Waking up at 6 o'clock is like being poked by the Lucifer's pitchfork with his grand Hell waiting outside my bedroom. Cycling is the only thing that turns Hell into a peaceful, manageable existence. If it was anything else, like school or work, I'd be back to bed in a heartbeat. Actually, I wouldn't bother to wake up.
Lindsey picked me up. Before racking my bike, I noticed the PowerTap wire was loose. I tighten it. The wire pulls itself from the shark fin receiver. Lovely. We rack my bike and head off.
Lindsay and I were on our way to Westminster. After racing Toona in a rolling enclosure event massively organized with impeccable details I had lowered expectations. It didn't help how I knew nothing of the course, mainly if it was hilly or flat. Sprint finishes don't boost my excitement of cycling. The heat, though, was definitely a concern.
I fell asleep for two hours in the car while Lindsay raced. The two back doors opened kept me cool as a kindling coal outside the blazing fire pit. My shirt was damp but not soaked when I awoke. I downed two bottles of water before the race. Someone tells me the women thought the race was more difficult than the Giro.
My race, game over, I think. As long as I don't dehydrate and cramp up. Which is very possible as I don't train in the heat as it's not fun and requires too much water.
The race:
I get up front for the neutral start. I then fall back to the middle in the first few miles. No need to worry about the race for the first few laps. Nothing too eventful happens for much of the first lap as everyone is scouting out the course. A somewhat steep downhill that curved gently to the left with a sharper left curve in the middle of the hill, followed by a medium curve right presented a unique challenge. I saw one guy almost take out a fellow racer because his speed was too high for the unexpected middle section. The next lap most people took this downhill by taking a straight line through the curves. Safer, even with crossing the center line.
There was one long uphill drag that forced even me to take it in my easiest gear, comparable to the hill in the woods in the Giro but steeper. It wasn't all that long, but long enough to break people. The only other tough hill was the finishing stretch, which was tougher than the first hill. Luckily, I could move to the front with ease each time.
The second lap realized a break with BBC and a few other riders, four or five in all. I wasn't worried, until I see BBC and another represented team blocking. I noticed the same kid working the front, and had been the entire race so far. I can't think of the his name. He races unattached in the black uniform with the orange colors. I saw him chasing a bit, helped by one or two guys. The chase effort was broken up by BBC. Good tactics, for sure, but not making me happy. I was stuck in the middle and could only watch as nobody organized - I hate that yellow line! I then calmed down when I realized the break wasn't gaining much time, even with their team blocking. The race is still a long ways, anyway, no need to worry about this break. (It helps watching upper categories as well. I roadguarded for the afternoon races. The Pro, 1, 2 race had a break of 6 guys with at least a 3 minute gap going into the 2nd or 3rd lap. They were caught two laps later.)
Even so, I knew the BBC break would force the Coppi's to give chase and drain our reserves. Our plan was to send off two guys at a time in the second half of the race. Mr. Hawaii and Jordan would form a duo with Johnny and I grouping. I saw John giving chase on a flat section, with Jordan on tow.
We come to the major hill section. A guy in front of me was a bit to the right of the yellow line, so I passed him by using the line. The referee pulls up beside me whistling his whistle and pointing me out of the group. I put up a weak argument about how I didn't cross the line. One racer says, "That sucks, man," in a tone that suggests, "Better you than me, sucker." Jordan tells me to go to the back of the pack. Not a bad idea. Halfway up the hill I was back into my original position. Not a bad consequence after all. The break wasn't much ahead and losing ground. I keep my positioning towards the middle. The break falls apart, with a lone guy out front. At the finishing stretch I moved up considerably and quickly. A fellow racer was informing all of us to "watch the yellow line." I was near it, but not on it. I wanted to get to the front, blocked by a racer taking up a good portion of road near the yellow line. I fell back and moved beside him on the right. I calmly asked him to move right so I could pass him. Too calm, apparently. He did nothing, visibily struggling up the hill. I yelled something (probably some obscenity). He finally moved. I took off and got to the front, grabbed a water bottle from the feedzone, and was first into the sharp right turn after the downhill. It didn't look too sharp, but the last two laps I almost ate asphalt with the speed I was carrying from the downhill. I even took the best line possible, chomping at its apex like a juicy steak. Thankfully, the road didn't chomp me.
