Rob unleashed a sweet sprint and took 4th.
We had someone take 4th in the 3's race too. Unfortunately, one of our guys went down hard on the last lap of that race. The initial stories I've heard were that somebody put a handlebar into Jeremy and took him out. (This guy had apparently been displaying some poor decision making throughout the race too.) Jeremy got some road rash, but he doesn't appear to have broken any bones. He hit the deck hard though, and cracked his helmet. As a precaution, they took him to the hospital. I'm still waiting to get an update. It's been a rough couple days for Jeremy after a terrific start to the race. I hope he can race tomorrow.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Gila Stage 3 - Time Trial
This was my third TT ever, and I'm really not a fan. I'm not sure where I finished in the group, but I dropped from 18th on the general classification to somewhere in the mid 20's.
Rob killed it in the TT and beat me by 3 minutes. He's sitting somewhere in the top 15 on GC so hopefully he can keep it together for Sunday's final road race.
In the 3's, Barry had an awesome race and finished top 10, which puts him in 6th overall. Jeremy didn't fare as well. He clipped one of the cones on the road and took a nasty spill. Even with a crash and a wheel change, he still beat my time. :)
One of these days I'll make good on my plan to get out and do hard workouts on my TT bike. One of these days...
Rob killed it in the TT and beat me by 3 minutes. He's sitting somewhere in the top 15 on GC so hopefully he can keep it together for Sunday's final road race.
In the 3's, Barry had an awesome race and finished top 10, which puts him in 6th overall. Jeremy didn't fare as well. He clipped one of the cones on the road and took a nasty spill. Even with a crash and a wheel change, he still beat my time. :)
One of these days I'll make good on my plan to get out and do hard workouts on my TT bike. One of these days...
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Gila Stage 2
After anxiously waiting through stage 1, the 4's finally got to start the 2008 Tour of the Gila. Our stage today took us 64.2 miles from Pinos Altos, NM to Fort Bayard, NM.
The race started out fast with a descent followed by some tough climbing. With so much effort required early in the race, we decided to warm up for about 15-20 minutes on trainers at the start area. I was really surprised at how fast the race started out and I gave it all I had to make sure I stayed with the group. I had been warned that I needed to stay with the group over the Meadow Creek climb, because otherwise you'll never catch up later. I wasn't really sure how far into the race that climb was, so I kept waiting for it. At some point I looked over to Rob and asked him when it was coming and he laughed at me as he told me we passed it a while ago. Sweet, I made it.
There was some crazy descending on this course. I was about 20 feet behind some guy who came into a corner way too hot. Smoke and burning rubber were in the air as he locked up his wheels and went head over heels off the road. Glad I missed out on that adventure. Being the sweet descender, Rob and a few other guys got a nice gap of around 30 seconds at this point. Eventually, Rob decided that it wasn't a good idea to be in that break with so much time left in the day and he came back to the group.
Rob was the man all day keeping me informed of what was coming up on the course - There's a bump up over there...We're going over that ridge...We're climbing that saddle... That was hugely helpful since I've never ridden these roads before. I don't think I would have made it up the final climbs without him there to keep me going.
The break stayed away for quite a while, but we finally reeled them in on the final big climbs. We hit a nasty headwind going here which kept the pack at a pretty reasonable pace. Anyone who tried to attack immediately got blasted by the wind and tired out. I didn't think I was going to be able to hang on through a couple of those accelerations, but I dug deep and stayed with the group.
I wasn't well positioned on our descent into Fort Bayard and found myself on the back of the group more often than not. At 500m to go, I ramped it up just to make sure I would finish with the pack and not lose any time. I was surprised at how well my legs performed. Maybe next time I'll have to make sure I get closer to the front.
I'm not sure what places we got, but Rob and I both finished with the lead group which is way more than I expected to be able to do here. We were both totally stoked with the good result.
The race started out fast with a descent followed by some tough climbing. With so much effort required early in the race, we decided to warm up for about 15-20 minutes on trainers at the start area. I was really surprised at how fast the race started out and I gave it all I had to make sure I stayed with the group. I had been warned that I needed to stay with the group over the Meadow Creek climb, because otherwise you'll never catch up later. I wasn't really sure how far into the race that climb was, so I kept waiting for it. At some point I looked over to Rob and asked him when it was coming and he laughed at me as he told me we passed it a while ago. Sweet, I made it.
There was some crazy descending on this course. I was about 20 feet behind some guy who came into a corner way too hot. Smoke and burning rubber were in the air as he locked up his wheels and went head over heels off the road. Glad I missed out on that adventure. Being the sweet descender, Rob and a few other guys got a nice gap of around 30 seconds at this point. Eventually, Rob decided that it wasn't a good idea to be in that break with so much time left in the day and he came back to the group.
Rob was the man all day keeping me informed of what was coming up on the course - There's a bump up over there...We're going over that ridge...We're climbing that saddle... That was hugely helpful since I've never ridden these roads before. I don't think I would have made it up the final climbs without him there to keep me going.
