This was my first big race series and also my first race as a cat 4. Another first was the 1.5 mile time trial. Too long to sprint the whole thing and short enough where you really cant settle in. I knew it was going to hurt and it did not dissappoint. I sprinted off the line into the first 200 meters or so and looking back probably went too hard there - because the next 90 seconds was spent trying to recover from my blow up. Got a bit more comfortable heading into the home stretch and tried to kill it to the line. Out of 58 cat 4's I was sitting in 33rd after the time trial. the leaders were about 30 seconds in front of me - a huge gap when you only ride 1.5 miles.
The crit was something I was really looking forward to. I've come to really like crits and I think I have the potential to do well in them in the future - I feel the more technical the course the better I can do, I love taking high speed turns and cranking on the pedals out of the corners. Anyway, huge field for the crit, it provided plenty of space to sit in out of the wind. I don't think I worked half as hard in the 4 race than I did in the previous 5 race. The course was just so congested I always had a wheel. Sat in for the sprint lap and thought I'd try my luck to move up for the final - although this was a timed series so there wasn't much to be gained from finishing 10th or 30th - maybe 5 seconds at the most. 2 laps to go and speed started to pick up, racers trying to get in position, used the corners to carry speed and pass riders when it opens up. Last lap and I passed about 5 in the chicanes and sprinted to pass a couple more before the line. Finished 11th. Hard to judge how hard the other racers were trying though - I'm sure a lot of them were contents to keep it safe and sit in.
58 mile road race was sunday. This was something I was wanting to really test myself in. the course was fairly hilly which suits me just fine. I've come down to a nice racing weight and my climbing abilities are only getting stronger. The only concern was the distance - this was literally the longest I've ever ridden at once without stopping. We rolled out and headed into some nice twisty hilly roads - pavement was smooth - legs were a bit tired from the day before, not so much from the crit but the time trial just took it out of me. Had a flask full of gel and two bottles on the bike. I almost consumed everything by the time the race was over- gel and water. After about 15 miles I was feeling good, legs were warmed up and was having no problem climbing or keeping pace. We descended a steep hill into a flat about 30 -35mph, heard a crash behind me and caught a glimpse of fellow teammate Steve V. hitting the ground hard. I looked around and didn't see my other teammate Brad and I assumed he went down too. Steve ended up being ok, just a lot of road rash and minor break on the bike, but he was done. Brad wasn't involved and continued on. As we were riding i started having mechanical issues. I thought it was a derailleur pulley gone bad - I was putting huge efforts in to pedal and when i tried to pedal backwards my chain would slack up - crap....I then became really pissed and was thinking maybe I should drop out when we finish the first lap - after about 5 minutes I decided that i'll just ride it out, if i get dropped then i'm dropped, it will be a good workout atleast. Couple more miles and all the vibration must of put whatever was screwed up back in place, I could feel myself pedaling easier and could actually back pedal now -hell yes. this was right before we headed up the big hill to the start finish line. I cranked up it passing about 20 riders on the way up and was feeling great. I started thinking about next time around and maybe I could contend for a podium finish. So the second lap I made sure I kept contact and tried to stay a bit closer to the front - speeds were up and down and approaching the final hill people started getting pretty twitchy - racers were elbowing eachother and shoving around for position. I had to wait about 10 seconds before I could launch and then just hammered it. Passed maybe 5-10 riders and my quads were dead, every pedal stroke felt like they were going to cramp up. With about 40 meters to go I blew up, and sat down and spun across the line. Probably 5 people passed me before I crossed. ended up finishing 14th - not too bad. I was really proud of that race - the distance and the effort. this was probably the first time I felt like a real racer - out of the 5's and racing good mileage with decent results.
Looking forward to future races - we had some teammates who weren't there - Matt P. and Dan O., when we're all together we'll be able to do some damage. Stay tuned.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Movin' Up
Made my official request to cat up to the 4's and end my 5 career on a win. I know the 4's will be much faster and more tactical and it will take me a couple months of good training before I could have the chance of being competetive but this is where I need to be to improve. Maybe a brand new bike could help that fight? Anyone feel like donating a few g's to help that cause? My goal before this season started was to be a competitve 4 racer by the end of the season and have a great showing at tour of KC in august.
On the other hand I am officially addicted to racing. In the past months I've found myself day dreaming about racing and it litearlly makes my heart speed up significantly and causes me to be short of breath like I should be breathing through my eyeballs on a last lap sprint of some crit. Sort of like I have a huge sympathetic reflex with a mass rush of adrenaline. My adrenal glands will be shot by the time i'm 35.
