By Ed Price
I raced the Northern California/Nevada District Criterium Championships held on September 1st, 2013 at an industrial park in Pleasanton in the 55-59 age group. I was the last "official" finisher in 18th place, out of around 30 who started the race.
On Saturday, I decided to race the District Criterium Championships the following day. Pleasanton is a short drive and my race (55-59) started late morning (11:00 am). Because I missed the Dunningan Hills and San Ardo road races in mid-August with a nasty flu, it was my last shot at racing this year.
This was the same course used two years ago for the district criterium championships, although back then the race was held in early May instead of early September. What a difference 16 weeks makes on attendance. When the race was held in early May, my field hit the 100-man limit, but this time there were only around 30 riders. The course was a .very fast 0.9 mile, clockwise, three corner affair with wide roads, and excellent pavement.
My training was going reasonably well in June and July, I was pointing for the Dunningan Hills RR and the San Ardo RR in mid August when a nasty flu hit me hard a few days before Dunningan Hills. I haven't missed Dunningan Hills in seven years or San Ardo in 18 years, but I missed both of them this year.
This left only a few weeks to regain some strength and even though I wasn't even close to being at my best, I went anyway.
My race was a 50 minute timed effort. Lapped riders would be pulled. I was hoping to make it to the 15 or 20 minute mark before being pulled. Then I saw Larry Nolan at the starting line and my confidence fell like a lead balloon, heck I might last only ten minutes.
The race started fast but quickly settled down to a manageable 24 to 25 miles per hour average. Larry Nolan was at the back of the race reminiscing with me about the good old days of cycling. We chatted and laughed and commiserated until someone in the peleton told us to "put a sock in it" because they were losing their concentration.
Maybe Larry Nolan was not in shape, or over-trained, or under-trained, or, as it turned out, simply waiting for one decisive, all-out attack to the finish. I was feeling OK at 10 minutes, at 15 minutes, at 20 minutes and even at 25 minutes. I thought I might make it the whole way.
However, right around the 30 minute mark, Larry Nolan attacked from the very back of the group. I was right there, in perfect position to take his wheel, which I did, for about two seconds! Then he was gone, up the road and gaining distance with every pedal stroke. First, the pack strung out in a long single file as everyone tried to grab Larry's wheel, to no avail, then gaps started to open up. I found myself on a wheel that was gaped, went around but couldn't get back to the main group.
I had 20 minutes to avoid being lapped or I would be pulled from the race. I rode as hard as I could with two other riders until they dropped off, and then rode on alone. I was still averaging around 24 to 25 miles per hour when Larry Nolan lapped me so fast I couldn't believe it, he was riding 30 miles per hour and didn't look like he was slowing in the least.
The main field caught me at minute 42 and I was pulled from the race with eight minutes to go. Larry Nolan eventually caught the field, rode right by them, and no one could grab his wheel. He averaged 29.7 miles per hour for the last 20 minutes of the race. The guy is in a different class that the rest of us and I am thankful he didn't decide to attack from the start or my race would have been a very short affair.
Eddy Price
Showing posts with label criteriums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label criteriums. Show all posts
Friday, September 27, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Suisun Harbor Criterium, E4/5
After a two month hiatus from racing (and a 4 month break from my last crit), I was back in action last week at the Suisun Harbor Criterium. I've been eager to get back into racing since I've been training really hard these past few months, but unfortunately every race I've targeted has either been canceled (What construction, UCSC?) or I've had to miss it for the never ending stream of weddings, some of which I was the Reverend (officiant). Nevertheless, with a family birthday party in the East Bay Saturday evening, I had a great excuse to travel North and get a race in.
I had to get up extra early since being a cat 4 racer means you get the unfortunately early racing times that other people have earned the right to avoid. Still, the weather was great, and I was pumped up to give it a go. The field was about 45 riders, and my plan of attack was to follow the three guys from Audi as close as I could, since they had two guys who had seemingly taken turns winning every other crit over the past few months. The course was fairly small (~0.4 mile), really your most typical flat four corner clockwise circuit.
The race started off fast. I quickly found myself near the back using way too much energy to stay in contact. More than anything, I felt rusty riding in a fast pack and flying through corners. Though my legs were in pain (thanks George, Nils, Mark, and crew on Saturday...), I felt ready to go. I was more or less chasing the first third, but then midway through the race, I found myself smiling, willing to the embrace the pain, and a sick desire to inflict hurt on the pack. After a few laps, I had worked up to the front, and bridged up to a guy off the front. When I got up to him, he had this look on his face like he was going to cry, and he had stopped pedaling, so I knew a break at that point wasn't feasible. The pack caught up with us again fairly quickly and I was mid pack so I could save energy for the last few laps.
Towards the end, I decided my goal was to be no less than 5th wheel on the last lap so I could have a decent shot in the sprint. As the laps ticked away, I moved up slowly. On the second to last lap, I was indeed fifth wheel and was trying to hold it desperately as we approached the line with one lap to go. Unfortunately, a Team Mike's Bike's guy surging up the side on my left haphazardly gave me a Cavendish like shoulder bump (see: Stage 10, 2013 TdF) and my left hand fell off the drop. After a few moments of terror, I managed to keep the bike upright, but the real damage was that I had dropped 10 or so positions back. I hammered hard, but on a small course, it's hard to gain that much position that fast, particularly on the final lap.
The results haven't been posted yet, but I imagine I finished 15th or so out of the 45 racers. Frustrating to have had such a good race fall apart in the end, but I'm happy that I was able to get back out there and put forth a good effort, and it felt like my training had helped out big time, particularly the anaerobic efforts I've been focusing on. Definitely the first race where I felt like a contender instead of just a competitor. And there's a number of crits that I plan on doing over the next month (Giro di SF, Concord, Oakland GP), so at least I'll have other opportunities to place well.
Result: 17/42
I had to get up extra early since being a cat 4 racer means you get the unfortunately early racing times that other people have earned the right to avoid. Still, the weather was great, and I was pumped up to give it a go. The field was about 45 riders, and my plan of attack was to follow the three guys from Audi as close as I could, since they had two guys who had seemingly taken turns winning every other crit over the past few months. The course was fairly small (~0.4 mile), really your most typical flat four corner clockwise circuit.
The race started off fast. I quickly found myself near the back using way too much energy to stay in contact. More than anything, I felt rusty riding in a fast pack and flying through corners. Though my legs were in pain (thanks George, Nils, Mark, and crew on Saturday...), I felt ready to go. I was more or less chasing the first third, but then midway through the race, I found myself smiling, willing to the embrace the pain, and a sick desire to inflict hurt on the pack. After a few laps, I had worked up to the front, and bridged up to a guy off the front. When I got up to him, he had this look on his face like he was going to cry, and he had stopped pedaling, so I knew a break at that point wasn't feasible. The pack caught up with us again fairly quickly and I was mid pack so I could save energy for the last few laps.
Towards the end, I decided my goal was to be no less than 5th wheel on the last lap so I could have a decent shot in the sprint. As the laps ticked away, I moved up slowly. On the second to last lap, I was indeed fifth wheel and was trying to hold it desperately as we approached the line with one lap to go. Unfortunately, a Team Mike's Bike's guy surging up the side on my left haphazardly gave me a Cavendish like shoulder bump (see: Stage 10, 2013 TdF) and my left hand fell off the drop. After a few moments of terror, I managed to keep the bike upright, but the real damage was that I had dropped 10 or so positions back. I hammered hard, but on a small course, it's hard to gain that much position that fast, particularly on the final lap.
The results haven't been posted yet, but I imagine I finished 15th or so out of the 45 racers. Frustrating to have had such a good race fall apart in the end, but I'm happy that I was able to get back out there and put forth a good effort, and it felt like my training had helped out big time, particularly the anaerobic efforts I've been focusing on. Definitely the first race where I felt like a contender instead of just a competitor. And there's a number of crits that I plan on doing over the next month (Giro di SF, Concord, Oakland GP), so at least I'll have other opportunities to place well.
Result: 17/42
Monday, April 15, 2013
Santa Cruz Classic Criterium XLV, 45+ 1/2/3, 4/14/2013
By Dennis Pedersen
I never feel too optimistic about this technical race in my home town, but I do enjoy it anyway! Now in its 45th year, and my 9th try, I know the 9-turn course on Santa Cruz's historic Beach Hill like no other; it is not a sprinter's course at all with its hairpin, many turns, hills and wind.
I always try to get my wife, family and friends to come out to spectate and this year I succeeded again. It is truly cool to have people yell your name from the side of the course as you suffer through yet another attack from those crazies up ahead!
It sure felt fast, as always; our average speed was over 26 MPH (assuming 20 laps, each 9/10ths of a mile, in 40 minutes). Several times I was close to giving up but then I'd get a few short breaths to recover and feel like I could eke out another lap. A few laps I had to let the leaders pull away so I could recover, but every time I managed to find the strength, and openings in the pack, to move back to the front.
Unbeknownst to me Larry Nolan and a guy from PrimeTime somehow managed to pull away from everybody for several laps. Mind-boggling. Anyway, their teammates blocked for a while (one of them aggressively, I'm told) but Larry dropped him later on and was holding a nice lead over us, barely.
Well, I was getting a bit weak, and on the last lap I tried unsuccessfully to move ahead... it's hard to steer safely when you're cross-eyed from effort. Max Mack nearly came to an unpleasant end in the gutter just before the hairpin, but I don't think anybody ever crashed in our race. One side of me kept trying to advance while the other side of me kept advising to keep 1% in reserve for the sprint. It never seems to work here and I was still a ways back, maybe 20th as we rounded the final turn.
But I did see Larry win up ahead, just ahead of Patrick Briggs and Steve Heaton, just as I finished, feeling surprisingly strong, in 16th place, so for me it was a personal success! Even better was cheering on Nils and others in the Pro/1/2 race, and getting together with friends afterward and celebrating another gorgeous day of racing.
A journalist wrote a nice race article in the Sentinel too (I'm in photo #2). And Margaret took a bunch of photos that I have saved to a Snapfish album.
I guess I'll be back next year!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
NCNCA Master Men Criterium State Championships, 50-54
By Dennis Pedersen
Last year I managed to get 5th in this State Championship, and this year I was hoping to improve on that with a podium finish. For that reason I accepted the offer of Jeff Solt to coach me for the month prior to the race. The workouts were a painfully 'fun' change from my standard weekly program and consisted of very short intervals with limited recovery; no long intervals at all.
I drove up with John Schaupp and we warmed up a bit and chacked out the course. It was a neat undulating course with some slight hills too, though it was a bit windy. All of that made me think a breakaway group could form and win. Since I was alone in my race (John started with me but was in the 55-59 group) I felt that I needed to go with as many attacks as I could or risk missing out. So I was determined not to sit in but to stay near the front and try to go with any attacks. Maybe I could even stay with a successful one and try out my sprint at the finish.
The main instigators turned out to be Team Echelon including Hunter Ziesing and Dirk Himley, plus the super-strong Specialized Masters with Larry Nolan, Bubba Melcher and Don Langley. So when I saw Don take off after a few fast laps, with an Echelon rider in hot pursuit, I went 100% to grab their draft and go with them. I was pretty blown out, but I was hoping we would start a paceline that would keep us ahead of the main pack. Instead Don looked over his shoulder a few times before he decided he didn't like what he saw and sat up. Was I bummed as we drifted back to the pack..
Then Bubba attacked while I was recovering so I couldn't go with him... classic team tactics. Dirk Himley and a couple others went with Bubba while their teammates blocked and thus was born the winning break. I was now in the situation I didn't want to be in: Trying to get the others in the pack motivated and organized so we could chase down the 4-man break. Only 5 or so guys ended up contributing much to the chase, so we weren't really at an advantage at all given the break was 4 highly-motivated and strong riders.
Even so we almost caught the break on the last lap. But so many guys didn't help that they were still ahead as we started the sprint. By then I was so tired from all of that pulling that I couldn't follow when a dozen guys flew by me on the right, heading up to the last 90-degree right turn.
As we went through the last zig-zag two exhausted guys from the break got caught, but Bubba and Dirk took 1st and 2nd. Don Langley managed to pass the two dropped guys from the break and take 3rd. He'd been sitting in and blocking a bit so he was fresh. I flew up that last little hill and passed a few guys but that was still too far back. I ended up in 16th.
So I was disappointed that I wasn't able to translate my improved fitness into any sort of result. And there were some harsh words thrown out by others even more disappointed. Oh well, there's always next year, right?
Last year I managed to get 5th in this State Championship, and this year I was hoping to improve on that with a podium finish. For that reason I accepted the offer of Jeff Solt to coach me for the month prior to the race. The workouts were a painfully 'fun' change from my standard weekly program and consisted of very short intervals with limited recovery; no long intervals at all.
