Dispatch from the Sonora road race.
This past Sunday, Kevin, Maestro, Billy and myself made it out to
Sonora for their first annual road race. Aside from a slightly
smaller than ideal field (roughly 30), it was a great time and we
represented pretty well.
The course was a 13 mile loop that featured a few short climbs,
generally rolling terrain and no significant flats. The roads
were wet but the rain held off (at least at before we rolled out).
And we started off with a bang: some dude from another team
led the field the wrong way during the promenade and
succeeded to tack about a mile extra onto our neutral section.
Thanks, man.
Once we got going, it was climb, descend and repeat. About two
miles into the first of our four laps, a few people went down on
some wet railroad tracks (45 degrees to the road).
No messengers surveyed considered them a problem. The only
other technical sections were two almost identical bridge crossings
that featured a quick, shortish descents followed by a two sharp 90
degree turns and power climbs. Most people were being pretty
timid given the wet conditions, and Billy bore the brunt of it on the
first lap. Crossing over the first bridge, another rider lost control on
one of the sharp turns and ran into him, causing him to slide out.
No major reprocussions, but Billy pulled out after soloing for two
laps on a gimpy wheel hoping to catch on to the group. Damn.
A few other incidents reduced the field to a core group of about 15
and it stayed that way with Maestro feeling strong and pushing the
pace through a at-times steady rain. A couple others shared the
workload, but he consistently opened up small gaps on each descent
and found himself on or near the front when things inevitably came
back together. Not that we didn't try to keep him away. More than
once, Kevin and I attempted to block when the few chasing Maestro
would form up with him into a group of three or four. We were
quickly sniffed out each time. I took a few turns pulling, but mainly
Kevin and I hovered mid-to-front pack during the middle of the race.
A steady pressure from the front broke a few more guys off, and it
was about 12 or so heading into the last lap.
And on that final lap the pace quickened. With Maestro in control
and commanding everyone's attention, it was going to be hard to break
him off the front. No real opportunities presented themselves, and he
was on the front with about 2K left. After hanging back a bit with Kevin,
I decided to work my way up to Maestro. My plan was to give him
some rest for a bit and then lead out before the start of the final climb,
which picked up with about 1K to go. Hopefully, a few guys would
follow my early move off the front and tire out, which would set up
Maestro in command of a well-timed chase group. So a bit before the
base of the climb I got in front and started to push it pretty hard,
but without any obvious or sudden snap. I zoned out for a bit as the
climb started before I looked back - and saw no one close.
Apparently, after I started my move, Maestro quietly soft-pedaled for
a bit, allowing a rather-substantial gap to form. By the time anyone
noticed, I was too far up the road and the climb was hitting them
hard. Halfway up the hill, I looked back and didn't see anyone
gaining. So I put my head down and didn't stop. I guess the field
was paying close enough attention to the guy hurting them throughout
the race that they missed his teammate going off the front. Yeah.
Final results:
Jim - 1st
Maestro - 5th
Kevin - 8th
Billy - DNF (but self and bike are ok)
-Jim
Mixing it up in the P,1,2 - Cat's Hill 2009
A report on my third P,1,2 race...
Well... it could have gone worse. It wasn't terrible, but I would have been nice to finish. I was close. Completed 55 minutes, which is longer than the last 2 races. I think if it were not for a couple mental errors, I would have finished in the field. There were 105 starters and I believe I out lasted at least 40 of them.
Despite the crazy staging for this race and the LGBR call up of 9 team riders, I managed to get a good spot at the line. Unfortunately I let the nerves get the best of me and didn't get clipped in the first attempt...or the second. Lost about 40 spots going into the first turn. However I was able to move up through turns 1-2 and a bit on the first climb. Without too much panic I gradually moved up further, and after several laps I was situated pretty well in the top half. I was feeling really strong on the climb, never falling off pace and actually passing guys on the hill almost every lap. I think the toughest part for me was moving up on the top of the course before the descent, which would have been ideal. Sometimes I could move forward on the descent, but mainly I would use it for recovery. The wind was a factor on the start/finish straight when it was really strung out and the front was on attack. Only one or twice did I have to fight to stay on a wheel. There were
not any big breaks or anything. A few guys here and there were off the front but not with much distance. I thought I was good once the pace finally slowed down after 35 minutes, but I failed to take all my chances to move up at that point and just fell too complacent with where I was at. Then of course, it started to speed up. It would have surely taken an attack like effort to get past more than a few guys and I guess I wasn't thinking of it. Before it would register that I should do such a thing, I realized that my position that once was the middle of the pack was now towards the back. From then on I had to deal with riders fading a bit on the hill, which left more ground to close at the top and so on. I didn't think I was going to get dropped since my legs were still good on the climb and better than the others hanging out at the back with me, but with 9 to go I climbed the hill and just ran out of gas on the top section and couldn't hold a wheel before the descent. Got gapped and stuck in the
wind by the flats. Did one more lap solo and called it. I feel not having any gel/gu shots to take after 40min. of racing was a mistake. It seemed like a quick sugar rush could have pushed me through it. Definitely learned a little more about the pace and how much more thought goes into making a good move or staying attentive. Overall I felt good and a bit stronger. I'll just have to tighten up my game next time. I'm confident my DNF streak has come to an end.
B
Well... it could have gone worse. It wasn't terrible, but I would have been nice to finish. I was close. Completed 55 minutes, which is longer than the last 2 races. I think if it were not for a couple mental errors, I would have finished in the field. There were 105 starters and I believe I out lasted at least 40 of them.
Despite the crazy staging for this race and the LGBR call up of 9 team riders, I managed to get a good spot at the line. Unfortunately I let the nerves get the best of me and didn't get clipped in the first attempt...or the second. Lost about 40 spots going into the first turn. However I was able to move up through turns 1-2 and a bit on the first climb. Without too much panic I gradually moved up further, and after several laps I was situated pretty well in the top half. I was feeling really strong on the climb, never falling off pace and actually passing guys on the hill almost every lap. I think the toughest part for me was moving up on the top of the course before the descent, which would have been ideal. Sometimes I could move forward on the descent, but mainly I would use it for recovery. The wind was a factor on the start/finish straight when it was really strung out and the front was on attack. Only one or twice did I have to fight to stay on a wheel. There were
not any big breaks or anything. A few guys here and there were off the front but not with much distance. I thought I was good once the pace finally slowed down after 35 minutes, but I failed to take all my chances to move up at that point and just fell too complacent with where I was at. Then of course, it started to speed up. It would have surely taken an attack like effort to get past more than a few guys and I guess I wasn't thinking of it. Before it would register that I should do such a thing, I realized that my position that once was the middle of the pack was now towards the back. From then on I had to deal with riders fading a bit on the hill, which left more ground to close at the top and so on. I didn't think I was going to get dropped since my legs were still good on the climb and better than the others hanging out at the back with me, but with 9 to go I climbed the hill and just ran out of gas on the top section and couldn't hold a wheel before the descent. Got gapped and stuck in the
wind by the flats. Did one more lap solo and called it. I feel not having any gel/gu shots to take after 40min. of racing was a mistake. It seemed like a quick sugar rush could have pushed me through it. Definitely learned a little more about the pace and how much more thought goes into making a good move or staying attentive. Overall I felt good and a bit stronger. I'll just have to tighten up my game next time. I'm confident my DNF streak has come to an end.
B
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