On the other hand I am officially addicted to racing. In the past months I've found myself day dreaming about racing and it litearlly makes my heart speed up significantly and causes me to be short of breath like I should be breathing through my eyeballs on a last lap sprint of some crit. Sort of like I have a huge sympathetic reflex with a mass rush of adrenaline. My adrenal glands will be shot by the time i'm 35.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Girl's Crit (Jane)
Went up to leavenworth on sunday for the ladies crit. she raced first with the 3/4's and then immediately raced the women's 4 race after that. 3/4 field was looking fast before the start. Course wasn't the greatest as it was laid out through a middle school parking lot...narrow, technical, not a lot of room to get going. the 25 mph winds didn't help either. After the first couple laps she was sitting at the back end of the pack. speed started to get faster and the group began to break up. Jane was not in a good position and had a hard time getting up to the main group and eventually settled in with 2 other riders off the back. There were already 2 ladies off the front (they ended up lapping the field twice) and jane chasing the big group of about 10. This went on for the majority of the race and jane eventually broke away from the 2 she was riding with. Long story short she got into a bad spot from the beginning and could have easily ridden the the main group. In the last 10 minutes when she finally broke away her speeds were faster than the majority of the riders and almost closed a 3/4 lap defecit from the other riders (minus the 2 leaders).
4 race was next and she was plenty warmed up and comfortable with the course. Spent about five minutes pulling the group around and when no one else wanted to pull she just broke off in a solo and lapped half the field (including some who beat her in the 3/4) for the win. Damn right.
She still needs a ton more saddle time and slowly gaining race experience. She has excellent base fitness and will do some damage against other 4's in the future.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Bazaar RR
Rolled down to bazaar, ks, just past emporia for a 50 mile road race. Raced in the cat 4/5 group with 5 other colavita racers. Our plan beforehand was to secure the win for Brad....keep him protected while trying to burn out the rest of the field. First 15 miles was quite pleasant, tailwind, smooth pavement, wasn't breathing at all. Approaching the halfway point the attacks started coming, put in some good efforts to stick with the group...still hanging in there. For awhile Eric Schaumberg, steve and I put on a few attacks ourselves. We had to have hurt some of those riders as we attacked in rotations. Steve would go off the front, get caught, eric would launch, get caught, the I would sprint off, settle in etc... Meanwhile brad was hanging at the back. somewhere after the halfway we lost fellow riders phillip and joe. climbed a big hill with about 4 miles to go and found myself and brad sitting on the front, both of us were feeling good. I jumped in front of brad to give him a wheel and was feeling like I had the legs to give him a good leadout for the finish. There was no doubt in my mind he was the fastest racer there and in a sprint could have torn some legs off. Got down to about a half mile to go, and was boxed in a bit, had to squeeze by a rider on the outside, almost going onto the gravel shoulder. Somewhere in the next 5 seconds someone bumped into brad and pushed him into the ditch off the road. He was able to ride it out and was okay, but out of the race. When he didn't come around me I figured something must have happened, I heard a lot of bumping around in back of me.....jumped from one wheel to another and crossed the line 4th overall, finishing 1st in the cat 5's. the picture is of the actual medal they gave me...pretty funny. During the awards ceremony they mistakenly handed me the 4th place check, which if I was a cat 4 would have gotten to keep, but when they figured out I was a 5 took it away and handed me a crappy medal. Maybe it's time to cat up??
side note: Great job to steve v. and Eric Schaumberg who put in a bunch of work on the front. They pushed the group at a good clip for awhile....tough luck for brad, at the end he said he felt like he didn't even get in a workout with the missed sprint opportunity. There will be good finishes for all in the future.
Velotek grand prix next weekend. Probably my final cat 5 appearance.....or cat up beforehand and help out for the team first place in cat 4's. I've said it before.....our 4 group is very strong.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Spring Fling
Last spring fling of the series......too bad I just now am coming into form. Race started out nice, keeping good position behind the mass of bike shack racers. Sprint lap came up, lost touch of the leading group of 3, but finished took 4th in no mans land with the rest of the field trailing. Was able to recover over the next 2 laps, and save up for the final sprint. Got to the last part of the course before the finish and tried squeeze by a rider on the inside so i could launch my sprint but I was blocked out and had to relaunch a late sprint on the outside, came around the majority of the riders in front of me but then got blown by some guy from the back, and had a photo finish for second place........judges went to the video and I got beat by a fraction-3rd place.
We got the tuesday night crit practice started now, racing in the B group. Jane and all the ladies are also racing during the same time, although it's all broken up with riders all over the place. Although it's fairly informal finished first with a huge sprint off the front.
Talked jane into racing the final sprint fling with me. She raced first with the womens 4's, and then again with the 3/4 group. In the first race two ladies went off the front and she settled in with a group of 3 that were trailing. was just out of contention on the sprint lap, and broke away from the 3 on the final lap. she almost caught the leading 2 who were slowing down before their sprint, but finished 3rd. Ended up taking 4th b/c of the no points on the sprint. In her 3/4 race she was just there for the fitness. Race was over twice as long as the 4 race and she ended up in 5th or 6th. Good day for her.