I drove up with John Schaupp and we warmed up a bit and chacked out the course. It was a neat undulating course with some slight hills too, though it was a bit windy. All of that made me think a breakaway group could form and win. Since I was alone in my race (John started with me but was in the 55-59 group) I felt that I needed to go with as many attacks as I could or risk missing out. So I was determined not to sit in but to stay near the front and try to go with any attacks. Maybe I could even stay with a successful one and try out my sprint at the finish.
The main instigators turned out to be Team Echelon including Hunter Ziesing and Dirk Himley, plus the super-strong Specialized Masters with Larry Nolan, Bubba Melcher and Don Langley. So when I saw Don take off after a few fast laps, with an Echelon rider in hot pursuit, I went 100% to grab their draft and go with them. I was pretty blown out, but I was hoping we would start a paceline that would keep us ahead of the main pack. Instead Don looked over his shoulder a few times before he decided he didn't like what he saw and sat up. Was I bummed as we drifted back to the pack..
Then Bubba attacked while I was recovering so I couldn't go with him... classic team tactics. Dirk Himley and a couple others went with Bubba while their teammates blocked and thus was born the winning break. I was now in the situation I didn't want to be in: Trying to get the others in the pack motivated and organized so we could chase down the 4-man break. Only 5 or so guys ended up contributing much to the chase, so we weren't really at an advantage at all given the break was 4 highly-motivated and strong riders.
Even so we almost caught the break on the last lap. But so many guys didn't help that they were still ahead as we started the sprint. By then I was so tired from all of that pulling that I couldn't follow when a dozen guys flew by me on the right, heading up to the last 90-degree right turn.
As we went through the last zig-zag two exhausted guys from the break got caught, but Bubba and Dirk took 1st and 2nd. Don Langley managed to pass the two dropped guys from the break and take 3rd. He'd been sitting in and blocking a bit so he was fresh. I flew up that last little hill and passed a few guys but that was still too far back. I ended up in 16th.
So I was disappointed that I wasn't able to translate my improved fitness into any sort of result. And there were some harsh words thrown out by others even more disappointed. Oh well, there's always next year, right?
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Menlo Park Grand Prix, 35+ 1/2/3, 7/22/2012
By Dennis Pedersen
Executive summary: I raced in the 35+ 1/2/3 race. It was too fast for me.
This was their 7th annual race, and I have been to five of them. But the race was always early in the season and prone to nasty crashes because people are testing out their winter training or something, plus the course is often 6 or 8 turns. So I have skipped the last couple of years. I recently hired a coach, though, and he recommended I race more, so racing I went.
I watched Vlada in the 45+ 1/2/3 race earlier, and that race had a successful break with several chase groups. The moderate wind and 6-turn course can encourage guys to break away, and I thought that might happen in my race too so I was determined to follow any breaks. I also watched Michele Heaton win the women's District Championship for her age group, so don't be surprised to see her in a California jersey soon!
Speaking of women racers: Alison Tetrick, who you may have seen in those TV ads with Bob Roll, was in our race, along with over 50 dudes. The race started quite fast after a lap or two. When I heard a bell announcing our the first prime sprint, I considered trying for it. A SJBC rider went off the front, then a few others chased. I drafted them for a while, then sat up when I considered how hard I'd have to work to grab the win. It was hard enough already!
I did a good job of staying near the front for almost the entire race, and a couple of times I did a short bridge up to small breaks. I thought one with about six of us would stay away, but it didn't for long. I was told our race averaged 30 MPH, which I doubt; still it was quite fast.
Near the end I was still forward, but the pace was so high I was nervous I'd blow up completely. I felt really good, but even when drafting was at my limit on the last lap or two. Then the SJBC guys who were pulling at the front slowed down and we all got swarmed. So I ended up getting squeezed back. But going around seemed impossible, so I stayed tucked into the pack.
I did get to practice my sprint anyway as the pack disintegrated on the last lap, giving me lots of room to take 27th. Oh well, at least nobody crashed. The winner was Dean Laberge, wearing his National Championship jersey. He is also the California Champion... it must be rough having to decide which Championship jersey to wear.
What did I learn? While my fitness is good, I have noticed that I have a tendency to drop back a hair when I have guys on both sides of me, almost knocking bars together. Especially when we have a turn coming up. I really need to learn to hold my place in the pack; it's actually more dangerous to drop back than to maintain my place, bars-to-bars with the other riders. Let's see if I can apply what I learned next time!
More stories and photos.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Cherry Pie Criterium, 45+ 1/2/3, Napa, 2/5/2012
By Dennis Pedersen
This race ended up pretty much the same for me as it did last year; chasing down breaks that got shut down, then watching the winning break recede into the distance. That isn't to say I didn't have fun, I sure did, but the race also demonstrated why having teammates in a race is so much better than racing solo.
I really love technical criteriums, and the finish on this 1-mile course is slightly uphill, with about 20-30 seconds of climbing, while the rest of the course is flat. Perfect for me! The problem is that we make that climb about 18 times, and the many turns (about 9 turns, including a hard U-turn at the top of the climb) open up gaps in the pack of riders, so we end up working pretty hard before we start the last climb. And these courses often encourage guys to breakaway off the front, rather than drafting and resting for the final sprint. That happened last year, when a two-man break got away and they took 1st and 2nd.
Margaret and I drove up on Saturday and had a nice dinner before hitting the hay at the official race hotel, Meritage Resort at Napa—a very nice place that we'd definitely recommend. It was so nice being able to visit their brunch buffet and suit up in our hotel room (by the way, the new Voler skinsuits have an awesome fit). The hotel was right on the course, so we just walked to the start line. It was a bit of a shocker to write "51" as my race age at registration though!
The weather was a perfect 64 degrees as our 50-man field lined up for the start. I spotted the usual Championship stripes on the sleeves of many guys, but was also happy to see my friends Rob and Chris, from LGBRC, lined up after a long break from racing. Our race was to be 40 minutes.
I moved forward after the first lap to look for breaks. My hope was that I'd be able to join in with a few others from the bigger teams and stay away from the main pack so I could just sprint from a small group and have a good chance at a podium finish. One break formed before I could catch them, so I helped pull at the front a bit. After they got caught I tried to encourage more breaks, but nobody took the "bait." The best chance I had was when Hunter Ziesing (Echelon) and Max Mack (Health is Wealth) plus a guy from team Gnarlube (I think) took off and I bridged up to them before the gap got too big. But Hunter kept looking over his shoulder and soon sat up. I kept pulling for a bit, hoping somebody would join me, but without success.
After resting from one of my many attempts at forming or joining breaks I saw that guys from Team Specialized and Gnarlube were blocking. Clearly a break had formed while I was gasping for air and soon enough I could spot a 3-man break as they descended after the U-turn at the top of the hill. Darn, just what I had feared. I was able to partially ID them, thanks in part to the announcer (none other than Bruce Hildebrand), as Craig Roemer, "Jens" (Hillen, of Gnarlube) and a Team Bicycles Plus guy (Rodney Spradlin). And... that's how they finished the race.
When I could tell that there were no real efforts to chase them down, I decided to try a last-lap "flyer" by myself, in the hopes of finishing 4th. On the penultimate climb I pedaled hard out of the right-left chicane before the climb, got to top of the hill alone and through the U-turn with a sizable gap, then looked back to see how hard I was being chased down; rather hard, it turned out. I stayed away for 1/4 lap before they caught me, after which I simply tried to recover as near the front as I could. This netted me 17th place. My friend Rob squeezed past me just before the finish, which made me chuckle (as much as one can chuckle while almost vomiting from effort!).
Margaret took the great photos you see here; she has real talent! And after the race we visited the very excellent Patz & Hall tasting "Salon," right inside the race course, where Margaret promptly bought 8 bottles of premium wine and signed us up for their wine club—I would say she won my race!
This race ended up pretty much the same for me as it did last year; chasing down breaks that got shut down, then watching the winning break recede into the distance. That isn't to say I didn't have fun, I sure did, but the race also demonstrated why having teammates in a race is so much better than racing solo.
I really love technical criteriums, and the finish on this 1-mile course is slightly uphill, with about 20-30 seconds of climbing, while the rest of the course is flat. Perfect for me! The problem is that we make that climb about 18 times, and the many turns (about 9 turns, including a hard U-turn at the top of the climb) open up gaps in the pack of riders, so we end up working pretty hard before we start the last climb. And these courses often encourage guys to breakaway off the front, rather than drafting and resting for the final sprint. That happened last year, when a two-man break got away and they took 1st and 2nd.
Margaret and I drove up on Saturday and had a nice dinner before hitting the hay at the official race hotel, Meritage Resort at Napa—a very nice place that we'd definitely recommend. It was so nice being able to visit their brunch buffet and suit up in our hotel room (by the way, the new Voler skinsuits have an awesome fit). The hotel was right on the course, so we just walked to the start line. It was a bit of a shocker to write "51" as my race age at registration though!
 |
| Me at the front, trying to form a break out of the U-turn. |
I moved forward after the first lap to look for breaks. My hope was that I'd be able to join in with a few others from the bigger teams and stay away from the main pack so I could just sprint from a small group and have a good chance at a podium finish. One break formed before I could catch them, so I helped pull at the front a bit. After they got caught I tried to encourage more breaks, but nobody took the "bait." The best chance I had was when Hunter Ziesing (Echelon) and Max Mack (Health is Wealth) plus a guy from team Gnarlube (I think) took off and I bridged up to them before the gap got too big. But Hunter kept looking over his shoulder and soon sat up. I kept pulling for a bit, hoping somebody would join me, but without success.
 |
| The break descending as we start the climb. |
 |
| Rob pips me! |
Margaret took the great photos you see here; she has real talent! And after the race we visited the very excellent Patz & Hall tasting "Salon," right inside the race course, where Margaret promptly bought 8 bottles of premium wine and signed us up for their wine club—I would say she won my race!
Monday, August 22, 2011
NCNCA Masters State Criterium Championships, 50-54
By Dennis Pedersen
I've never raced the State Criterium Championships before, or been to Clovis, just north of Fresno, or been to a race with "Medical Control." I was able to check all of those things off my "bucket list" this weekend. While I was not excited about the 3-hour-long drive alone, I was happy to escape the chilly drizzle in Santa Cruz for a bit. This was my first year in the 50-54 age group, so I figured it was as good a year as any to try to win a coveted California State Championship jersey.
When I arrived in quaint Old Town Clovis I got to see John Schaupp race in the 55-59 field, and former teammate Amy Russo stand on the top of the podium for the Women's 45-49 race! Congratulations!
The flat course had 8 turns through a nice older downtown neighborhood, with clean, smooth pavement. A slight wind kept temperatures comfortable in the mid-70s. The announcer was none other than Bruce Hildenbrand. I warmed up a bit and ate a gel, feeling very relaxed and strong (thanks in part to advice from our team coaches!).
At the start line we counted just 17 riders in our field. I figured that would make for a safer, more fun race. On the other hand, most of them were guys with a legitimate chance of doing well, not just novices. Our race started a few minutes late, about 11:15, and was to go for 45 minutes.
When they blew the whistle we all clipped in and I was third wheel, right on World Champion Larry Nolan's wheel (Team Specialized Racing Masters). That's always a nice start! But he soon tired of being followed around and pulled out of the line and dropped back. The guy in front of me (I think from Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada) pulled for a couple of laps. Nobody came around, but he seemed happy to pull.
Then came our first attack: A rider in a black/red/yellow kit I didn't recognize jumped hard into turn 3 and soon had a nice gap on us, maybe 15 seconds, that he held for a few laps. Pretty impressive actually. But we soon caught him, thanks in part to me taking a hard 1-lap pull. I always debate whether I should pull, but I almost always end up deciding I should, in the interest of keeping the pace high and the race safe (worked; no crashes, in any of the races all day!).
After we caught that guy Larry jumped in the same place, into turn 3. Everybody reacted instantly and it started to feel like a real race! He didn't pull for too long though, and I really think it was just his idea of a hard tempo pace to string the pack out, not an attempt to escape us. Because after a few turns he looked back to see if anybody would pull through; they didn't. So, the pace relaxed again.
A few guys took pulls, as did I again, but it was clear most guys just wanted to conserve energy for the last lap. Smart, but boring. I think others started to feel the same way because then a guy from Safeway, I think Jonathan Laine, jumped ahead and gapped us for a little but was caught after a hard effort. Same went for the black/red/yellow jersey guy when he again attacked. Larry tried to speed things up again and when he was done pulling he even made an exaggerated sweeping gesture to get others to pull through. He said to me, "Dennis, nobody else wants to pull," which I took as a compliment to my humble efforts. Neither of us had teammates so it was incumbent on us to shape the race as best we could, though it is always frustrating when team riders don't appear to be making the same effort as we solo riders. That's just the way things are, it seems.
