Sunday, 5 March

 

McLane-Pacific Road Race

Cat 2 only race - 4 laps of a rolling hills circuit

96 miles total

 

cold temperatures and rain were predicted, but luckily it was only cold.  i did this race last year in the sunshine, but flatted on lap 2 and my race was over.  last year it all ended in a bunch sprint too.  this year was different in every way.  okay, so we set off at 9 am and it's frickin cold.  once we got going it was okay, but man that start line was cold.  anyway, we're off and we don't even ease into it.  crits - since they're short in duration - are always explosive from the start - everyone gets out there to test their legs, etc.  road races go on for hours though, so usually things are eased into at least for a couple miles for people to warm up a bit.  not today.  we were crushing it from the gun, and a break got away in the first 5 miles.  no big deal, i thought - we'll catch them about midway through the race or so.  yeah, that didn't happen.  those guys went out for 90 miles and fought out for the win.  wow.  but for there's still 90 miles in the peloton planning for a bunch sprint - or at most a 2nd half breakaway.  okay, so there was no rain to make us miserable, but the wind was atrocious.  headwinds are annoying, tailwinds are cool, but crosswinds...  when people play nice, they echelon out in a diagonal and rotate through a paceline to divvy up the effort of taking the wind.  when people get angry, they ride in the gutter so that *no one* gets any shielding from the wind.  this creates a long line of guys in the gutter - everyone suffering like dogs.  when the guys at the front are really drilling it, little gaps open up in the line as people start popping.  if you're behind one of these gaps, then you could be in some serious trouble and might just lose contact with the main peloton through no fault of your own.  yeah, suckage.  around lap 3 i was little farther back in the pack than i should have been - especially since people are really starting to get tired now - and a couple other sprinters and i got kind of stuck like that.  we got back on just fine to the main bunch, but there were a couple tense moments.  here's another brilliant part of the race - there's a feed zone on each lap just past the finish line.  96 mile road race - you're going to need an extra bottle of sports drink, or what not.  now, it would be kind and generous of everyone to take it easy through the feed zone so that everyone could get refueled, but don't you know whomever was at the front of the peloton would drill it each and every time through?  it was only at the beginning of lap 3 that we went slow, because we were neutralized (kind of like nascar yellow flag?) in order to let the pro field overtake us (they started a couple minutes behind us, and were taking it a bit harder than we were).  Anyway, I got my only feed on lap 3, but that was okay cause that was all i needed.  at the beginning of lap 4 we were going super quick and at least 1/3 of the peloton either got dropped in the feed zone or just decided to call it quits for the day.  anyway, the end of the race was in sight, and we were getting down to the end game.  all of the money positions were up the road, so now we were pretty much just going to sprint for fun.  i mean, hey, we rolled around around for 96 miles already, let's at least put on a cool finish, right?  well, we're maybe 10 miles out and it's just me and my teammate jordan in the peloton.  jordan starts attacking the field to make a last minute break attempt.  a couple of times he gets like 2 or 3 guys to go with him, but by now the field is restless and nothing is going to get away.  but that doesn't stop jordan, and he keeps attacking over and over until about 2 miles to go.  this is actually really cool for me, cause i can just sit back and watch the peloton chase him and what not.  no work for me - just get ready to sprint.  so it's less than 2 miles and i'm near the front, setting up good.  we get to the last kilometer, and i'm golden.  the move is made, and i'm right there with it.  it's me and 3 other guys seperating ourselves from the rest.  me even with another in 3rd - 4th wheel - just right.  last hill and we're churning up.  and then there's a dropped pro woman pedalling up in the middle of the road?  why is she in the middle of the road - aren't we sprinting here?  i don't even see her until the last second since my view was obscured.  i almost slam into her and have to brake hard.  the other guys manage to avoid and get the distance.  oh, snap - there it goes. i'm back on it, and closing on the other 3, but there's no way i can make up that much ground in the final sprint.  i come in 4th in the field, which is not too shabby - good for around 20th in the final results.  i had the speed and fitness - just had a wierd whammo of bad luck on that one.  but it wasn't for anything other than sprint pride at this point anyway, so it's no big deal.  hopefully i've used up all my bad luck, though, and it'll only be good luck for a while - that would be sweet.

McLane-Pacific Crit

Cat 2 only race - 35 laps of a 0.8 mile technical loop

 

Up in Merced, CA for a weekend of racing.  That's central CA, folks.  word.  Anyway, today was the crit.  Things were all hunkydory up until 2 laps to go.  i was just hanging out in the pack pretty much waiting for the inevitable field sprint, and that was that.  floating up and back in the pack.  we had radios this time, so that was cool.  sean was on the sideline letting us know what he saw, etc.  toward the end of the race, and i'm moving into position.  at 6 to go, it's really time to be seriously battling for the top 20.  i got there just fine - not spending too much energy to get up there - so all was peachy.  going into 3 to go and i was in the top 10 - pretty sweet.  the pace slacks for an instant and i was just a millisecond too late in keeping a couple guys coming around my left to swarm.  that was annoying, and now i was like 15th or so.  ok, just got to work here.  2 laps to go and the pack is a melee in every corner.  i'm fending ok, but still trying to find those last extra spots.  we're at 1 and 2/3 to go - right into a wicked little chicane in the course - certainly the most technical part of the course.  crash right in front of me and just slightly to the right.  i'm still up, but have to scrub just a bit of spead to get around to the left.  okay - no time to panic - it's still winnable.  sprint to get back up - but now i'm like 20th.  half a lap more, and there's another crash.  this one was right in front of me, but about 2 riders up.  more brakes and sprint like mad to stay in.  all the while, sean is calmly talking into the radio that i can still win - i've got to get into position.  of course i know this, but it's good to hear more than just 1 voice in my head sometimes...  now it's bell lap, and the chances are slipping.  i'm not done yet

 

but then there's another crash in the chicane and there's literally a bike cartwheeling right in front of me.

 

game over - i'm finished.  i had to come to almost a dead stop to avoid this one.  i try getting back connected to the front for about 5 seconds, but there's just no point.  my sprint was spent on the first 2 crashes, and the 3rd one was just the death knell.  i just roll it in to finish the race.  ticked about the finish, cause i was feeling pretty good today.  but you know what?  that's bike racing.  being on form is only one part of the equation to winning a race.  tactics is another.  luck is the final piece.  the form was good today.  the tactics were mostly solid.  i could have held top 10 better and that might have avoided some of the trouble - but seriously, those crashes were at the front of the field with people simply battling for the best line - really pretty silly crashes.  but the luck just wasn't there in the end.  3 strikes and you're out.  pretty happy to have stayed upright, though.  tomorrow will be a different kind of race entirely - 96 mile road race.  and maybe in the cold rain.  not my favorite.  that's one reason i prefer to race inside in the velodrome...  oh, well.