Next week is the bazaar road race and on sunday jane is running a 10k in the morning and racing an all womens crit at noon, we'll see how that goes.
We got the tuesday night crit practice started now, racing in the B group. Jane and all the ladies are also racing during the same time, although it's all broken up with riders all over the place. Although it's fairly informal finished first with a huge sprint off the front.
Talked jane into racing the final sprint fling with me. She raced first with the womens 4's, and then again with the 3/4 group. In the first race two ladies went off the front and she settled in with a group of 3 that were trailing. was just out of contention on the sprint lap, and broke away from the 3 on the final lap. she almost caught the leading 2 who were slowing down before their sprint, but finished 3rd. Ended up taking 4th b/c of the no points on the sprint. In her 3/4 race she was just there for the fitness. Race was over twice as long as the 4 race and she ended up in 5th or 6th. Good day for her.
Next week is the bazaar road race and on sunday jane is running a 10k in the morning and racing an all womens crit at noon, we'll see how that goes.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
A Tale of Two Races
Saturday had the spring fling crit. Didn't get much time to ride the previous week and a half because i was tied down with school, so i was unsure if i lost any fitness or whatever. The course was expanded this week to include a few more turns which made it much more fun. The corners were really fast and it helped spread out the group. If you can be near the front going into those chicanes you could hit the finish line well ahead of the group.
So we rolled out, motored around for a couple laps and it was time for the sprint lap. I was sitting 4th or 5th when we entered the chicanes, no one was attacking and the pace was slow, waiting for someone to go....so I went. Jumped off the front, hamered through the final 3 or 4 corners, I guess someone was on my wheel because they passed me with about 25 meters to the line, and almost got passed again (I thought the guy beat me for second but the judges gave me 2nd for the sprint), So that was a nice little victory, first time I have scored points in this series. I spent the next 2 laps trying to recover. final laps and i was getting stuck out in the wind, still feeling a bit tired, finished at the back of our front group, but had enough points overall to place me 4th for the race. Fellow colavita/parisi rider steve v. was right behind in 5th place.
So today (sunday) was the joe sheehan road race in leavenworth, ks. 50 miles, out on the road. Was hoping the weather would hold out for low 40's and windy with clouds. About 30 minutes before the start it began to rain. This pretty much was worst case scenario, you're all layered up and if you get wet you're carrying an extra 10 pounds of wet clothes. It was only sprinkling so i stayed with what i was wearing hoping it would pass through. So we rolled out, and as soon as the speeds started picking up, water on the roads was getting sprayed everywhere, my shoes were soaked, leg warmers were soaked, jersey, gloves everything. I continued for maybe 5 miles like that before i decided to pull out. Definetly my lowest point in my short career thus far. Mentally I just wasn't in it, and when you're not motivated like that it's hard to ride 45 more miles at race pace. My body never got a chance to warm up....it sucked. So i turned around and rode back with a 20-25mph tailwind which was nice. Talked to fellow teammate Brad, he pulled out as well and i guess it stared sleeting at one point. It was tough man conditions and I wasn't up for it.
So we rolled out, motored around for a couple laps and it was time for the sprint lap. I was sitting 4th or 5th when we entered the chicanes, no one was attacking and the pace was slow, waiting for someone to go....so I went. Jumped off the front, hamered through the final 3 or 4 corners, I guess someone was on my wheel because they passed me with about 25 meters to the line, and almost got passed again (I thought the guy beat me for second but the judges gave me 2nd for the sprint), So that was a nice little victory, first time I have scored points in this series. I spent the next 2 laps trying to recover. final laps and i was getting stuck out in the wind, still feeling a bit tired, finished at the back of our front group, but had enough points overall to place me 4th for the race. Fellow colavita/parisi rider steve v. was right behind in 5th place.
So today (sunday) was the joe sheehan road race in leavenworth, ks. 50 miles, out on the road. Was hoping the weather would hold out for low 40's and windy with clouds. About 30 minutes before the start it began to rain. This pretty much was worst case scenario, you're all layered up and if you get wet you're carrying an extra 10 pounds of wet clothes. It was only sprinkling so i stayed with what i was wearing hoping it would pass through. So we rolled out, and as soon as the speeds started picking up, water on the roads was getting sprayed everywhere, my shoes were soaked, leg warmers were soaked, jersey, gloves everything. I continued for maybe 5 miles like that before i decided to pull out. Definetly my lowest point in my short career thus far. Mentally I just wasn't in it, and when you're not motivated like that it's hard to ride 45 more miles at race pace. My body never got a chance to warm up....it sucked. So i turned around and rode back with a 20-25mph tailwind which was nice. Talked to fellow teammate Brad, he pulled out as well and i guess it stared sleeting at one point. It was tough man conditions and I wasn't up for it.
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