I was gasping a bit at times, but still felt good. I was really hoping the 8-turn course and small field would equalize things a bit for the guys just trying to rest at the back, since our pace would be smoother at the front and our draft would be weaker than in a big field, but I know I burned more energy than most of them did. Even so, with just a handful of laps remaining I was able to repsond to the increasing pace and even dared to hope I could be fresh enough for a strong sprint.
We were now hyper-alert, and a very hard attack from a Davis Bike Club rider was caught, barely. I was happy I could breathe for a bit at that point! Then Jess Raphael (VOS) really jumped with 1/2 lap to go... yikes! I'm not sure it helped his teammate, but I saw an opportunity to execute my own plan: I had decided early on that I wanted to start my sprint rather early, maybe 300m from the finish line, so I could avoid being squeezed against the curbs in the last turns and pushed back. And that's where Jess ran out of steam. As I flew through turn 7 I went hard around him and did a seated sprint into turn 8. I remained seated and spun fast toward the finish line ahead, with maybe a 20- to 30-foot gap, keeping close to the left barriers to deny any draft from the headwind slightly from the right. I really thought I might soon own a California Champion's jersey!
But early sprints are always risky and with just 50m to go several guys flew by me on my right side, while my lungs heaved for oxygen. Darn. I was hoping for a podium finish at least; while I think I counted 5 guys ahead of me I actually took 5th, per the official results. Sadly, while the podium had 5 steps on it, they only gave awards to the top 3: Steven Giles (VOS), Larry Nolan and Tim Lydon (San Jose Bike Club). I applauded them anyway, while hoping for a better result next time.
It took a long time before my breathing returned to normal; I really did give it all I had. I tried my best and finished honorably, proud that I had animated the race as best I could while still finishing well. And the 3-hour drive home was nice and relaxing, with beautiful views.
I've never raced the State Criterium Championships before, or been to Clovis, just north of Fresno, or been to a race with "Medical Control." I was able to check all of those things off my "bucket list" this weekend. While I was not excited about the 3-hour-long drive alone, I was happy to escape the chilly drizzle in Santa Cruz for a bit. This was my first year in the 50-54 age group, so I figured it was as good a year as any to try to win a coveted California State Championship jersey.
When I arrived in quaint Old Town Clovis I got to see John Schaupp race in the 55-59 field, and former teammate Amy Russo stand on the top of the podium for the Women's 45-49 race! Congratulations!
The flat course had 8 turns through a nice older downtown neighborhood, with clean, smooth pavement. A slight wind kept temperatures comfortable in the mid-70s. The announcer was none other than Bruce Hildenbrand. I warmed up a bit and ate a gel, feeling very relaxed and strong (thanks in part to advice from our team coaches!).
At the start line we counted just 17 riders in our field. I figured that would make for a safer, more fun race. On the other hand, most of them were guys with a legitimate chance of doing well, not just novices. Our race started a few minutes late, about 11:15, and was to go for 45 minutes.
When they blew the whistle we all clipped in and I was third wheel, right on World Champion Larry Nolan's wheel (Team Specialized Racing Masters). That's always a nice start! But he soon tired of being followed around and pulled out of the line and dropped back. The guy in front of me (I think from Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada) pulled for a couple of laps. Nobody came around, but he seemed happy to pull.
Then came our first attack: A rider in a black/red/yellow kit I didn't recognize jumped hard into turn 3 and soon had a nice gap on us, maybe 15 seconds, that he held for a few laps. Pretty impressive actually. But we soon caught him, thanks in part to me taking a hard 1-lap pull. I always debate whether I should pull, but I almost always end up deciding I should, in the interest of keeping the pace high and the race safe (worked; no crashes, in any of the races all day!).
After we caught that guy Larry jumped in the same place, into turn 3. Everybody reacted instantly and it started to feel like a real race! He didn't pull for too long though, and I really think it was just his idea of a hard tempo pace to string the pack out, not an attempt to escape us. Because after a few turns he looked back to see if anybody would pull through; they didn't. So, the pace relaxed again.
A few guys took pulls, as did I again, but it was clear most guys just wanted to conserve energy for the last lap. Smart, but boring. I think others started to feel the same way because then a guy from Safeway, I think Jonathan Laine, jumped ahead and gapped us for a little but was caught after a hard effort. Same went for the black/red/yellow jersey guy when he again attacked. Larry tried to speed things up again and when he was done pulling he even made an exaggerated sweeping gesture to get others to pull through. He said to me, "Dennis, nobody else wants to pull," which I took as a compliment to my humble efforts. Neither of us had teammates so it was incumbent on us to shape the race as best we could, though it is always frustrating when team riders don't appear to be making the same effort as we solo riders. That's just the way things are, it seems.
I was gasping a bit at times, but still felt good. I was really hoping the 8-turn course and small field would equalize things a bit for the guys just trying to rest at the back, since our pace would be smoother at the front and our draft would be weaker than in a big field, but I know I burned more energy than most of them did. Even so, with just a handful of laps remaining I was able to repsond to the increasing pace and even dared to hope I could be fresh enough for a strong sprint.
We were now hyper-alert, and a very hard attack from a Davis Bike Club rider was caught, barely. I was happy I could breathe for a bit at that point! Then Jess Raphael (VOS) really jumped with 1/2 lap to go... yikes! I'm not sure it helped his teammate, but I saw an opportunity to execute my own plan: I had decided early on that I wanted to start my sprint rather early, maybe 300m from the finish line, so I could avoid being squeezed against the curbs in the last turns and pushed back. And that's where Jess ran out of steam. As I flew through turn 7 I went hard around him and did a seated sprint into turn 8. I remained seated and spun fast toward the finish line ahead, with maybe a 20- to 30-foot gap, keeping close to the left barriers to deny any draft from the headwind slightly from the right. I really thought I might soon own a California Champion's jersey!
But early sprints are always risky and with just 50m to go several guys flew by me on my right side, while my lungs heaved for oxygen. Darn. I was hoping for a podium finish at least; while I think I counted 5 guys ahead of me I actually took 5th, per the official results. Sadly, while the podium had 5 steps on it, they only gave awards to the top 3: Steven Giles (VOS), Larry Nolan and Tim Lydon (San Jose Bike Club). I applauded them anyway, while hoping for a better result next time.
It took a long time before my breathing returned to normal; I really did give it all I had. I tried my best and finished honorably, proud that I had animated the race as best I could while still finishing well. And the 3-hour drive home was nice and relaxing, with beautiful views.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Santa Cruz Classic Criterium XLIII, 4/17/2011
By Dennis Pedersen The ghost of races past haunted me, with my DNF at last year's Santa Cruz Classic Criterium. But this technical course, with 9 swooping turns up and down Beach Hill, right above The Boardwalk, just minutes from home, is too cool too miss and this was my seventh attempt. So, I signed up for this race in spite of my misgivings and self-doubt.
This year I thought I might be more fit, thanks to reduced "junk miles" and more trainer workouts. Plus the more race-specific benefits from my track-racing sessions. And I was focused on not repeating the mistake that probably cost me the most last year; not staying near the front. Oh, and not having spare wheels ready in case of flat tires. Lessons I keep relearning.
My warmup was to ride with my spare wheels to the startline. Thankfully, Ken Sato was also racing so I wouldn't have to try to go with every break. With family and friends cheering me on I immediately started to move to the front of the pack and stayed there almost the entire race. One trick I use is to watch the guys I know who can win. If they are nearby then I'm good. They were, and some even appeared to be marking me! At about 10 laps into our 20-lap race (about 18 miles total) Ken bridged up to a solo break and eventually this turned into a 4-man break after some back-and-forth. Our new kit is harder to spot, so I wasn't entirely sure he was up there the whole time. But I never took any pulls that would have endangered Ken's chances out there. He has been riding stronger than I've ever seen and I was confident he could do well.
While other guys worked to catch the breaks I still had to keep moving forward just to maintain my place. Funny how that works. We were strung out in single file at times as they struggled to catch Ken's break, which they did. We averaged about 27 MPH overall, so it was hard, but not as hard as it seemed in past years. I'm still not sure if that is because I'm more fit or because we were in a 45+ age-group race, not a 35+ as before. With 2 laps remaining moving forward was getting harder but I was still near the front. As we started the last lap one guy was about 30 meters off the front just as I drifted around the pack; I could tell everybody knew we'd catch him and were waiting to see who'd take the first shot at the finishing sprint. I was now leading everybody out which I knew was a mistake. So I rode smoothly down to the hairpin and sat up on the right gutter to await the inevitable attack. It came in the form of a huge red streak, named Larry Nolan, who shot down the hill with guys trying hard to catch his wheel, to no avail. I latched on and managed to maintain my position well. But I was so afraid of blowing up (thanks to that darn ghost of races past!) that I probably held back too much after the last turn, so I was able to pass a few guys on Main Street, pipping one at the finish line. Woo-hoo! I finished about 12th place.
I felt I rode very smart and benefitted from Ken's efforts in the breaks. But on that last lap I probably could have either launched an attack before Larry's, though I'm not convinced it would have worked well, or maybe just worked a little harder to move up even before the last climb up Main Street. It's hard to say how different my results would have been. Afterward some of us were interviewed by a Santa Cruz Sentinel reporter and they printed a neat story. Thanks go to Margaret, for her awesome photography, and all the teammates, friends and family who cheered us on!
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Cherry Pie Criterium, 45+ 1/2/3, 2/6/2011
By Dennis Pedersen
What better way to celebrate one's 50th birthday than by going to Napa for a bike race! I always wanted to try this technical crit, with its varied turns and a small hill. But in past years I've always been out of town... celebrating my birthday one place or another. This year I put my foot down and made this race the centerpiece of a long weekend of partying!
Margaret and I, plus her sister and five of our friends, made the trek to Napa and really lived it up. On Saturday we had lunch at Brix, wine-tasting at Opus One and Turnbull, and a 7-course "omakase" dinner at famed Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant. On Sunday I had Nutella and banana crepes at Curbside Cafe before setting off for the race, just south of Napa in a business park.
I assembled my bike and warmed up a little while my cheering section watched the previous race. Then I lined up with my competitors (54 signed up) for our 12:25 start and my first view of the course. We were told we'd race for 45 minutes on the 1-mile course so I set my timer accordingly. My goal was simply to have fun, and basically put on a good show.
The first lap or two weren't too bad, but a few guys did try breaks. I had already moved to the front so I was able to go with them, but nothing came of these breaks. Then Kevin Metcalfe (Team Specialized) did succeed for a while, with me and a guy from ZTeam I think. My awesome cheering section made the race so fun too! We pacelined well for a while but were soon caught when Kevin looked back and saw our lead was too small.
Later on Larry Nolan (also from Team Specialized) took a turn attacking us and once again I was able to follow. We were pacelining along nicely but he also sat up as his teammate Kevin had done.
Kevin went off the front again later and I went after him, again causing him to sit up. I went off the front after we caught Kevin, hoping we could initiate another break, but nobody came with me and I had to sit up and drop back to rest.
At about 10 minutes to go in the race, Larry, and Gregg Betonte (Safeway), went off the front while I was resting from my last effort. Darn. I started moving up though the pace was furious. As we rounded the U-turn at the top of the hill, low on oxygen to the brain, and flew down the hill, a guy in white kit to my right slid out in the hard right turn near the bottom of the hill, taking out at least one other guy (I think from Morgan Stanley) in the process. The Morgan Stanley racer (maybe Stanley Terusaki?) flew over his bars, still clipped into his pedals, and slammed his rear wheel into my back knocking the wind out of me. Then somebody, maybe the same Morgan Stanley racer, landed right in front of me. I had to either hit him, his bike, or the guy to my left. I ran over his carbon-fiber bike, I swear I heard crunching sounds. Yikes, I felt so bad for him, but I had to continue on.
Now our main pack was split in two, with Larry and Gregg still off the front and flying... and me in the second half of the pack. Darn again. I quickly tried to organize a chase but it wasn't gaining very fast so I ended up having to bridge up to the leading group. Whew, made it, but heard that Larry and Greg still had about a 27-second lead. No way could I bridge that, so I again took a few pulls at the front until the gap shrank a bit.
But something else was going on. I heard the announcer say that Larry wasn't cooperating with Gregg, and then Kevin once again attacked out of the pack. Hmmm, I thought Larry could beat almost anybody in a two-up contest like that, but Larry's teammate Kevin's actions made me think they were not so confident against Gregg. I took advantage of that by jumping up to Kevin and soon he and I were pacelining after the two breakaway riders ahead.
