Race: Turlock Lake
Date: 4/9/2011
Category/Field Size: Men Cat 5 35+. About 24 riders.
Team Mates: Chris and Felix
Weather/Course Description:
COLD!!!! 8:50 start was about 40 degrees. The course has some rollers. The finish has no significant elevation change.
Race Plan:
With only two riders we decided to use this race to play around some. Felix and I were going to cover and/or attack. If we are together at the end, try and get a lead-out going.
Race:
I was shivering at the start and wasn’t anxious to get moving. It didn’t appear anyone else was ready to race either. We slowly left the start line and gently worked our way up to a 15mph pace. The slow pace continued for the first 8 miles. As we were riding I was surveying the type of riders in the group and it appeared that there were a lot of power guys there. That had me really motivated to catch or create a break. I am not going to win many battles with the power guys on a mass sprint to the finish.
About this time we were approaching one of the steeper climbs. As we started to go up the lead rider continued the low-effort pace by slowing down. I thought this would be a good time to do a low-risk test to see who the strong riders were. Instead of slowing down with him I kept the pace all the way up the hill. Without much effort I was first up the hill with a gap over the rest of the group but I could see people charging up to come after me. I had no intention in trying to solo the next 45 miles so I let them catch me and grabbed on to one of the wheels that was going around me. The race is on!!!
The riders that caught me took off on a blistering pace. Someone was yelling about having a gap and was urging everyone to continue the high effort. As we were getting about 15 miles into the race I was starting to fatigue a little and took a glance behind me. No one was around for as far as I could see. We lost Felix somewhere. If I don’t keep up the pace, the race could be over. Fortunately the pace slowed down shortly after that and we settled into a more moderate pace.
As we finished the rollers on Hawkins and got into the flat area next to the Start/Finish, the pace really started to slow down. Riders started reaching for their gels and other foods. I did the same but had a problem… It was so cold at the start I had my clumsy long fingered gloves. As I pulled out the food I wasn’t able to get the packs open (I should have pre-opened them before the race). As we got back towards the rollers I noticed that with a monster effort, Felix and another rider managed to catch back on. Awesome!!! We have about 11 riders in the group including Felix and I. This is perfect for landing at least 1 rider in the top 5.
I tried to go with an attack from Peter (Rio Strada) and we were out there for a little bit but the peloton was determined to not let us slip away. As we are approaching the rollers on Hawkins I am feeling really strong. Felix is a little tired from catching the peloton but he is probably good enough for a lead-out. Looking at the power guys, I am guessing that they are tired too by the way they are riding. The power guys were also taking a lot of pulls on the final lap. With the power guys looking tired I am thinking that the rollers on Hawkins might be a good place to do another test to see who responds and maybe I can get a break going to the finish.
With Hawkins in sight we see a bunch of riders from another category stopped at the turn. We come to a stop as well and the race is neutralized for 40 minutes due to an accident from the women’s category along Hawkins road. By the time the race is started again we had 20 something riders back together and rested.
The pace takes off pretty quickly and my calves start to cramp a little. At that time a rider from Fun Sport Bike (FSB) takes off to get a break going. I want to join him but I am riding cautiously because of the cramps. The FSB rider has a huge lead on the rest of the group but we manage to bring him back in with less than 1 km to go. As we approach the 200m line I lost track of where Felix is at and I am second in line. The rider in front takes off on an early sprint which leaves me in the wind so I go after him. By the time I catch him I am burned out and have nothing left for a sprint. I got passed by a LOT of riders. I think I finished 10th but I am not sure because we didn’t have time to wait for the results.
Results
I think I finished 10th but I am not sure because we didn’t have time to wait for the results. Felix came in shortly after.
Lessons
1. This is the second time I have been in a lead group and had the race neutralized where everyone catches up. It really adds to what has already been said about how hard it is to win a race. You can be doing everything right only to have a wild card show up and ruin the plans.
2. I need to be a little less aggressive from 1km to 200m. I keep burning myself out before the finish. On the bright side, if I was leading for someone, the designated rider would be delivered to an awesome position on my last two races.
3. I need to communicate more with Felix. He was with us going through Hawkins and I should have asked him to get in front of me so that we could have worked together down the final stretch.
Sponsors Note
The Nike Vision glasses continue to work great. The MaxAdapt lenses provided a bright and clear view for the early start but continued to provide enough shade for the mid-day finish.
Nice race report. I posted something earlier to the email group about "luck" and here's another example. Sounds like you had a really good race despite the neutralization. I think you did the right thing by chasing down that wheel at the finish. If you would have let up that slight bit of hesitation would likely have sent you far back into the pack with little chance of finishing in the top-10. You're good at finding your way to the front near the end of the race and one of these day's it's going to pay off.
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