The break stayed away for quite a while, but we finally reeled them in on the final big climbs. We hit a nasty headwind going here which kept the pack at a pretty reasonable pace. Anyone who tried to attack immediately got blasted by the wind and tired out. I didn't think I was going to be able to hang on through a couple of those accelerations, but I dug deep and stayed with the group.
I wasn't well positioned on our descent into Fort Bayard and found myself on the back of the group more often than not. At 500m to go, I ramped it up just to make sure I would finish with the pack and not lose any time. I was surprised at how well my legs performed. Maybe next time I'll have to make sure I get closer to the front.
I'm not sure what places we got, but Rob and I both finished with the lead group which is way more than I expected to be able to do here. We were both totally stoked with the good result.
Gila Stage 1
The Cat 3's raced 73 miles from Silver City finishing with a sick climb up to Mogollon. The 4's didn't race today, so we spent the morning working the feed zones for our teammates. I was worried about screwing up and not being able to get them bottles, but it all worked out well and everyone got their feed.
At the end of the day, we have 2 guys within a few minutes of the lead. Hopefully they can orchestrate something during stage 2 and get some of that time.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tour of the Gila
Tomorrow morning I embark on a journey to the Tour of the Gila in Silver City New Mexico. I'll be racing 4 stages starting Thursday May 1, and finishing Sunday May 4:
Stage 1: 64 mile road race
Stage 2: 16 mile time trial
Stage 3: 15 mile crit
Stage 4: 72 mile road race
I don't feel like I'm in particularly good race shape, but hopefully I can hang. There will be a lot of people there brining their 'A' game and I feel like I'm bringing B+ at best. Hopefully I can screw up other people's 'A' games. :)
We've got a team of 4 guys in the cat 4's and 5 in the cat 3's, so Blue Sky will be making a solid showing visually if not results-wise. We even got some last minute door magnets for the cars we're driving down, so people will know we mean business.
I'm all set up to post via iPhone to Flickr and LiveJournal so stay tuned for updates.
Stage 1: 64 mile road race
Stage 2: 16 mile time trial
Stage 3: 15 mile crit
Stage 4: 72 mile road race
I don't feel like I'm in particularly good race shape, but hopefully I can hang. There will be a lot of people there brining their 'A' game and I feel like I'm bringing B+ at best. Hopefully I can screw up other people's 'A' games. :)
We've got a team of 4 guys in the cat 4's and 5 in the cat 3's, so Blue Sky will be making a solid showing visually if not results-wise. We even got some last minute door magnets for the cars we're driving down, so people will know we mean business.
I'm all set up to post via iPhone to Flickr and LiveJournal so stay tuned for updates.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Race Weekend in Colorado Springs
Saturday morning, Christine and I packed up the wagon and went down to Colorado Springs for some bike racing and socializing.
We started our stay in Colorado Springs by meeting up with Christine's family at Colorado College (where her cousin is a freshman). After some lunch, I suited up for the criterium. Because of the way the arranged theose categories, I was able to do two races (a cat 4/5 race and a cat 3/4 race). First up was the 4/5. At the start line, I missed clipping into my pedal, but I didn't lose many places. The really killer part of the course was a short steep hill. That thing was surprisingly killer on my legs and lungs. After spending some time on the front and the back of the pack, I ended up finishing somewhere in the middle of the group.
Immediately after the 4/5 race, I had to line up for the 3/4 race. I was too tired for this fast paced group and only had about 15 minutes in my legs. It was killer. I wish I could have stayed in longer, but it wasn't meant to be.
Those were crits 3 and 4 for me this year, which is 4 more than I did last year. I don't care how many crits I do, I'll still be nervous at the start line. I am, however, feeling better during the race.
In a stroke of great luck, Jamie had a birthday party on the same weekend were were planning on being in Colorado Springs. We spent the evening catching up with some people that we don't get to see too often and it was a great time. I hated that I had to get up at 5AM the next morning because I would have loved to stay later.
The race du jour for Sunday was the Air Force Academy road race. It's a great course, and I'm happy they put on a race. My start time was 7AM (ugh), so we got up really early to eat breakfast and get all my crap together. As usual, Christine was the ultimate teammate, pinning on my number and helping me get my other stuff together.
I was able to stay at the front of the race pretty easily. My fitness is better than in past years, but also my comfort level in the pack has improved greatly. When we hit the climbing section on the first lap, we paced picked up a bit, but it wasn't too much of a struggle to hang on. When we hit the climbing section on the second lap, I made a mistake.
For the whole race there were two teams that regularly had 3-4 guys at the front of the group. When the climb really started, those two teams each had a rider attack. I was at the front of the group and decided to sit up and see what would happen with their move. Shockingly, their teammates flew by me and pulled the whole group with them. It's amazing. For those not familiar with bike racing, when your teammate attacks you shouldn't tow the rest of the field up to them.