Larry and Gregg were slowing down, I could tell, but so was I. Pacelining with a National Champion like Kevin ain't easy and with half a lap to go I told him to go for it while I tried to maintain my pace. My watch said we had time for one more lap, which would have been nice for me, but it was now clear to me that this was actually the last lap. With about 300 meters to go a couple guys bridged up even as I slowed and soon the main pack caught me. But Kevin barely held on and finished third, behind Gregg and Larry (in the photo below you can see how close we were to Gregg and Larry).
When I saw Gregg had won I understood their tactics, and was happy I'd done what I did, even though my 21st place finish doesn't sound impressive. Riding conservatively would probably have netted me a mediocre finish in any case, certainly no win, as the teams wouldn't have let it come down to a mass field sprint. And I certainly accomplished my goal of having fun and putting on a good show! Next year...
What better way to celebrate one's 50th birthday than by going to Napa for a bike race! I always wanted to try this technical crit, with its varied turns and a small hill. But in past years I've always been out of town... celebrating my birthday one place or another. This year I put my foot down and made this race the centerpiece of a long weekend of partying!
Margaret and I, plus her sister and five of our friends, made the trek to Napa and really lived it up. On Saturday we had lunch at Brix, wine-tasting at Opus One and Turnbull, and a 7-course "omakase" dinner at famed Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant. On Sunday I had Nutella and banana crepes at Curbside Cafe before setting off for the race, just south of Napa in a business park.
I assembled my bike and warmed up a little while my cheering section watched the previous race. Then I lined up with my competitors (54 signed up) for our 12:25 start and my first view of the course. We were told we'd race for 45 minutes on the 1-mile course so I set my timer accordingly. My goal was simply to have fun, and basically put on a good show.
The first lap or two weren't too bad, but a few guys did try breaks. I had already moved to the front so I was able to go with them, but nothing came of these breaks. Then Kevin Metcalfe (Team Specialized) did succeed for a while, with me and a guy from ZTeam I think. My awesome cheering section made the race so fun too! We pacelined well for a while but were soon caught when Kevin looked back and saw our lead was too small.
Later on Larry Nolan (also from Team Specialized) took a turn attacking us and once again I was able to follow. We were pacelining along nicely but he also sat up as his teammate Kevin had done.
Kevin went off the front again later and I went after him, again causing him to sit up. I went off the front after we caught Kevin, hoping we could initiate another break, but nobody came with me and I had to sit up and drop back to rest.
At about 10 minutes to go in the race, Larry, and Gregg Betonte (Safeway), went off the front while I was resting from my last effort. Darn. I started moving up though the pace was furious. As we rounded the U-turn at the top of the hill, low on oxygen to the brain, and flew down the hill, a guy in white kit to my right slid out in the hard right turn near the bottom of the hill, taking out at least one other guy (I think from Morgan Stanley) in the process. The Morgan Stanley racer (maybe Stanley Terusaki?) flew over his bars, still clipped into his pedals, and slammed his rear wheel into my back knocking the wind out of me. Then somebody, maybe the same Morgan Stanley racer, landed right in front of me. I had to either hit him, his bike, or the guy to my left. I ran over his carbon-fiber bike, I swear I heard crunching sounds. Yikes, I felt so bad for him, but I had to continue on.
Now our main pack was split in two, with Larry and Gregg still off the front and flying... and me in the second half of the pack. Darn again. I quickly tried to organize a chase but it wasn't gaining very fast so I ended up having to bridge up to the leading group. Whew, made it, but heard that Larry and Greg still had about a 27-second lead. No way could I bridge that, so I again took a few pulls at the front until the gap shrank a bit.But something else was going on. I heard the announcer say that Larry wasn't cooperating with Gregg, and then Kevin once again attacked out of the pack. Hmmm, I thought Larry could beat almost anybody in a two-up contest like that, but Larry's teammate Kevin's actions made me think they were not so confident against Gregg. I took advantage of that by jumping up to Kevin and soon he and I were pacelining after the two breakaway riders ahead.
Larry and Gregg were slowing down, I could tell, but so was I. Pacelining with a National Champion like Kevin ain't easy and with half a lap to go I told him to go for it while I tried to maintain my pace. My watch said we had time for one more lap, which would have been nice for me, but it was now clear to me that this was actually the last lap. With about 300 meters to go a couple guys bridged up even as I slowed and soon the main pack caught me. But Kevin barely held on and finished third, behind Gregg and Larry (in the photo below you can see how close we were to Gregg and Larry).
When I saw Gregg had won I understood their tactics, and was happy I'd done what I did, even though my 21st place finish doesn't sound impressive. Riding conservatively would probably have netted me a mediocre finish in any case, certainly no win, as the teams wouldn't have let it come down to a mass field sprint. And I certainly accomplished my goal of having fun and putting on a good show! Next year...
Monday, November 8, 2010
Steve Heaton
Joseph Mendes Masters Districts Criterium Championship M40-44 March 2nd 2010
“Rusty Crit”
I got the perfect warm up for a 45 min race. 20 mins on my trainer at the car then 4 laps on the course to assess conditions and was ready to go. Or so I thought. I rolled up to the line with 66 other guys and I hear “#556 your number is on wrong.” Oh no, that’s me! I went over to have it adjusted moments before the start.
Feeling a little stressed at the moment
Bam……race starts and we take off and I can’t find my left pedal. I couldn’t clip into it for the life of me. I’m now feeling like a flounder. I know it’s been 6 years since my last criterium race, but come on. First my number, then I’m looking at getting dropped from the race as we roll off the line?
Finally, “click” I’m in and sprint into a forward position as quick as possible. Instant attacks come from the pack as expected. I make sure to stay forward in the top 10 riders as much as possible. One minute I’m in 5th spot then the next I’m 15th. We go around and around and I look up at the start/finish clock and I see 30mins remaining. Plenty of time and I feel great.
Next time around I hear “prime lap” and instinctively I set up for the move and go for it. This gives me the opportunity to test out my final (planned) move for the end of the race. The 2nd to last turn goes from a cross head wind leading into it followed by a tailwind coming out of it, then a 250 meter straight away to the final turn, a fast right turn and 70 meters to the finish line. Coming out of the final turn doesn’t leave much room to sprint all out so it’s best to be in first or second position coming out of the corner (35-37mph) then jump to hold them off. Going for the prime I jumped with 150 meters to the final corner with 2 guys coming after me. I was first through the turn, sprinted a few pedal strokes and got it. That felt pretty easy. I backed off and waited for the group while I imagined winning $1000 cash, a new car or trip to the Tour de France. After that move I’m feeling confident in my assessment of where I need to be for the finish. My pre-race plan (as scouted weeks before from knowing the roads, talking to friends who raced the course last year and reading weather reports to know wind direction and speed based on time of day) is playing out just as planned. Now all I have to do is be attentive and go with any threatening breakaways or hold a top 5-8 position until the finish (easier said than done). I look up at the finish clock. 5 laps to go!!!
Pressure is mounting. I get a bump here and there from riders being close in the corners or trying to stay out of the wind while coming up the side. I lose my position one minute then sprint forward to get back. 2 laps to go!!! The pace increases. Attacks from non-sprinters go off the front, but aren’t going anywhere today. We suck them back in with ease. DING, DING, DING ~~~ bell lap! Final time around. The person who crosses the line first is the District Champion. I’m about 6 back with time to move forward (I think?) The pace goes faster and faster as riders come from the sides to overtake us up front. 3 turns to go…….bump to my hip, bump to my arm from guys taking power moves to get into position in front of me. Now I’m 12 riders back (euahh - its getting crazy!) I have to get forward but I’m boxed in. 2 turns to go and I have riders on both sides leaning on me trying to take my line. Think about this for a moment. 3 single file lines of riders trying to merge into 1 line in a corner at an all out pace. I’m thinking “holy shit” and at the same time I keep pedaling hard, hold my position. Phew, I made it. Now I’m around 15 back (not looking good) 250 meters to the final turn. All riders in front of me are going as fast as possible on the right side of the road. I’m thinking the corner is a tight turn and we should be to the left like most of the other times during the race especially since we are going to take this turn faster than any other lap. I also noted earlier in the race when I took the inner line I skipped my back wheel from the double yellow painted line when crossing it at a 60 degree angle. It had an ever so slight rise from all the layers of thick paint. I decided to jump out of the draft to the left starting my sprint with 150 meters to the corner just like the earlier prime move. I did this for two reasons; one, so I could move forward, and two, to take a faster/safer line in the turn. I’m flying past guys. I look at the corner then over at the pack charging on the right. This is going to be tricky. Two intersecting lines totally committed to the corner. I start my turn, crossed the double yellow line and ~ skip, skip goes my back wheel, ~ a slight hesitation but I stay on the gas pedal. Now I’m 10 back and frustrated knowing the win is not possible. I sprint to the line passing guys in an attempt to limit my loss. Half way to the line I see first and second are together with a gap then third and fourth together and me charging around them digging deep to overtake them at the line but ran out of road. 5th place.
A good day of racing!
Joseph Mendes Masters Districts Criterium Championship M40-44 March 2nd 2010
“Rusty Crit”
I got the perfect warm up for a 45 min race. 20 mins on my trainer at the car then 4 laps on the course to assess conditions and was ready to go. Or so I thought. I rolled up to the line with 66 other guys and I hear “#556 your number is on wrong.” Oh no, that’s me! I went over to have it adjusted moments before the start.
Feeling a little stressed at the moment
Bam……race starts and we take off and I can’t find my left pedal. I couldn’t clip into it for the life of me. I’m now feeling like a flounder. I know it’s been 6 years since my last criterium race, but come on. First my number, then I’m looking at getting dropped from the race as we roll off the line?
Rookie patrol!
Finally, “click” I’m in and sprint into a forward position as quick as possible. Instant attacks come from the pack as expected. I make sure to stay forward in the top 10 riders as much as possible. One minute I’m in 5th spot then the next I’m 15th. We go around and around and I look up at the start/finish clock and I see 30mins remaining. Plenty of time and I feel great.
Pointing out a barrier leading into start/finish
Testing the legs and staying hydrated
Next time around I hear “prime lap” and instinctively I set up for the move and go for it. This gives me the opportunity to test out my final (planned) move for the end of the race. The 2nd to last turn goes from a cross head wind leading into it followed by a tailwind coming out of it, then a 250 meter straight away to the final turn, a fast right turn and 70 meters to the finish line. Coming out of the final turn doesn’t leave much room to sprint all out so it’s best to be in first or second position coming out of the corner (35-37mph) then jump to hold them off. Going for the prime I jumped with 150 meters to the final corner with 2 guys coming after me. I was first through the turn, sprinted a few pedal strokes and got it. That felt pretty easy. I backed off and waited for the group while I imagined winning $1000 cash, a new car or trip to the Tour de France. After that move I’m feeling confident in my assessment of where I need to be for the finish. My pre-race plan (as scouted weeks before from knowing the roads, talking to friends who raced the course last year and reading weather reports to know wind direction and speed based on time of day) is playing out just as planned. Now all I have to do is be attentive and go with any threatening breakaways or hold a top 5-8 position until the finish (easier said than done). I look up at the finish clock. 5 laps to go!!!
Pressure is mounting. I get a bump here and there from riders being close in the corners or trying to stay out of the wind while coming up the side. I lose my position one minute then sprint forward to get back. 2 laps to go!!! The pace increases. Attacks from non-sprinters go off the front, but aren’t going anywhere today. We suck them back in with ease. DING, DING, DING ~~~ bell lap! Final time around. The person who crosses the line first is the District Champion. I’m about 6 back with time to move forward (I think?) The pace goes faster and faster as riders come from the sides to overtake us up front. 3 turns to go…….bump to my hip, bump to my arm from guys taking power moves to get into position in front of me. Now I’m 12 riders back (euahh - its getting crazy!) I have to get forward but I’m boxed in. 2 turns to go and I have riders on both sides leaning on me trying to take my line. Think about this for a moment. 3 single file lines of riders trying to merge into 1 line in a corner at an all out pace. I’m thinking “holy shit” and at the same time I keep pedaling hard, hold my position. Phew, I made it. Now I’m around 15 back (not looking good) 250 meters to the final turn. All riders in front of me are going as fast as possible on the right side of the road. I’m thinking the corner is a tight turn and we should be to the left like most of the other times during the race especially since we are going to take this turn faster than any other lap. I also noted earlier in the race when I took the inner line I skipped my back wheel from the double yellow painted line when crossing it at a 60 degree angle. It had an ever so slight rise from all the layers of thick paint. I decided to jump out of the draft to the left starting my sprint with 150 meters to the corner just like the earlier prime move. I did this for two reasons; one, so I could move forward, and two, to take a faster/safer line in the turn. I’m flying past guys. I look at the corner then over at the pack charging on the right. This is going to be tricky. Two intersecting lines totally committed to the corner. I start my turn, crossed the double yellow line and ~ skip, skip goes my back wheel, ~ a slight hesitation but I stay on the gas pedal. Now I’m 10 back and frustrated knowing the win is not possible. I sprint to the line passing guys in an attempt to limit my loss. Half way to the line I see first and second are together with a gap then third and fourth together and me charging around them digging deep to overtake them at the line but ran out of road. 5th place.
