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| Some of the Cushman & Wakefield Squads at Snelling L to R: Me, Norrie Quinn, Armin Pressler, Dan Tkach, Neil Leary, Henrik Schubert, Long Nguyen, Tony Low, Jaime Madrigal |
I was more nervous than usual about
this race. While I dove into the Early Bird training crits in
January, and had a good showing on New Year's day at San Bruno, I
have felt like I've gotten a late start to the season, racing for my
new team. This would be my first opportunity to learn how to ride
with a team. But this course seemed to have a reputation as being
best for big, crit-types, so I was expecting a physical, argy-bargy
bell lap with lots of potential for crashes. My season goal is to
perform as a valuable and integral team rider, so I definitely want
to demonstrate to my team and others that I'm dedicated.
The original plan
During our team phone conference two
nights prior, our primary goal was to work for our A-rider, Mark
Carson. Tony Low, Norrie Quinn and Dan Tkach would work to protect
Mark in the pack, while Henrik and I would police any breakaways and
make sure that if any occurred, CW would be represented. If possible,
I would support Henrik for a win.
A new plan
Henrik and I carpooled from San Rafael
to the race. On the way, we got an email from Mark that his cold had
progressed and he won't be able to race. Our race strategy would now
be revised. With a brief pre-race discussion, Tony, Norrie, Dan,
Henrik and I agreed that our new plan is to protect and work for
Henrik.
My understanding of my current role and
goals
Work to protect Henrik if I can. If I
can't (and I wasn't able to do much for him until the final lap), be
aware enough to notice what else needs to be done. Also I did not
want to place top nine because I wanted to avoid picking up another
upgrade point so early in the season.
A change in duty
I can't figure out why, but on
completing the slow, first lap, my left hamstring cramped violently and relentlessly.
I hydrated with electrolyte amply during my prerace warmup on the
rollers. And my training efforts have been strong in recent weeks.
Whatever the cause, I quickly found myself at the rear of the pack
approaching the feed zone. Unable to stop the seizing, I thought my
race was done. I got dropped at Copperopolis last year with the same
affliction. I rode out of the saddle to use different muscles. For
insurance I took a bottle from Paige, guzzled a bit, and as if I'd
been “sha-zammed” by a genie, my cramping subsided. I don't know
if it was the fluids, or real magic, but thank you for the change in
circumstances Paige.
Back in the peloton, it was still
challenging to thread through, to ride near Henrik, Tony and Norrie in
the front dozen riders. Even though we have the luxury of covering
both lanes of the closed course, the right side still bunches up, so
it turned out that it was easiest to move up on the left. The breeze
was practically nonexistent, so there wasn't much of an issue with
echelons.
Crash avoidance, luck, team headcount, moving
on
A crash (on Los Cerritos Rd, during lap
two, spawned a breakaway with three riders (FSB, ? and ?
represente–do any of my teammates remember what other teams?). Due to the post-crash scramble and confusion, I'm unaware at this point that these riders got away. I notice a bit late, that Tony is working hard at
the front all alone. I come alongside Norrie and ask
what's up. He tells me that Tony's trying to reel in the break by himself. I felt like such an idiot for not noticing sooner. Once I understood, I got up there and helped Tony,
knowing that every second counts. Norrie is working to protect
Henrik. Dan is working well forward in the pack. Tony explains that
FSB has a rider in the break, which explains why he's receiving so
little help from other teams. Tony was a beast throughout these efforts. He has hinted that work and other obligations have reduced his training time, but it did not show. He almost single-handedly reeled in the breakaway.
I remember seeing one of the three leaders fade and get reabsorbed. I'm not absolutely sure when we picked up the remaining
two. But by the beginning of the fourth lap, I'm pretty sure we were
gruppo compacto.