A guy was off the front going into the third lap. A flier. Now, this may sound stupid, and I would agree to a point: I started a chase effort. The criterium at Toona allowed my legs to get stronger as the duration of the race increased. I figured I could open up my legs a bit by chasing. I didn't chase hard, keeping my output below threshold. That black/orange kid took a pull. I take another pull. A few minutes into the chase effort the kid tells us we have a gap. I look back. The pack is well behind us four breakers. The flier latches on. We maintain a good paceline.
We get to the major hill section. Me and orange/black kid drop the other three.
"We gotta wait up for them, we can't go it alone," I say.
He had the voice of reason. "They're going too slow." We were both huffing and puffing. I look back and see the pack getting closer. I'll just sit in and wait for the pack to catch us.
I get in behind him and draft for a bit on the flat section at the top. The referee tells us we have a 30 second lead. I instantly take on pulling duties. I'm in this for the long haul. A two man break doesn't seem like good chances, but I'll give it all I've got. We work well together. A few times he tells me to take smoother pulls because I would stand up on the hills to relax my back. We come to final hill and he is losing ground. I figure he's grabbed a water bottle and is drinking. I slow up to let him catch me. We go over the crest of the hill. After I almost eat concrete on the right turn, again, he tells me something like "You're f'n working hard, man. Go on, I can't do it anymore." What? He looked like he was good to go. I was confused as to my options at that point. We've already been out here for 7 or 8 miles, 10 more might be out of my reach. After a second or two of personal deliberation, I think, What the hell, if the heat gets me I'll join the pack and go for the sprint finish. I get out of the saddle and take off, putting myself into time trial mode.
I hope the pack forgets about me. Then again, I have the referee up here.
Now, for the next 10 miles it was mostly me and a referee on my side giving me time gaps. The gap was hovering around 55 seconds to a minute. The one thing I look back on and regret is overdoing myself near the top of many small climbs so I could pedal easier to recover on the downhill side. It doesn't hurt the first few times, but the accumulation builds up. I kept my head down for most of the ride, using the yellow and white lines as a guide. On flat sections I put my hands on the top of the handle bars close together and lowered my back for aerodynamic positioning. After five miles I still maintained a 55 second lead. I was certain I had this win. A minute gap is hard to pull back without an organized effort.
After the major hill section I started slowing down, or at least that's how I felt. My legs were burning and felt sore, I stopped pedaling more often while taking more drinks. The finish line was my only motivation. I feel like Floyd Landis on Stage 17, on a comeback from a poor showing at Toona. A while later I think, I'm glad the finish line isn't too far away. I don't feel like doing this much more.
I pass up young Nathan from NCVC and another young kid in a dark uniform. I have a 50 second gap. A mile or two later on the hill with the right turn in the middle two guys pass me, one an NCVC and another in a dark uniform. I pull up behind the NCVC to draft, look over at the referee to make sure its legal. He doesn't disagree with my action and stays right beside me like he has been for the past 8 miles. The dark uniform kid takes off. The ref stays with us. These two racers must be stragglers looking for a good workout. I stand up and pull up beside the NCVC. I noticed they both had 400 numbers. Oh, they're from the 3/4 race. It then dawns on me. I ask the NCVC, "That guy is in the lead, huh?" "Yep." Damn. I take off.
I give chase, come pretty close to catching him. I was definitely overdoing myself. I didn't want to kill myself and fall to third so it became a battle to maintain my distance from NCVC while trying to catch the dark uniform. I don't even know where these guys came from. Too bad we don't have ear pieces! I would have known there was a chase group and would have chased down the leader the instant he attacked. And I thought he was looking for a good workout!
I don't know why the ref didn't tell me I had two chasers on me. It wasn't his duty, but it would have been helpful like those time gaps.
We come to the hill. Its apparent I can't catch the leader so I give enough to keep my second. The pack comes in shortly after. Mr. NCVC third place guy tells me he didn't even know I was out there. I'm sure that was what most people thought.
I actually felt better about getting 2nd in this race than 1st in the Giro. The Giro was more about teamwork. Even though John and Jordan allowed me to break in this race, there's nothing like soloing for 10 miles in a road race. Being away from a pack for almost 20 miles, half the race, is a mighty feat that I've always envisioned out on my training rides.
I wanted to do the team ride today, as I look forward to it every Sunday I don't race. For good or bad, I slept for 12 hours. I now have either 13 points or 19, depending on whether Mt Penn counts as a 1st (for cat 4) or 6th (3/4). Either way I'll be upgrading soon enough - to race with the big dogs next year.
1 comments:
I told you earlier in the season you are one guy I want to make a break with if I ever had the chance.
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