Vladan and me discussing post race
A good day of racing!
Heater
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Giro di San Francisco, 45+ 1/2/3
By Dennis Pedersen
I've raced this 6-corner criterium three years now and really enjoy the location in San Francisco's financial district, right next to the water front. It has a small hill on the course, which is a bonus for a small guy like me, and Margaret and I usually get together with friends afterward and have a nice dinner too, so it's a great way to end the regular season.
As in the past, the weather was gorgeous, almost too warm even, at about 80 degrees. 53 of us Masters lined up at the start line on Battery Street for the 21-lap race (16 miles, in about 35 minutes). The guy directly in front of me was standing next to his bike when the whistle blew, so I had to work a bit for the first couple of laps to get to the front of the pack.
The pace was fairly hard, but I was not in the "hurt locker." The pace went high a few times, and slowed a few times, so I was able to ride well. Hunter Ziesing (Zteam) and another guy (on the Safeway team I think) went on a breakaway but were caught later. There was another break too that was also caught. I mostly just sat in near the front and ignored the prime sprints, but watched a few key riders.
I'm happy to say the race was otherwise fairly uneventful, and only with about 3 laps remaining did a fast surge make things a bit sketchy, with one rider unclipping from his pedal and nearly going down in turn 6. Nobody crashed that I know of, and I broke my 3-race streak of flatting!
On the last couple of laps the pace got pretty slow, to the point where I could almost breath easy, but then the "1" displayed on the big digital lap counter, and off we went for the finishing sprint! Up the small hill on Vallejo Street, down Sansome into the headwind... then more hesitation as guys watched to see who'd lead the sprint out through the last two turns.
In retrospect I know I should have seized the moment to attack there, or at least moved a bit further up, but I didn't. Instead I moved up cautiously and held about 10th place on the inside with two turns to go. Then a big guy moved up even further inside, to my right, bumped me enough to make my bars wobble, and squeezed me back. I lost several places and that put me too far back to contest the sprint, though I did my best and passed a couple of guys on the finishing straight. I finished in 14th; not what I'd hoped for. My friend Chris took 5th. Our average speed was somewhere around 27 mph, but it hadn't felt that fast; I guess I'm getting more fit.
But I got a great consolation prize: Vladan and Dragitsa joined us for a great end-of-season lunch at the nearby Gordon Biersch brew-pub. I had a buffalo burger with garlic fries and a schwartzbier, at one their outdoor tables. That was so perfect!
I've raced this 6-corner criterium three years now and really enjoy the location in San Francisco's financial district, right next to the water front. It has a small hill on the course, which is a bonus for a small guy like me, and Margaret and I usually get together with friends afterward and have a nice dinner too, so it's a great way to end the regular season.
As in the past, the weather was gorgeous, almost too warm even, at about 80 degrees. 53 of us Masters lined up at the start line on Battery Street for the 21-lap race (16 miles, in about 35 minutes). The guy directly in front of me was standing next to his bike when the whistle blew, so I had to work a bit for the first couple of laps to get to the front of the pack.
The pace was fairly hard, but I was not in the "hurt locker." The pace went high a few times, and slowed a few times, so I was able to ride well. Hunter Ziesing (Zteam) and another guy (on the Safeway team I think) went on a breakaway but were caught later. There was another break too that was also caught. I mostly just sat in near the front and ignored the prime sprints, but watched a few key riders.
I'm happy to say the race was otherwise fairly uneventful, and only with about 3 laps remaining did a fast surge make things a bit sketchy, with one rider unclipping from his pedal and nearly going down in turn 6. Nobody crashed that I know of, and I broke my 3-race streak of flatting!
On the last couple of laps the pace got pretty slow, to the point where I could almost breath easy, but then the "1" displayed on the big digital lap counter, and off we went for the finishing sprint! Up the small hill on Vallejo Street, down Sansome into the headwind... then more hesitation as guys watched to see who'd lead the sprint out through the last two turns.
In retrospect I know I should have seized the moment to attack there, or at least moved a bit further up, but I didn't. Instead I moved up cautiously and held about 10th place on the inside with two turns to go. Then a big guy moved up even further inside, to my right, bumped me enough to make my bars wobble, and squeezed me back. I lost several places and that put me too far back to contest the sprint, though I did my best and passed a couple of guys on the finishing straight. I finished in 14th; not what I'd hoped for. My friend Chris took 5th. Our average speed was somewhere around 27 mph, but it hadn't felt that fast; I guess I'm getting more fit.
But I got a great consolation prize: Vladan and Dragitsa joined us for a great end-of-season lunch at the nearby Gordon Biersch brew-pub. I had a buffalo burger with garlic fries and a schwartzbier, at one their outdoor tables. That was so perfect!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Timpani Criterium, 45+
By Dennis Pedersen
We had perfect weather, albeit a bit windy, in Santa Clara for LGBRC's flat, 4-corner criterium near Great America Parkway. Team Bicycle Trip was well-represented with Vlada, Matt Wocasek and I in the 45+ race, and John Schaupp in 55+. Ed Goulet also made a reappearance on the racing scene after a long absence... but in "unattached" status. My goal was to race aggressively and either go with a good breakaway group, or keep the pace high while holding back enough to be able to sprint at the end (which would also help my teammates if they could rest enough).
Our combined field was 67 riders. On the very first lap of our 40-minute race Morgan Stanley sent one of their riders on a solo flyer, but we caught him after a lap or so of chasing. A number of other riders tried their luck at various times, but nothing too serious; I chased a few of these down as I really didn't want to risk missing the wrong break, but others just fizzled out on their own. About halfway into the race a break of about 6 guys looked big enough to get away from the rest of the pack. I bridged up, with John on my wheel part of the way, and latched on, fresh enough to be able to contribute, when it all just dissolved into nothing. Darn. A little later Matt also took a really long pull to close in on a break while I drafted behind him. After he tired I went around and the pack followed shortly for another catch.
In turn 1, the site of many crashes from the dreaded overhanging bush in the past (it seems to have been trimmed back finally!) we had a crash from a different cause: I thought it was a guy who clipped his pedal but it was actually his front tire that flatted, scraping his rim on the pavement... screeeeech. He took down a couple other guys, and yet another went down when I swung wide enough to avoid the crash, but a SJBC guy swung even wider from my inside. We gently (it seemed to me) bumped shoulders, and bam, down he went like a sack of concrete. Yikes, we didn't even touch bikes. That was a bummer, but nothing an experienced rider couldn't have avoided (I have bumped and leaned much harder into others with no such drama; some of it in velodrome training sessions). Anyway, I feel sorry for the guy.
The crash later resulted in a restart when an ambulance was called onto the course... though it looked like everybody was well enough to be ambulatory at least. On our restart we were given a bit of extra time, 20 minutes total, to finish our race. I set my timer to count it down.
Later I saw a VOS rider jump free off the front, and it looked like it might have been Rick Martyn. So I rode hard to catch him as he's the kind of guy who might stay away if we just watch him. Stanley Terusaki (Morgan Stanley) thought the same and got there first. They traded pulls but when I caught them and Rick dropped behind Stanley after his pull he looked at me and promptly sat up; I prefer to take that as a compliment.
VOS kept animating the race and with about 15 minutes to go VOS sent Rich Juarez off the front; another real threat as he can definitely solo for a win! I, and another Morgan Stanley guy, again shut this down as he immediately sat up when we caught him... I really hoped I'd get into a strong break but that wasn't happening yet.
About 3 laps remaining I saw Mark Caldwell bridge up to another break, but I wasn't convinced it was the break "du jour" so I let others close in on them, which they did. I wanted (OK, needed!) to rest a bit for the finish anyway.
I saw my friend Chris Tanner (LGBRC) with about two or so laps to go, and decided to follow his lead as he is a very smart racer with a powerful jump. Just after turn 3, on the last lap, he stood up and jumped very hard which surprised me, and everybody else, a bit as it's still fairly far to the finish line, maybe 400m. But this set him up beautifully for a sling-shot jump out of the inside of turn 4, and guys like me who swung wide on the outside couldn't make up the gap on the finishing straight as he held his gap over the line for the win. Congratulations Chris! I finished in 7th place.
So, I worked hard to improve my own chances in the race, and also those of my teammates who sat in a bit more than I did. I felt strong, but the results didn't go our way. Still, we all rode well and had fun in the gorgeous weather.
We had perfect weather, albeit a bit windy, in Santa Clara for LGBRC's flat, 4-corner criterium near Great America Parkway. Team Bicycle Trip was well-represented with Vlada, Matt Wocasek and I in the 45+ race, and John Schaupp in 55+. Ed Goulet also made a reappearance on the racing scene after a long absence... but in "unattached" status. My goal was to race aggressively and either go with a good breakaway group, or keep the pace high while holding back enough to be able to sprint at the end (which would also help my teammates if they could rest enough).
Our combined field was 67 riders. On the very first lap of our 40-minute race Morgan Stanley sent one of their riders on a solo flyer, but we caught him after a lap or so of chasing. A number of other riders tried their luck at various times, but nothing too serious; I chased a few of these down as I really didn't want to risk missing the wrong break, but others just fizzled out on their own. About halfway into the race a break of about 6 guys looked big enough to get away from the rest of the pack. I bridged up, with John on my wheel part of the way, and latched on, fresh enough to be able to contribute, when it all just dissolved into nothing. Darn. A little later Matt also took a really long pull to close in on a break while I drafted behind him. After he tired I went around and the pack followed shortly for another catch.
In turn 1, the site of many crashes from the dreaded overhanging bush in the past (it seems to have been trimmed back finally!) we had a crash from a different cause: I thought it was a guy who clipped his pedal but it was actually his front tire that flatted, scraping his rim on the pavement... screeeeech. He took down a couple other guys, and yet another went down when I swung wide enough to avoid the crash, but a SJBC guy swung even wider from my inside. We gently (it seemed to me) bumped shoulders, and bam, down he went like a sack of concrete. Yikes, we didn't even touch bikes. That was a bummer, but nothing an experienced rider couldn't have avoided (I have bumped and leaned much harder into others with no such drama; some of it in velodrome training sessions). Anyway, I feel sorry for the guy.
The crash later resulted in a restart when an ambulance was called onto the course... though it looked like everybody was well enough to be ambulatory at least. On our restart we were given a bit of extra time, 20 minutes total, to finish our race. I set my timer to count it down.
Later I saw a VOS rider jump free off the front, and it looked like it might have been Rick Martyn. So I rode hard to catch him as he's the kind of guy who might stay away if we just watch him. Stanley Terusaki (Morgan Stanley) thought the same and got there first. They traded pulls but when I caught them and Rick dropped behind Stanley after his pull he looked at me and promptly sat up; I prefer to take that as a compliment.
VOS kept animating the race and with about 15 minutes to go VOS sent Rich Juarez off the front; another real threat as he can definitely solo for a win! I, and another Morgan Stanley guy, again shut this down as he immediately sat up when we caught him... I really hoped I'd get into a strong break but that wasn't happening yet.
About 3 laps remaining I saw Mark Caldwell bridge up to another break, but I wasn't convinced it was the break "du jour" so I let others close in on them, which they did. I wanted (OK, needed!) to rest a bit for the finish anyway.
I saw my friend Chris Tanner (LGBRC) with about two or so laps to go, and decided to follow his lead as he is a very smart racer with a powerful jump. Just after turn 3, on the last lap, he stood up and jumped very hard which surprised me, and everybody else, a bit as it's still fairly far to the finish line, maybe 400m. But this set him up beautifully for a sling-shot jump out of the inside of turn 4, and guys like me who swung wide on the outside couldn't make up the gap on the finishing straight as he held his gap over the line for the win. Congratulations Chris! I finished in 7th place.
So, I worked hard to improve my own chances in the race, and also those of my teammates who sat in a bit more than I did. I felt strong, but the results didn't go our way. Still, we all rode well and had fun in the gorgeous weather.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Butterfly Criterium, 45+ 1/2/3
By Dennis Pedersen
I heard that this revival of a classic criterium, from the 70s, was on an exciting, technical course with a small hill too. My favorite kind! So Russ, Joe, Eddy, John Schaupp and I took the line on a gorgeous, 66-degree, sunny day in downtown Pacific Grove (after Margaret and I took a quick visit to the nearby aquarium!).