Last lap
Midway through the fourth and final lap, on Olsen Rd. I move up along the left side, to the front, and our blue train leads the peloton. I'm pretty sure it
looked pretty cool... at least it felt very cool. We're winding it
up, beginning to stretch out the field after a tough chase to reel in
the leaders. Taking the sharp, sandy, right onto Los Cerritos, with
Henrik on my wheel and at least Norrie and Tony tucked in, I decide to try to
string out the field with a hard, sustained effort, expecting to burn
all my matches, hoping to sap some energy from the sprinters to give
my guys a better shot. 3/4 mile after the turn, I have to take a
break while we're neutralized by the moto-ref so the P1/2s can get
past us. Somewhere in that group is Airgas rider Chris Horner, but I don't care. I was hoping for a consistent effort all the way to the
steep-ish climb after the bridge. The ref holds us back until there's
a gap, for about 3/4 mile. I'm recovered a bit, unfortunately so is
everyone else. But I know I'll get the word first from the ref once
we're released. As soon as he signals, I hit it again hard and
burn my last matches up and over the climb. I don't know for sure if I'm doing any damage, I just hear Henrik yelling "Go Go Go!" I hope at least that I helped keep my teammates up front, instead
of inside the swirling “squaredance” that can occur in a prolonged
windup to a sprinter's race like this one.
The finish
Left turn onto Figmund, I drift back,
mid-pack, spent. I see Henrik and Dan have hit the hard, uphill right turn onto Fields Road, in good position for the bunch sprint. Henrik gets to
the turn about 5th or 6th wheel, and Dan is in there
a few riders back. At the line, Henrik gets 3rd! Dan is 5th! I “wander in” for 22nd place.
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| Blue on the podium L to R: Henrik Schubert (CW), Ron Stofan (BP/Sierra Nevada), Krag Rasmussen (Eden Cycles) |
Where I might have “dropped the
ball”
The cramping really got me off to a bad
start. My experience has been that severe cramping like that is more
due to lack of fitness than lack of hydration, but I know I'm fit, so
who knows? Whatever the case, it affected my ability to stick to my
job. Fortunately another teammate took over that role, and once I
recovered, I was able to take on new work helping Tony reel in the
breakaway. I also feel like I didn't demonstrate confident pack
riding skills, in that I found it difficult to find slots in the
front dozen riders. Next time I'll communicate better with teammates,
signaling that I want to drop in line ahead of their front wheel.
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| Job done. Tiny blue guy (on the left) finishing mid-pack |
What I think I did right
Not that I “did” anything to
achieve this, but my training has been excellent so far this season.
I've been extremely lucky with family, work and general health. I
have so much to learn about cycling on a team, after riding,
essentially solo, for over four decades. But I feel like this race
presented several great examples of why it's important to be
receptive to the dynamic nature of racing, as plan “A” gives way
to plan “B” and “C”. In my own “fantasy world”, so far, I
feel like my hard efforts in the final lap served some purpose to
improve my teammates' chances in the setup for the sprint.
What I think could be improved
That crash was a close call for nearly
all of us. Granted, riding in the front of the pack is always safer,
but isn't always possible to stay there. As far forward as Henrik
was, he was actually closest to the incident. He was lucky to do a
fast move to the right to avoid being caught on the fringe of the
tumbling wad of legs, arms and bikes. I was farther back, with an
extra second or two to react, but the evasive moves by others were
amplified like waves. My safest line, took me off the right side of
the road, into the sand at the edge of the almond orchard.
Fortunately the ground was firm enough to stay at speed and cx ride a
bit, then get back onto the road. My first thought was to check on
teammates. It looked like all five blue kits were upright. But if
not, what does a teammate do? I am inclined to stop and do anything
possible to get my mate back in the pack. Give up a wheel, a bike,
whatever. The experience of CA rider Greg Pacheco tells me that the
race is not over if you go down–he was in the crash, got up, chased
back on, and finished 4th. We were all lucky this time. I
feel like I need to be ready to react more rapidly to situations as
they arise though.
I recognize that I've had some time to
knit this yarn into a tale that makes me look like less of a wimp.
But I'm riding with you guys to learn, so please call me on any
errors you notice. I'll keep an eye out for your reports to see what
else I've missed.
