The first race of the year definitely got off with a bang. A small group of the team went down to Mineral Wells Texas to do a 2 day stage race. None of us had any big expectations....More of a test of fitness and just getting back into the racing groove. The first race was the criterium. I really liked the course. Kind of short, L shaped with a short, semi-steep climb.
I wanted to try and stay near the front as much as possible, and actually ended up starting on the front row. I thought the race would start a lot faster than it did. So far every race I've done as a cat 2 has been a P 1/2 race or a cat 123 race. This was the first race I've done as a cat 2 only race. I don't know if it's because it's still really early in the season or what, but the effort seemed a lot easier than I expected. I rode second wheel the first lap and led the next lap or two.
It's a lot easier to ride a criterium in the front or in the top 5 or so. Physically and technically.
Rob and Brian were the other cat 2's from the team riding in the race, and both guys were riding really well. Rob got off the front a short time after this photo with Les Akins. Some how they miscommunicated and got into each other and crashed. I didn't see what happened so it's hard to speculate, but it seems to me if 2 guys are in a break (or any number for that matter), they need to make it as easy to work together as possible. Some kind of rhythm has to be established, intentions need to be announced well in advance. I don't know as again, I wasn't there and I didn't see it, so I'm not trying to blame anyone. It just seems like a stupid mistake that shouldn't have happened. Rob's bike was pretty jacked and all he was able to do was just ride the rest of the race out and finish in order to do the next stage.
A USPS truck got on the course at one point right out of the corner leading up to the climb. Looks like Paul Bonds is giving the postman a dirty look.
A guy got off the front and soloed in for the win. Brian and I were able to maintain our position at the end pretty well. I had to throw some elbows in the last 2 corners because guys started getting super aggressive. I ended up 5th and Brian got 10th.
Our hotel was only about 3 miles from the crit course, so we rode back to the hotel to eat and get our TT set-ups going. I just put some clip on aero bars and a reverse seatpost on my bike. I also used a aero helmet and my skinsuit. We rode out to the TT course. It was 7 miles away. As we were riding out, Rob and I were discussing what type of power we would try to go at. In hindsight, I figured a little high. I thought the crit seemed somewhat easy as I never really felt like I got winded, but once we got to the TT course, I decided to put a little effort in to warm up properly before the TT started. My legs definitely did not want to go.
I hoped once I got going, my legs would come around and start to feel good. Brian went 1st with me 1 minute behind him, and Rob went 1 minute behind me with 2 other guys staggered between the 3 of us. I went out a little hard, but my 30 second guy behind me caught me after only about 2 miles. I caught Brian around the 4 mile point, and Rob caught me around the 6 mile point. The TT was about 7.5 or so miles long. It had about 4 good climbs, and the last 2 really killed me. Rob did well getting 10th. There was less than a second difference between 7th through 10th. I got 21st and Brian got 29th.
The drama continued on day 2 for the road race. We would be doing 3 laps of the 24.6 mile course. There was a pretty good hill around the halfway point with KOM points on the hill on the second lap, and prime points on the 1st and 2nd lap at the start/finish line.
The drama continued on day 2 for the road race. We would be doing 3 laps of the 24.6 mile course. There was a pretty good hill around the halfway point with KOM points on the hill on the second lap, and prime points on the 1st and 2nd lap at the start/finish line.
It was cool, overcast and windy when we started. It seemed like it took forever to get warmed up as we started pretty slow. The first lap was pretty uneventful until we hit the hill. The 1st time up it, I got dropped a little bit, but managed to catch back up to the group without too much effort. A short time after the hill, a group of 4 guys were off the front. As we started our second lap, I had no idea of the racing emotional roller coaster I was about to be on for the next 2 hours. About 1/4 mile past the start/finish line, the course turned right into a pretty stiff cross wind. I was sitting on Paul Bonds' wheel in the gutter, when the whole echelon whipped the both of us off the road. Luckily Paul and I have some cyclocross skills as we were both sideways in the grass for a while. Somehow neither of us crashed, but Pauls bike got into my front wheel and took out one of my spokes.
It was a pretty good effort to get reconnected to the group with my front wheel rubbing the brakes. I was able to undo the brake quick release lever and thread the adjusting barell all the way in.That helped a lot. I survived the crosswind section and we made another right turn. The road smoothed out and it was mostly tailwind all the way to the hill. Brian attacked the group a little after we got out of the cross wind section and another guy went with him.