The 7/10ths-mile course (for 40 minutes) was west on Lighthouse Avenue, two fast rights down Caledonia and onto Central Avenue, up the hill on Fountain Avenue and back on Lighhouse. Wind was forecast at 10 to 15 MPH.
The pace was pretty fast right from the start, in part because there were 10 prime sprints! At about 20 minutes in a breakaway group formed, but Russ was probably too tired to cover it, and I was too far back to react quickly enough in any case. Just as we got to the start/finish I saw them dropping down toward turn 1.
I was working hard... and noticed a weird sight: One of the awnings next to the course was tilting over toward us, lifted by the rising wind. I barely got by it! I looked back and saw it lying on the course! I didn't see anybody down, but the next few laps were under a yellow flag which confused us chasers.
Soon we got down to the task of chasing and I took several big pulls at the front, though blockers (from Safeway and VOS I think) disrupted our efforts some. Still, we seemed to be making progress and when our pace slowed I moved to the front to look ahead; maybe we'd caught them? But when Eric Saltzman (of Morgan Stanley) launched around me while I was on the front I inferred that somebody was still up ahead.
We started to wind it up and soon I was nearing my limit. Don Langley (Morgan Stanley) suddenly jumped up Fountain and soon even the downhill was hard with the headwind and gaps in our pack. Guys started squeezing in, jumping ahead, etc. Crazy like usual! But we stayed clean and I was happy to just be up there at all.
The last lap I was on Russ's wheel for a bit, which helped as the pack was strung out pretty well. So the final sprint up the hill cemented our positions pretty much; I maintained my 10th place around the last turn and across the finish line. Russ took 8th. VOS's Rich Juarez won solo for the second time in a week. Ed and John were DNF but John had been cheering us on from turn 4.
But where was Joe? Bad news: The ambulance I saw at start/finish was for him. The awning that had flipped onto the course behind me had hit him, taking him down with a broken collarbone.
After cleaning up, getting ice cream at Lappert's on Lighthouse Drive (an amazing collection of 60s albums and posters cover the walls), we swung by CHOMP to visit Joe. The orthopedic surgeon said he recommended surgery to fix the break, but Joe could probably go home that night. We had dinner with Larry & Priscilla and Nils at Sea Harvest in Moss Landing, then dropped off Joe's Jeep at The Buttery. I hope he's doing well soon.
KSBW photos
Monterey Herald story.
I heard that this revival of a classic criterium, from the 70s, was on an exciting, technical course with a small hill too. My favorite kind! So Russ, Joe, Eddy, John Schaupp and I took the line on a gorgeous, 66-degree, sunny day in downtown Pacific Grove (after Margaret and I took a quick visit to the nearby aquarium!).
The 7/10ths-mile course (for 40 minutes) was west on Lighthouse Avenue, two fast rights down Caledonia and onto Central Avenue, up the hill on Fountain Avenue and back on Lighhouse. Wind was forecast at 10 to 15 MPH.
The pace was pretty fast right from the start, in part because there were 10 prime sprints! At about 20 minutes in a breakaway group formed, but Russ was probably too tired to cover it, and I was too far back to react quickly enough in any case. Just as we got to the start/finish I saw them dropping down toward turn 1.
I was working hard... and noticed a weird sight: One of the awnings next to the course was tilting over toward us, lifted by the rising wind. I barely got by it! I looked back and saw it lying on the course! I didn't see anybody down, but the next few laps were under a yellow flag which confused us chasers.
Soon we got down to the task of chasing and I took several big pulls at the front, though blockers (from Safeway and VOS I think) disrupted our efforts some. Still, we seemed to be making progress and when our pace slowed I moved to the front to look ahead; maybe we'd caught them? But when Eric Saltzman (of Morgan Stanley) launched around me while I was on the front I inferred that somebody was still up ahead.
We started to wind it up and soon I was nearing my limit. Don Langley (Morgan Stanley) suddenly jumped up Fountain and soon even the downhill was hard with the headwind and gaps in our pack. Guys started squeezing in, jumping ahead, etc. Crazy like usual! But we stayed clean and I was happy to just be up there at all.
The last lap I was on Russ's wheel for a bit, which helped as the pack was strung out pretty well. So the final sprint up the hill cemented our positions pretty much; I maintained my 10th place around the last turn and across the finish line. Russ took 8th. VOS's Rich Juarez won solo for the second time in a week. Ed and John were DNF but John had been cheering us on from turn 4.
But where was Joe? Bad news: The ambulance I saw at start/finish was for him. The awning that had flipped onto the course behind me had hit him, taking him down with a broken collarbone.
After cleaning up, getting ice cream at Lappert's on Lighthouse Drive (an amazing collection of 60s albums and posters cover the walls), we swung by CHOMP to visit Joe. The orthopedic surgeon said he recommended surgery to fix the break, but Joe could probably go home that night. We had dinner with Larry & Priscilla and Nils at Sea Harvest in Moss Landing, then dropped off Joe's Jeep at The Buttery. I hope he's doing well soon.
KSBW photos
Monterey Herald story.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Memorial Day Criterium, 45+ 1/2/3
By Dennis Pedersen
Do my 10×1-minute intervals and get heartburn, or enter a short, hard bike race. Choices, choices. I decided to race instead, in Morgan Hill on this gorgeous holiday, with Vlada and John for company.
The first few laps on this flat criterium course were pretty fast, but we did get... well, no slow laps, but a few that were less fast. Even though we averaged about 26 MPH I stayed pretty well positioned the first 30 minutes.
With about 10 minutes remaining a break of about 10 guys formed. I'm tired of sitting in and watching others make bold moves, so I decided to join them. I eluded some guys blocking (their presence was a good sign the break might stay away) and quickly started bridging up. One guy followed my wheel but then drifted back, so I put my head down and went alone.
I was pretty blown out when I reached the break, maybe half a lap later, but soon managed to take my turns in the paceline rotation, such as it was. Problem was, only three of us (me, a Morgan Stanley and a Whole Foods rider) really pitched in while the rest hung back to stay fresh for the sprint... but first we had to stay away for that to even matter. Come on guys, work!
Our pace slowed with just three pulling, and as you might imagine, we got caught by others bridging up. More joined us, with guys like Larry Nolan moving around me with 1.5 laps to go. We were mostly all together again. Darn. You have to make breaks work, not hope others will do it for you, but at least we strung the pack out a little.
As we wound up for the final sprint I was still blown out from my pulls, so I just held my speed and watched the pack go. Not surprisingly, guys who weren't visible in the break did best. My friend Chris took 9th after sitting in. I was 25th, Vlada took 27th, John 33rd.
Anyway, it was much more fun to go for it than just watch and wait. Good, clean racing!
Do my 10×1-minute intervals and get heartburn, or enter a short, hard bike race. Choices, choices. I decided to race instead, in Morgan Hill on this gorgeous holiday, with Vlada and John for company.
The first few laps on this flat criterium course were pretty fast, but we did get... well, no slow laps, but a few that were less fast. Even though we averaged about 26 MPH I stayed pretty well positioned the first 30 minutes.
With about 10 minutes remaining a break of about 10 guys formed. I'm tired of sitting in and watching others make bold moves, so I decided to join them. I eluded some guys blocking (their presence was a good sign the break might stay away) and quickly started bridging up. One guy followed my wheel but then drifted back, so I put my head down and went alone.
I was pretty blown out when I reached the break, maybe half a lap later, but soon managed to take my turns in the paceline rotation, such as it was. Problem was, only three of us (me, a Morgan Stanley and a Whole Foods rider) really pitched in while the rest hung back to stay fresh for the sprint... but first we had to stay away for that to even matter. Come on guys, work!
Our pace slowed with just three pulling, and as you might imagine, we got caught by others bridging up. More joined us, with guys like Larry Nolan moving around me with 1.5 laps to go. We were mostly all together again. Darn. You have to make breaks work, not hope others will do it for you, but at least we strung the pack out a little.
As we wound up for the final sprint I was still blown out from my pulls, so I just held my speed and watched the pack go. Not surprisingly, guys who weren't visible in the break did best. My friend Chris took 9th after sitting in. I was 25th, Vlada took 27th, John 33rd.
Anyway, it was much more fun to go for it than just watch and wait. Good, clean racing!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Santa Cruz Classic Criterium XLII, 35+ 1/2/3
By Dennis Pedersen
I have long known that these technical criteriums aren't my strong suit, but I enjoy them so much and like the higher safety level that comes from that too. Still, nobody likes to DNF a race, especially since I managed to finish this one in mid-pack last year. But it's always a learning experience, so writing this up may help. So what was different?
I am more fit. That's about it.
In 2008 I sat in the whole race, suffering but maintaining my tenuous grip on the pack (barely!), and finished 18th. Last year I raced Elite 3 for another mid-pack finish. But this year I had the bad luck, around lap 10 of 20, to get stuck behind a guy who started dicking around with his gears on the climb (geez, just pick a gear!). Then I looked around him and saw that we'd let a 30-foot gap open up. I spent the next lap chasing the pack and had almost caught them on Laurel Street but I could see that I'd have to push myself even harder to make contact... and would catch them just at the base of the hill. I knew from experience that I'd be blown out, and another gap would open on the climb that I'd then have to somehow close. Repeat "ad nauseum" and you have the makings of a very tough race with a mediocre finish.
I decided to pull out instead and save my energy for my usual Monday workout. It's mildly depressing to roll to a stop and explain all that to one's supporters, but hey, that makes more sense than suffering needlessly for another mid-pack finish at best. And I managed 45 minutes of L4 over Granite Creek and Mountain Charlie the next morning! So my decision helped me maintain my workout schedule.
The lesson? I re-learned that repeated anaerobic efforts leave us no margin for error against guys who can ride at 26 MPH in their aerobic zone. Duh. And any semblance of a finishing sprint would be purely coincidental. Rather than work on my anaerobic power, which seems like the obvious answer, I need to work on my aerobic power. Bonny Doon x 1,000 here I come.
Oh, ex-Pro Chad Gerlach (who was very active at the front I'm told; I couldn't see that!) and Jesse Moore, our winner, both went on to finish strong in the 50-lap Pro race too... they are a fast bunch! It's kind of cool to take the line with a bunch of ex-Pros, except for the pain part.
My wife and various friends and family cheered me on, which is always special. Wish I could have given them a better show. Thanks again!
I have long known that these technical criteriums aren't my strong suit, but I enjoy them so much and like the higher safety level that comes from that too. Still, nobody likes to DNF a race, especially since I managed to finish this one in mid-pack last year. But it's always a learning experience, so writing this up may help. So what was different?
I am more fit. That's about it.
In 2008 I sat in the whole race, suffering but maintaining my tenuous grip on the pack (barely!), and finished 18th. Last year I raced Elite 3 for another mid-pack finish. But this year I had the bad luck, around lap 10 of 20, to get stuck behind a guy who started dicking around with his gears on the climb (geez, just pick a gear!). Then I looked around him and saw that we'd let a 30-foot gap open up. I spent the next lap chasing the pack and had almost caught them on Laurel Street but I could see that I'd have to push myself even harder to make contact... and would catch them just at the base of the hill. I knew from experience that I'd be blown out, and another gap would open on the climb that I'd then have to somehow close. Repeat "ad nauseum" and you have the makings of a very tough race with a mediocre finish.
I decided to pull out instead and save my energy for my usual Monday workout. It's mildly depressing to roll to a stop and explain all that to one's supporters, but hey, that makes more sense than suffering needlessly for another mid-pack finish at best. And I managed 45 minutes of L4 over Granite Creek and Mountain Charlie the next morning! So my decision helped me maintain my workout schedule.
The lesson? I re-learned that repeated anaerobic efforts leave us no margin for error against guys who can ride at 26 MPH in their aerobic zone. Duh. And any semblance of a finishing sprint would be purely coincidental. Rather than work on my anaerobic power, which seems like the obvious answer, I need to work on my aerobic power. Bonny Doon x 1,000 here I come.
Oh, ex-Pro Chad Gerlach (who was very active at the front I'm told; I couldn't see that!) and Jesse Moore, our winner, both went on to finish strong in the 50-lap Pro race too... they are a fast bunch! It's kind of cool to take the line with a bunch of ex-Pros, except for the pain part.
My wife and various friends and family cheered me on, which is always special. Wish I could have given them a better show. Thanks again!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Salinas Criterium, 45+ 1/2/3/4
By Dennis Pedersen
Talk about low expectations: I rode 75 miles in our Swanton Road intervals the day before, and surfed at Pleasure Point and did electrical work on our house that Sunday morning. And Salinas is a new race, so who knew whether it would be well-run... though the thought of driving to Sacramento to race at "Land Park" instead was less appealing.
