Race season is back. And with it comes a long overdue post. Before I get into my race recap, let's quickly touch on the last 5 months. January through March I was training with Coach JvD; Two hours/week group session on the bike, and the other 4 or 5 nights a week logged in Training Peaks . By the time April 1 rolled around, I was feeling stronger on the bike than I can ever remember feeling at the beginning of April. Four days later, we were on a plane to Europe for a 3.5 week vacation. Yes, a bit of cycling time ensued. But mostly it was beaches with our nephews and riding city bikes to the bakery (morning) or pub (afternoon & evening) with Dezz. In other words, a lot of that cycling fitness was replaced by Trappists and pastries.
We returned to the humdrum with 4 weeks to get back into race shape. Was 4 weeks enough? Well, kinda.
The Alex Stieda Classic Road Race was on Saturday on some rolling roads just outside of Leduc. With 35 guys starting the Cat 5 race and big representation from two Edmonton teams, it was always going to be a tough day with limited post-vacation miles and no Bici team mates. We shed a few guys on the first climb of the day and I embedded myself in the middle of the peloton as we headed into the headwind. Through the first 18km the race was uneventful and I got the legs into it and took a turn at the front. Then we turned right, hit the start of the 7km gravel section, and things got interesting. Settling into one of two smooth lines, the group quickly strung out. I was sat on 3 wheels only to realize a few bike lengths had opened up ahead. I'm quite comfortable on gravel, even hitting a top speed of 50km/h. But if you've ever drafted before, you know how much faster a big group usally is. In other words, there was no closing the gap. By the time I hit the pavement 7km later, I had dropped a few guys and been dropped by a few guys, leaving me solo on lap 1. Fortunately I was joined by another guy from Velocity and we paced each other to eventually form a group of 6 by the start of lap 2. We formed an echelon in the crosswind, hammered the gravel, and pace-lined our way down the final 10km almost intact. With 500m to go, as I moved up for my final pull on the front I just kept accelerating and opened up enough of a gap to take the sprint for minor placing. Overall, 16/35. Not my best day on the bike, but happy enough with the effort and it felt good to get those legs racing again.
After a healthy turkey dinner and water with the family on Saturday night, I felt ready for Sunday's criterium. Again, being the only Cat 5 Bici racer, my game plan was to embed myself within the group without burning to many matches early on. I was a bit too close to the back early on, but matched any accelerations and didn't lose contact with the group at any time in the race. But those accelerations were few and far between. Despite big squads from the Edmonton teams again, no one was really willing to put in an effort and challenge the group. Small attacks were marked and then the group just settled back. On the bell (last) lap, I expected a few individuals to jump, but again the group just sat in. Finally on the back half of the last lap, 3 guys jumped off the front. My positioning wasn't great, but I worked up through the group and, tired of waiting for something to happen, decided to try bridge the gap. I came onto the home stretch in 4th place, but unable to close down the gap. My legs felt the metres tick by and with about 50m to go it was clear to me that Saturday's race, combined with the previous 250m surge, meant these 40 year old legs weren't going anywhere. I saw two guys go by me and tried to give one last push. But there was no push to be had. My 4th place position quickly dropped to 8th or 9th...or maybe 10th. As I crossed the line I may have let out an expletive. Caught up in the adrenaline, I was disappointed in myself. I'm still not sure if that initial disappointment was in my effort or my tactic. Neither was great. But on the day, that's all the legs could muster. And at the time, I thought the tactic not necessarily the best one, but the best at a chance for points. With everyone having sat in for the last 45 minutes and many of the guys not having Saturday's race effort in their legs, I thought there would be some faster sprints than mine. Guess I was right. Chatting with two experienced crit racers afterwards, it gave me a bit of reassurance that I'm starting to wrap my head around this whole criterium thing. Thanks Masa & Brent.
The goal hasn't changed; Cat 4 or bust. There's work to be done. But I'm about to get doing. And as my 5 year old nephew just reminded me..."the important thing is to participate, not always win".
We returned to the humdrum with 4 weeks to get back into race shape. Was 4 weeks enough? Well, kinda.
The Alex Stieda Classic Road Race was on Saturday on some rolling roads just outside of Leduc. With 35 guys starting the Cat 5 race and big representation from two Edmonton teams, it was always going to be a tough day with limited post-vacation miles and no Bici team mates. We shed a few guys on the first climb of the day and I embedded myself in the middle of the peloton as we headed into the headwind. Through the first 18km the race was uneventful and I got the legs into it and took a turn at the front. Then we turned right, hit the start of the 7km gravel section, and things got interesting. Settling into one of two smooth lines, the group quickly strung out. I was sat on 3 wheels only to realize a few bike lengths had opened up ahead. I'm quite comfortable on gravel, even hitting a top speed of 50km/h. But if you've ever drafted before, you know how much faster a big group usally is. In other words, there was no closing the gap. By the time I hit the pavement 7km later, I had dropped a few guys and been dropped by a few guys, leaving me solo on lap 1. Fortunately I was joined by another guy from Velocity and we paced each other to eventually form a group of 6 by the start of lap 2. We formed an echelon in the crosswind, hammered the gravel, and pace-lined our way down the final 10km almost intact. With 500m to go, as I moved up for my final pull on the front I just kept accelerating and opened up enough of a gap to take the sprint for minor placing. Overall, 16/35. Not my best day on the bike, but happy enough with the effort and it felt good to get those legs racing again.
After a healthy turkey dinner and water with the family on Saturday night, I felt ready for Sunday's criterium. Again, being the only Cat 5 Bici racer, my game plan was to embed myself within the group without burning to many matches early on. I was a bit too close to the back early on, but matched any accelerations and didn't lose contact with the group at any time in the race. But those accelerations were few and far between. Despite big squads from the Edmonton teams again, no one was really willing to put in an effort and challenge the group. Small attacks were marked and then the group just settled back. On the bell (last) lap, I expected a few individuals to jump, but again the group just sat in. Finally on the back half of the last lap, 3 guys jumped off the front. My positioning wasn't great, but I worked up through the group and, tired of waiting for something to happen, decided to try bridge the gap. I came onto the home stretch in 4th place, but unable to close down the gap. My legs felt the metres tick by and with about 50m to go it was clear to me that Saturday's race, combined with the previous 250m surge, meant these 40 year old legs weren't going anywhere. I saw two guys go by me and tried to give one last push. But there was no push to be had. My 4th place position quickly dropped to 8th or 9th...or maybe 10th. As I crossed the line I may have let out an expletive. Caught up in the adrenaline, I was disappointed in myself. I'm still not sure if that initial disappointment was in my effort or my tactic. Neither was great. But on the day, that's all the legs could muster. And at the time, I thought the tactic not necessarily the best one, but the best at a chance for points. With everyone having sat in for the last 45 minutes and many of the guys not having Saturday's race effort in their legs, I thought there would be some faster sprints than mine. Guess I was right. Chatting with two experienced crit racers afterwards, it gave me a bit of reassurance that I'm starting to wrap my head around this whole criterium thing. Thanks Masa & Brent.
The goal hasn't changed; Cat 4 or bust. There's work to be done. But I'm about to get doing. And as my 5 year old nephew just reminded me..."the important thing is to participate, not always win".