Brian and the other rider were about 30 seconds ahead of the group, and around 30 seconds or so behind the break of 4 riders. They were trying to bridge up when disaster struck again. Somehow they crossed wheels and Brian went down hard! As we were passing, it was obvious Brian was in a lot of pain. Rob stopped racing to try and help. I didn't really know what to do, but I kept going as there was a follow vehicle as well as other support vehicles around. It was definitely a disturbing feeling seeing my buddy all jacked up on the side of the road. Things only got worse shortly after that. I still didn't really feel very good...kind of lethargic, flat, and tired. Add that I'm worried about Brian and I have no teamates left. Then we hit the big hill.
Sure enough, I got dropped again. There were KOM points to be awarded this time up, so the group pushed it pretty hard. A group of 5 other riders and myself formed a little chase group, and at first it didn't seem like it would be a huge effort to get back on to the main field, but we didn't quite get connected before we turned into the headwind section. We started to chase REALLY hard as we were getting into panic/survival mode, but the field just kept putting more time on us. Then 2 of the guys in our chase group blew up. It seemed like sometimes we would make up 10 or 15 seconds, but then quickly lose 20 seconds. It pretty much stayed this way for the next 7 or 8 miles. Another guy and myself were trying to keep the other 2 guys in the group motivated to keep going, as they were getting to the point of being done.
Then the main field caught the 4 man break that had been off the front and basically sat up. We almost got back to the main field, but then guys started attacking. however, we were close enough to know we could do it at this point. About a mile and a half before the start/finish line, we finally managed to get back on. I instantly felt 20 times better at this point. Once I caught my breath, we were 1K from finishing our 2nd lap. I figured I might as well try to get some prime points since all I had to work for now was GC points. We started sprinting and I barely pipped a guy to get 3rd in the sprint which was good for 1 point.
I wanted to make it to the right hander into the cross wind section at the front of the group to get a sweet spot so that hopefully the gutter racing would be minimal. What happened next is one of the weirdest things I've ever encountered. I made it to the turn 1st. I didn't go hard to the corner, I just kept pedaling...actually soft pedaling. Heading west down the rough road with the cross wind, I would say I was riding about as fast as your average 40 year old woman rides around Lake Hefner on a hybrid. I get a couple minutes in at this pace expecting to jump onto the group as they pass and starting to get a little annoyed that no one is coming around. I glanced back and somehow I've got about a 100 yard gap on the field.
I increased the pace to about what Brandon and I ride on our way home from work...not too hard, maybe lower tempo range. A couple minutes later, a Park Place rider bridges up solo to me and we take off. Again not very hard, I was going about 70% of my FTP I would guess. About 10 minutes later, the official on a motorcycle rides up and tells us we have 1:15 on the field....about another 10 minutes its up to 2 minutes with 1 guy chasing 30 seconds ahead of the peleton. At this point I'm thinking we're probably going to get caught, but if we can make it over the hill before then, I'll be good cause I won't get dropped again.
We got through the cross wind section and made it to the tail wind section leading up to the hill. The official informs us that we now have a 3 minute gap with 3 guys chasing a minute back. Now I figured with the help of these other 3 guys, we could possibly make this break stick to the end. Long story short, that's what we did. I made a slight error at the end. I debated taking my last pull at the 1K to go sign, and sure enough, no one pulled through after that, so I was up front when the sprint started. Its a lot easier to jump when you're right on the strongest guys wheel as he's jumping. I felt like I could have won, but I was super stoked to get 3rd. I've never really been in that situation until then, so I learned something at least.
It was a pretty good effort to get reconnected to the group with my front wheel rubbing the brakes. I was able to undo the brake quick release lever and thread the adjusting barell all the way in.That helped a lot. I survived the crosswind section and we made another right turn. The road smoothed out and it was mostly tailwind all the way to the hill. Brian attacked the group a little after we got out of the cross wind section and another guy went with him.
Brian and the other rider were about 30 seconds ahead of the group, and around 30 seconds or so behind the break of 4 riders. They were trying to bridge up when disaster struck again. Somehow they crossed wheels and Brian went down hard! As we were passing, it was obvious Brian was in a lot of pain. Rob stopped racing to try and help. I didn't really know what to do, but I kept going as there was a follow vehicle as well as other support vehicles around. It was definitely a disturbing feeling seeing my buddy all jacked up on the side of the road. Things only got worse shortly after that. I still didn't really feel very good...kind of lethargic, flat, and tired. Add that I'm worried about Brian and I have no teamates left. Then we hit the big hill.