Originally I wanted to help Nils in the Elite 3 race, but he was tired from taking 8th at Bariani Road Race on Saturday... cry me a river (just kidding!). Only 7 guys had pre-registered for 45+, so I visualized a tiny field of riders chasing each other around the smooth, flat, 5-corner course by Salinas Airport. The steady wind would split things up too, no doubt, so it could be interesting. But when I lined up I saw I was alone against 7 guys from San Jose Bike Club, 5 from VOS, 3 from IC3 and a variety of others: about 25 total. Well, interesting is what we want, right? I was a bachelor that day and "fun" was my goal.
Right from the start SJBC launched hard attacks and IC3 did a good job of going with them a few times. I was up front the whole race and had to chase down a lot of these attacks, though I noticed VOS contributed too. But I also noticed that VOS never went on any hard attacks... perhaps they wanted a field sprint? And Morgan Stanley only had Eric Saltzman, who mostly sat in smartly while watching me pull the pack up to various breaks.
Some of the breaks looked like danger, especially the solo breaks by one of the SJBC guys (Andrew Nevitt?). Some others I didn't bother to follow. Only a few times did two guys break away for a couple of laps at most. I tried to get a bigger break going but each time it fell apart. They almost all attacked solo on the other side of the course from me so I had to work hard just to go with them, then they'd sit up. Darn! I think we could have done it, but most of the guys seemed to want to try solo flyers, while VOS wanted to keep the field together.
After a last attack by the fast SJBC rider with 2 laps to go, that I chased down, I was leading the pack for the last lap... sigh, how did I get suckered into that? I thought I was soft-pedaling but the vicious whoosh of the pack swallowing me up on the last straight confirmed that my form wasn't good enough for a strong sprint. My legs could have kept on racing at threshold for a while longer, but my top-end was shot.
A guy from VOS won the sprint finish so I can see why they waited. SJBC and IC3 didn't get anything though.
Well, I did have tons o' fun with my chosen activities on my bachelor day, and that's what counts!
Talk about low expectations: I rode 75 miles in our Swanton Road intervals the day before, and surfed at Pleasure Point and did electrical work on our house that Sunday morning. And Salinas is a new race, so who knew whether it would be well-run... though the thought of driving to Sacramento to race at "Land Park" instead was less appealing.
Originally I wanted to help Nils in the Elite 3 race, but he was tired from taking 8th at Bariani Road Race on Saturday... cry me a river (just kidding!). Only 7 guys had pre-registered for 45+, so I visualized a tiny field of riders chasing each other around the smooth, flat, 5-corner course by Salinas Airport. The steady wind would split things up too, no doubt, so it could be interesting. But when I lined up I saw I was alone against 7 guys from San Jose Bike Club, 5 from VOS, 3 from IC3 and a variety of others: about 25 total. Well, interesting is what we want, right? I was a bachelor that day and "fun" was my goal.
Right from the start SJBC launched hard attacks and IC3 did a good job of going with them a few times. I was up front the whole race and had to chase down a lot of these attacks, though I noticed VOS contributed too. But I also noticed that VOS never went on any hard attacks... perhaps they wanted a field sprint? And Morgan Stanley only had Eric Saltzman, who mostly sat in smartly while watching me pull the pack up to various breaks.
Some of the breaks looked like danger, especially the solo breaks by one of the SJBC guys (Andrew Nevitt?). Some others I didn't bother to follow. Only a few times did two guys break away for a couple of laps at most. I tried to get a bigger break going but each time it fell apart. They almost all attacked solo on the other side of the course from me so I had to work hard just to go with them, then they'd sit up. Darn! I think we could have done it, but most of the guys seemed to want to try solo flyers, while VOS wanted to keep the field together.
After a last attack by the fast SJBC rider with 2 laps to go, that I chased down, I was leading the pack for the last lap... sigh, how did I get suckered into that? I thought I was soft-pedaling but the vicious whoosh of the pack swallowing me up on the last straight confirmed that my form wasn't good enough for a strong sprint. My legs could have kept on racing at threshold for a while longer, but my top-end was shot.
A guy from VOS won the sprint finish so I can see why they waited. SJBC and IC3 didn't get anything though.
Well, I did have tons o' fun with my chosen activities on my bachelor day, and that's what counts!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Giro di San Francisco, 45+
By Dennis Pedersen
Last year I not only missed the start of my 45+ race, but also flatted near the end of the Category 3 race I did instead. This year things went more smoothly. Margaret and I drove up and I had plenty of time to get ready (she is getting good at pinning numbers even on my snug team skinsuit) and warm up a little.
I really like this race, partly because of the technical 6-turn course with a 10-second climb, about the same size as Watsonville's, to tire out the big guys a bit. And also because it's on San Francisco's waterfront with September's perfect weather. Even Margaret enjoys going to this race!
Our field of about 50 Masters included some big names, but I am used to that. I was a bit tense, but in a good way and my legs felt good even though the race started fast. We hit the small hill hard every lap, always in the big ring, but I was doing OK since the back straight allows me enough time to recover. There are a number of small potholes though, so we always had to stay very focused.
Margaret walked all over the course and cheered me on from a different spot every lap; that made me smile through my pain. What a great girl!
Our pace increased even more on the prime sprint laps... and went sky-high when Kevin Metcalfe (Specialized) and Rich Juarez (VOS) snapped the cord as they worked their way off the front. Dang!
Morgan Stanley and VOS had the numbers to mount a chase, but VOS wasn't about to chase their own guy down. So Morgan Stanley, a few other guys and even I had to take a pull. But I could tell I'd be too tired if I stayed in the wind so I drifted back to rest. Morgan Stanley wasn't able to catch the escapees either, even with Eric Saltzman pulling, though we did get close a few times. With just a couple of laps to go I was forced to accept that my race was now a fight for 3rd.
On the last lap I actually led the pack a while when guys started holding back. Then I pulled off to the right, before the hill, to see who would go first. Two guys attacked past us and I powered up the small hill after them. I managed to catch them and now held 3rd wheel (not counting the two breakaways); I think it was Jeff Poulsen and his lead-out, but my memory may be faulty from lack of oxygen.
We flew down the long back straight. But the lead-out guy faded at turn 5, they hesitated, and that allowed several guys to swarm us. I got blocked in the turns, but I did get the chance to sprint up the wide-open final straight... only to get passed by a couple more. Man, my legs were done!
Still, 7th overall (5th in the field sprint) wasn't too bad in this group and a nice finish to my 2009 regular season. I think only one guy crashed in our race; not too badly. More proof these technical courses are safer.
And it turned out my LGBRC friend Erik Ostly had been out there without me noticing; I guess I was really focused. But he flatted out like I did last year. Afterward we had lunch at Waterfront Bar and Grill, just across the Embarcadero, in their covered outdoor seating. An Anchor Steam from the tap, nice seafood, a gorgeous view of the Bay Bridge and my wife for company; a nearly-perfect close to my regular 2009 season!
Last year I not only missed the start of my 45+ race, but also flatted near the end of the Category 3 race I did instead. This year things went more smoothly. Margaret and I drove up and I had plenty of time to get ready (she is getting good at pinning numbers even on my snug team skinsuit) and warm up a little.
I really like this race, partly because of the technical 6-turn course with a 10-second climb, about the same size as Watsonville's, to tire out the big guys a bit. And also because it's on San Francisco's waterfront with September's perfect weather. Even Margaret enjoys going to this race!
Our field of about 50 Masters included some big names, but I am used to that. I was a bit tense, but in a good way and my legs felt good even though the race started fast. We hit the small hill hard every lap, always in the big ring, but I was doing OK since the back straight allows me enough time to recover. There are a number of small potholes though, so we always had to stay very focused.
Margaret walked all over the course and cheered me on from a different spot every lap; that made me smile through my pain. What a great girl!
Our pace increased even more on the prime sprint laps... and went sky-high when Kevin Metcalfe (Specialized) and Rich Juarez (VOS) snapped the cord as they worked their way off the front. Dang!
Morgan Stanley and VOS had the numbers to mount a chase, but VOS wasn't about to chase their own guy down. So Morgan Stanley, a few other guys and even I had to take a pull. But I could tell I'd be too tired if I stayed in the wind so I drifted back to rest. Morgan Stanley wasn't able to catch the escapees either, even with Eric Saltzman pulling, though we did get close a few times. With just a couple of laps to go I was forced to accept that my race was now a fight for 3rd.
On the last lap I actually led the pack a while when guys started holding back. Then I pulled off to the right, before the hill, to see who would go first. Two guys attacked past us and I powered up the small hill after them. I managed to catch them and now held 3rd wheel (not counting the two breakaways); I think it was Jeff Poulsen and his lead-out, but my memory may be faulty from lack of oxygen.
We flew down the long back straight. But the lead-out guy faded at turn 5, they hesitated, and that allowed several guys to swarm us. I got blocked in the turns, but I did get the chance to sprint up the wide-open final straight... only to get passed by a couple more. Man, my legs were done!
Still, 7th overall (5th in the field sprint) wasn't too bad in this group and a nice finish to my 2009 regular season. I think only one guy crashed in our race; not too badly. More proof these technical courses are safer.
And it turned out my LGBRC friend Erik Ostly had been out there without me noticing; I guess I was really focused. But he flatted out like I did last year. Afterward we had lunch at Waterfront Bar and Grill, just across the Embarcadero, in their covered outdoor seating. An Anchor Steam from the tap, nice seafood, a gorgeous view of the Bay Bridge and my wife for company; a nearly-perfect close to my regular 2009 season!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Watsonville Criterium 45+
By Dennis Pedersen
This was my sixth time racing this very technical 3/4-mile course, with about 7 turns (two of them about 120 degrees), a small hill and two drainage gutters. With Russ and Vlada signed up for the 45+ race, Margaret's willingness to come along and watch, and the pretty neighborhood the course is set in, above downtown, I really wanted to race.
For some reason this criterium always starts later in the day too, so Margaret and I had time to watch George on TV as he misjudged his try for the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, eat a big breakfast at Capitola Wharf House, and stroll around the village before setting off for my 1:50 race start. It was a gorgeous day too.
We watched the Category 5 race, and the Cat. 4 race, cheering my teammates on. This race is always small, and even smaller this year. But Team Bicycle Trip was well-represented with 7 racers. Unfortunately Robbie Abundis went down with some nasty gashes when a guy trying a flyer in his race went down in the back hairpin, in the drainage gutter. I hope he's back soon!
We were combined with the 35+ race (but placed separately) and that ups the pace. I know from painful experience that it is absolutely critical to stay near the front in races like this. So I decided to skip my warmup completely and just be first to our staging area so I could sprint up the hill right off the line and then stay well-positioned the whole race. Well, that tactic is common knowledge, and others beat me there so I was behind the front row. Oh well. At least I felt good and relaxed.
When the whistle blew I calmly clipped in, slipped around a couple of guys, and sprinted hard up the small hill to the start/finish line. I was probably about 5th at the top; yay! And even though the pace was furious for several laps I managed to maintain my position fairly well.
A few attacks brought the pace up later, and some Driscoll strawberry primes too. I was really working... but not beyond my limits, unlike last year where my position toward the rear really hurt me. Russ has been a great influence on me. And Coach Mark's workouts have really helped tremendously too. And all of the friends cheering us on was so cool. Thanks everybody!
About halfway into our 24-lap race I was a bit too far back (Jim yelled at me!). But I calmly moved up and even went ahead of Russ. I was also marking some of the 45+ racers, like Eric Saltzman (Morgan Stanley) and Mike Gadow (Tieni Duro). So when four guys broke free I looked to see if any 45+ riders were mixed in with the 35+ guys; I didn't see any so I didn't panic when they held us off. The pace came down too so I could stay fresher for the finish; mercifully it came soon.
With about 7 laps left some guy, probably in 35+, tried to whip us into a paceline to chase the break, but I had no reason to do that. I just chuckled and kept my place.
Like usual the pace picked up with about 3 laps to go. But I didn't try too hard to save matches; that thinking has hurt my chances before. Instead I worked to stay up front. That kept me well placed for the finish.
On the last lap we were flying; my rear wheel skittered through the hairpins. It's hard to pass without hitting a headwind too. Timing is so key! In 2007 I took 2nd by going wide on the outside of the last turn. I tried this again but this time I got squeezed against the left curb and had to back off for a few seconds as we hit the hill up to the finish line. That pause, plus the longer line, put me in 5th place. Russ got 9th.
I was pretty happy with how I had ridden, but bummed that I had left a bit of energy on the course, as they say. Still, I was jazzed that I had been smart most of the time. This course isn't quite ideal for me, but I like it. No crashes in our race, and I got some upgrade points too. Woo-hoo!