I misjudged how small our group had gotten, and I soon found myself off the back and not able to accelerate enough to catch back on. Without the shelter of the pack, I was left to fight the wind solo and I could never catch them. In the end, I crossed the line in 20th place. Not bad, but I know I had the legs to do better. It was another good race learning experience.
Next up on the racing schedule: The Tour of the Gila in New Mexico.
We started our stay in Colorado Springs by meeting up with Christine's family at Colorado College (where her cousin is a freshman). After some lunch, I suited up for the criterium. Because of the way the arranged theose categories, I was able to do two races (a cat 4/5 race and a cat 3/4 race). First up was the 4/5. At the start line, I missed clipping into my pedal, but I didn't lose many places. The really killer part of the course was a short steep hill. That thing was surprisingly killer on my legs and lungs. After spending some time on the front and the back of the pack, I ended up finishing somewhere in the middle of the group.
Immediately after the 4/5 race, I had to line up for the 3/4 race. I was too tired for this fast paced group and only had about 15 minutes in my legs. It was killer. I wish I could have stayed in longer, but it wasn't meant to be.
Those were crits 3 and 4 for me this year, which is 4 more than I did last year. I don't care how many crits I do, I'll still be nervous at the start line. I am, however, feeling better during the race.
In a stroke of great luck, Jamie had a birthday party on the same weekend were were planning on being in Colorado Springs. We spent the evening catching up with some people that we don't get to see too often and it was a great time. I hated that I had to get up at 5AM the next morning because I would have loved to stay later.
The race du jour for Sunday was the Air Force Academy road race. It's a great course, and I'm happy they put on a race. My start time was 7AM (ugh), so we got up really early to eat breakfast and get all my crap together. As usual, Christine was the ultimate teammate, pinning on my number and helping me get my other stuff together.
I was able to stay at the front of the race pretty easily. My fitness is better than in past years, but also my comfort level in the pack has improved greatly. When we hit the climbing section on the first lap, we paced picked up a bit, but it wasn't too much of a struggle to hang on. When we hit the climbing section on the second lap, I made a mistake.
For the whole race there were two teams that regularly had 3-4 guys at the front of the group. When the climb really started, those two teams each had a rider attack. I was at the front of the group and decided to sit up and see what would happen with their move. Shockingly, their teammates flew by me and pulled the whole group with them. It's amazing. For those not familiar with bike racing, when your teammate attacks you shouldn't tow the rest of the field up to them.
I misjudged how small our group had gotten, and I soon found myself off the back and not able to accelerate enough to catch back on. Without the shelter of the pack, I was left to fight the wind solo and I could never catch them. In the end, I crossed the line in 20th place. Not bad, but I know I had the legs to do better. It was another good race learning experience.
Next up on the racing schedule: The Tour of the Gila in New Mexico.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Weekend Riding and Racing
I got out Saturday on for a nice 60 mile, 5000' climbing day through Buckhorn and Rist canyons. My legs felt pretty good and I pushed hard all day. It was the best I've felt on that ride in a long time.
I need to get ready for a stage race at the end of the month, so I followed up Saturday's climbing day with a circuit race in Golden. Part of my goal was to also gain some more confidence/experience in criteriums.
Each lap of this particular race has some high speed downhill cornering and a killer little hill. I did fairly well at getting myself near the front of this race. The real killed on the course was the climb and, more importantly, the corner before it. Since I wasn't on the front at the corner before the hill, I ended up having to brake hard and then really get on the gas to get back with the group. That braking and surging finally killed me and I got dropped along with one of my teammates.
The high speed corners on this course were good practice for me (and they were fun). My teammate (Rob) can rally corner well, so I was following his lines and it really helped out.
I ended up finishing 10th place (out of 40+ finishers) which is a great result for me. Maybe spending money on a power meter this year was a good idea. :)
I'm currently "recovering" on the couch with Belgian blonde and quadruple ales while I watch the Tour of Flanders (a.k.a Ronde von Vlaanderen), a classic Belgian bike race.
I need to get ready for a stage race at the end of the month, so I followed up Saturday's climbing day with a circuit race in Golden. Part of my goal was to also gain some more confidence/experience in criteriums.
Each lap of this particular race has some high speed downhill cornering and a killer little hill. I did fairly well at getting myself near the front of this race. The real killed on the course was the climb and, more importantly, the corner before it. Since I wasn't on the front at the corner before the hill, I ended up having to brake hard and then really get on the gas to get back with the group. That braking and surging finally killed me and I got dropped along with one of my teammates.
The high speed corners on this course were good practice for me (and they were fun). My teammate (Rob) can rally corner well, so I was following his lines and it really helped out.
I ended up finishing 10th place (out of 40+ finishers) which is a great result for me. Maybe spending money on a power meter this year was a good idea. :)
I'm currently "recovering" on the couch with Belgian blonde and quadruple ales while I watch the Tour of Flanders (a.k.a Ronde von Vlaanderen), a classic Belgian bike race.
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