Sure enough, I got dropped again. There were KOM points to be awarded this time up, so the group pushed it pretty hard. A group of 5 other riders and myself formed a little chase group, and at first it didn't seem like it would be a huge effort to get back on to the main field, but we didn't quite get connected before we turned into the headwind section. We started to chase REALLY hard as we were getting into panic/survival mode, but the field just kept putting more time on us. Then 2 of the guys in our chase group blew up. It seemed like sometimes we would make up 10 or 15 seconds, but then quickly lose 20 seconds. It pretty much stayed this way for the next 7 or 8 miles. Another guy and myself were trying to keep the other 2 guys in the group motivated to keep going, as they were getting to the point of being done.
Then the main field caught the 4 man break that had been off the front and basically sat up. We almost got back to the main field, but then guys started attacking. however, we were close enough to know we could do it at this point. About a mile and a half before the start/finish line, we finally managed to get back on. I instantly felt 20 times better at this point. Once I caught my breath, we were 1K from finishing our 2nd lap. I figured I might as well try to get some prime points since all I had to work for now was GC points. We started sprinting and I barely pipped a guy to get 3rd in the sprint which was good for 1 point.
I wanted to make it to the right hander into the cross wind section at the front of the group to get a sweet spot so that hopefully the gutter racing would be minimal. What happened next is one of the weirdest things I've ever encountered. I made it to the turn 1st. I didn't go hard to the corner, I just kept pedaling...actually soft pedaling. Heading west down the rough road with the cross wind, I would say I was riding about as fast as your average 40 year old woman rides around Lake Hefner on a hybrid. I get a couple minutes in at this pace expecting to jump onto the group as they pass and starting to get a little annoyed that no one is coming around. I glanced back and somehow I've got about a 100 yard gap on the field.
I increased the pace to about what Brandon and I ride on our way home from work...not too hard, maybe lower tempo range. A couple minutes later, a Park Place rider bridges up solo to me and we take off. Again not very hard, I was going about 70% of my FTP I would guess. About 10 minutes later, the official on a motorcycle rides up and tells us we have 1:15 on the field....about another 10 minutes its up to 2 minutes with 1 guy chasing 30 seconds ahead of the peleton. At this point I'm thinking we're probably going to get caught, but if we can make it over the hill before then, I'll be good cause I won't get dropped again.
We got through the cross wind section and made it to the tail wind section leading up to the hill. The official informs us that we now have a 3 minute gap with 3 guys chasing a minute back. Now I figured with the help of these other 3 guys, we could possibly make this break stick to the end. Long story short, that's what we did. I made a slight error at the end. I debated taking my last pull at the 1K to go sign, and sure enough, no one pulled through after that, so I was up front when the sprint started. Its a lot easier to jump when you're right on the strongest guys wheel as he's jumping. I felt like I could have won, but I was super stoked to get 3rd. I've never really been in that situation until then, so I learned something at least.
In the end there were a couple of guys a minute and a half back, but we put 4 minutes on the main field! The 3rd place finish in addition to my prime points got me a 6th in the overall GC. If only I could have done better in the time trial.......
I got the low down on Brian after the race was over. He had broken his femur and had to be air lifted to Ft.Worth. We drove out on our way home to check on him. He was in good spirits and hopefully everything works out well and he heals quickly.
Other than the crashes, it was a fun weekend overall. The DNA guys killed it in the cat 3 class. Andy missed winning the GC by 1 point. It was also Tony's first race...A Texas stage race at that! He rode really smart getting 6th in the GC in the cat 5's
I got the low down on Brian after the race was over. He had broken his femur and had to be air lifted to Ft.Worth. We drove out on our way home to check on him. He was in good spirits and hopefully everything works out well and he heals quickly.
Other than the crashes, it was a fun weekend overall. The DNA guys killed it in the cat 3 class. Andy missed winning the GC by 1 point. It was also Tony's first race...A Texas stage race at that! He rode really smart getting 6th in the GC in the cat 5's
Congrats Joey! Thanks for the blog. Hope Parks gets better soon. Keep the updates coming. This is the only way I get to race a bike anymore. Hands get sweaty just reading.
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