We then watched Nils's Cat. 3 race but had to drive him home after his crash, which left his rear tire shredded. While we waited for Nils to get his scrapes cleaned up (and collect his winnings; he got 5th even with the crash!) we watched Ben Jacques-Maynes race in the Pro/1/2 race. What a wild day!
This was my sixth time racing this very technical 3/4-mile course, with about 7 turns (two of them about 120 degrees), a small hill and two drainage gutters. With Russ and Vlada signed up for the 45+ race, Margaret's willingness to come along and watch, and the pretty neighborhood the course is set in, above downtown, I really wanted to race.For some reason this criterium always starts later in the day too, so Margaret and I had time to watch George on TV as he misjudged his try for the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, eat a big breakfast at Capitola Wharf House, and stroll around the village before setting off for my 1:50 race start. It was a gorgeous day too.
We watched the Category 5 race, and the Cat. 4 race, cheering my teammates on. This race is always small, and even smaller this year. But Team Bicycle Trip was well-represented with 7 racers. Unfortunately Robbie Abundis went down with some nasty gashes when a guy trying a flyer in his race went down in the back hairpin, in the drainage gutter. I hope he's back soon!We were combined with the 35+ race (but placed separately) and that ups the pace. I know from painful experience that it is absolutely critical to stay near the front in races like this. So I decided to skip my warmup completely and just be first to our staging area so I could sprint up the hill right off the line and then stay well-positioned the whole race. Well, that tactic is common knowledge, and others beat me there so I was behind the front row. Oh well. At least I felt good and relaxed.
When the whistle blew I calmly clipped in, slipped around a couple of guys, and sprinted hard up the small hill to the start/finish line. I was probably about 5th at the top; yay! And even though the pace was furious for several laps I managed to maintain my position fairly well.
A few attacks brought the pace up later, and some Driscoll strawberry primes too. I was really working... but not beyond my limits, unlike last year where my position toward the rear really hurt me. Russ has been a great influence on me. And Coach Mark's workouts have really helped tremendously too. And all of the friends cheering us on was so cool. Thanks everybody!About halfway into our 24-lap race I was a bit too far back (Jim yelled at me!). But I calmly moved up and even went ahead of Russ. I was also marking some of the 45+ racers, like Eric Saltzman (Morgan Stanley) and Mike Gadow (Tieni Duro). So when four guys broke free I looked to see if any 45+ riders were mixed in with the 35+ guys; I didn't see any so I didn't panic when they held us off. The pace came down too so I could stay fresher for the finish; mercifully it came soon.
With about 7 laps left some guy, probably in 35+, tried to whip us into a paceline to chase the break, but I had no reason to do that. I just chuckled and kept my place.
Like usual the pace picked up with about 3 laps to go. But I didn't try too hard to save matches; that thinking has hurt my chances before. Instead I worked to stay up front. That kept me well placed for the finish.On the last lap we were flying; my rear wheel skittered through the hairpins. It's hard to pass without hitting a headwind too. Timing is so key! In 2007 I took 2nd by going wide on the outside of the last turn. I tried this again but this time I got squeezed against the left curb and had to back off for a few seconds as we hit the hill up to the finish line. That pause, plus the longer line, put me in 5th place. Russ got 9th.
I was pretty happy with how I had ridden, but bummed that I had left a bit of energy on the course, as they say. Still, I was jazzed that I had been smart most of the time. This course isn't quite ideal for me, but I like it. No crashes in our race, and I got some upgrade points too. Woo-hoo!
We then watched Nils's Cat. 3 race but had to drive him home after his crash, which left his rear tire shredded. While we waited for Nils to get his scrapes cleaned up (and collect his winnings; he got 5th even with the crash!) we watched Ben Jacques-Maynes race in the Pro/1/2 race. What a wild day!
Watsonville Criterium, Cat 4, 7-18-2009
Matt Wocasek
The Bike Trip was well represented in the elite Cat. 4 race. Vladan, Abe, Robbie and I were able to stay with the pack without too much effort.
I tried to stay up towards the front of the pack but it seemed like riders were constantly moving ahead of me as we slowed for sharper corners.
With a few laps to go I found myself way too far back in the peloton to go for a good finish in the sprint. I had a number of close calls while trying to move up. At one point I was moving up the side of the peloton, trying to stay in the draft, when another rider had the same idea about getting closer to the front. He moved over on me and I had to lean into him to keep from going down. Next time… I'm going to stay up front.
On the backside of the course there is a 90 degree left hand corner with a rain gutter running through it. Somewhere around the midpoint of the race the lead rider grabbed too much front brake as he went through the cement gutter and crashed causing a number of riders to go down. Robbie hit a fallen rider and flipped over. He didn't finish the race, and I heard he ended up in emergency with of a banged up elbow, typical Cat. 4 crit.
In the final sprint I was able to go through the last corner at full speed and sprint with the group but I was nowhere near the front. Vladan finished around where I did and Abe was eighth.
The Bike Trip was well represented in the elite Cat. 4 race. Vladan, Abe, Robbie and I were able to stay with the pack without too much effort.
I tried to stay up towards the front of the pack but it seemed like riders were constantly moving ahead of me as we slowed for sharper corners.
With a few laps to go I found myself way too far back in the peloton to go for a good finish in the sprint. I had a number of close calls while trying to move up. At one point I was moving up the side of the peloton, trying to stay in the draft, when another rider had the same idea about getting closer to the front. He moved over on me and I had to lean into him to keep from going down. Next time… I'm going to stay up front.
On the backside of the course there is a 90 degree left hand corner with a rain gutter running through it. Somewhere around the midpoint of the race the lead rider grabbed too much front brake as he went through the cement gutter and crashed causing a number of riders to go down. Robbie hit a fallen rider and flipped over. He didn't finish the race, and I heard he ended up in emergency with of a banged up elbow, typical Cat. 4 crit.
In the final sprint I was able to go through the last corner at full speed and sprint with the group but I was nowhere near the front. Vladan finished around where I did and Abe was eighth.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Cytomax Benicia Criterium, 6/27/2009
By Dennis Pedersen
This season hasn't given me any impressive results, which gets a bit old when I'm training so hard. I have missed several races that I had wanted to target, and I was really hoping that this race would be different. The Benicia Criterium's new 8-turn downtown course, with a small hill thrown in, sounded ideal for a small sprinter like me, so I signed up in the 35+ 3/4 race with Russ.
First I want to thank Russ for driving Nils (racing in the Elite 3 race) and I there. And a special thanks to Nils for introducing me to Linda's Seabreeze Cafe, on Seabright Avenue... Geoff has also recommended it, but I had never been there before because the long wait always sent me packing. Well, I had an awesome waffle special, piled with fresh seasonal strawberries, kiwis and banana. Oh my was it perfect!
The weather forecast promised temps over 100 degrees in places, but I thought Benicia might be cooler since it was on the bay, along the delta's mouth where winds usually blow in from the Golden Gate. That proved true, and I don't think we got more than about 90 in Benicia. Speaking of downtown Benicia: I had visualized a blasted, industrial place with smelly air. Was I wrong! Benicia's downtown really is historic, and very pretty, with views over the bay, lots of old houses, parks, shade trees and neat sidewalk cafes.
Russ and Nils warmed up on their trainers while I stood around and relaxed. My warmup was a half lap of the course when it opened up for our race! I ascertained that I wouldn't need to use any gears lower than about 53x23, so that was nice. But I also became aware that the course is 6/10ths of a mile uphill, and 6/10ths of a mile downhill. That really meant "ride like hell for 2 minutes, then try to recover in 1 minute, and repeat until you explode." That isn't ideal for me, so I was a bit bummed. Larry told me later that the previous course was flatter. Oh well.
Our race started with a surprise neutral lap behind the motorcycle referee; I was again bummed because I was positioned nicely near the front and then had to fight people on a supposedly neutral lap just so I could stay there. But in the end I was still positioned well and managed to stay near enough to the front, where Russ was, that I could keep an eye on any breaks and also avoid the yo-yo effect from all of the 8 turns and the climbs.
Russ acted on his pre-race plan by hitting the course all-out for the first few laps. Whew, it was fast! Others had the same idea and several times one or two guys went off the front. All of these breaks were caught though.
Our race was pretty clean, which seems to be what happens on technical courses like this one, and we had no crashes that I recall. It was tiring having to constantly hit the climbs hard and then also fight the wind in some areas, but I found that I could easily move forward as needed by using my momentum on the downhills; it's tricky because you don't want to squeeze in against the curb, but I was careful to only use this move when the pack was a bit strung out.
With 3 laps to go I made sure to be near the front, and even ended up being the point-man in a chase after a solo rider... but I could tell he was blown up and I just soft-pedalled until some guys jumped past me, grinning as if I was being dropped. Not! I was in a good position and stayed in there, but soon my lungs gave out and I spent the last 2 laps just wheezing asthmatically until the final sprint which put me in 13th place, and Russ in 16th. It was a hard race for us but I felt good about how I'd done, though Russ was really disappointed to finish that far back. I tried to remind him that his goal had just been to blow the pack apart at the start, which he succeeded in, but he still hoped for more.
Afterward we had a really good lunch at "Issy's," a Mexican restaurant with outdoor seating right next to the course! We had beers and stuffed ourselves while we watched Nils suffer in the Elite 3 race! Larry had just finished his 55+ race and joined us with Priscilla. This is what racing is all about!
This season hasn't given me any impressive results, which gets a bit old when I'm training so hard. I have missed several races that I had wanted to target, and I was really hoping that this race would be different. The Benicia Criterium's new 8-turn downtown course, with a small hill thrown in, sounded ideal for a small sprinter like me, so I signed up in the 35+ 3/4 race with Russ.
First I want to thank Russ for driving Nils (racing in the Elite 3 race) and I there. And a special thanks to Nils for introducing me to Linda's Seabreeze Cafe, on Seabright Avenue... Geoff has also recommended it, but I had never been there before because the long wait always sent me packing. Well, I had an awesome waffle special, piled with fresh seasonal strawberries, kiwis and banana. Oh my was it perfect!
The weather forecast promised temps over 100 degrees in places, but I thought Benicia might be cooler since it was on the bay, along the delta's mouth where winds usually blow in from the Golden Gate. That proved true, and I don't think we got more than about 90 in Benicia. Speaking of downtown Benicia: I had visualized a blasted, industrial place with smelly air. Was I wrong! Benicia's downtown really is historic, and very pretty, with views over the bay, lots of old houses, parks, shade trees and neat sidewalk cafes.Russ and Nils warmed up on their trainers while I stood around and relaxed. My warmup was a half lap of the course when it opened up for our race! I ascertained that I wouldn't need to use any gears lower than about 53x23, so that was nice. But I also became aware that the course is 6/10ths of a mile uphill, and 6/10ths of a mile downhill. That really meant "ride like hell for 2 minutes, then try to recover in 1 minute, and repeat until you explode." That isn't ideal for me, so I was a bit bummed. Larry told me later that the previous course was flatter. Oh well.
Our race started with a surprise neutral lap behind the motorcycle referee; I was again bummed because I was positioned nicely near the front and then had to fight people on a supposedly neutral lap just so I could stay there. But in the end I was still positioned well and managed to stay near enough to the front, where Russ was, that I could keep an eye on any breaks and also avoid the yo-yo effect from all of the 8 turns and the climbs.
Russ acted on his pre-race plan by hitting the course all-out for the first few laps. Whew, it was fast! Others had the same idea and several times one or two guys went off the front. All of these breaks were caught though.
Our race was pretty clean, which seems to be what happens on technical courses like this one, and we had no crashes that I recall. It was tiring having to constantly hit the climbs hard and then also fight the wind in some areas, but I found that I could easily move forward as needed by using my momentum on the downhills; it's tricky because you don't want to squeeze in against the curb, but I was careful to only use this move when the pack was a bit strung out.
With 3 laps to go I made sure to be near the front, and even ended up being the point-man in a chase after a solo rider... but I could tell he was blown up and I just soft-pedalled until some guys jumped past me, grinning as if I was being dropped. Not! I was in a good position and stayed in there, but soon my lungs gave out and I spent the last 2 laps just wheezing asthmatically until the final sprint which put me in 13th place, and Russ in 16th. It was a hard race for us but I felt good about how I'd done, though Russ was really disappointed to finish that far back. I tried to remind him that his goal had just been to blow the pack apart at the start, which he succeeded in, but he still hoped for more.
Afterward we had a really good lunch at "Issy's," a Mexican restaurant with outdoor seating right next to the course! We had beers and stuffed ourselves while we watched Nils suffer in the Elite 3 race! Larry had just finished his 55+ race and joined us with Priscilla. This is what racing is all about!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
