Race Report: Wente Classic Road Race, m45 cat 4/5

Two steps lower than I'd planned, but glad to be on the podium
photo: Jennifer Kinion

Introduction:

Being the protected rider was a brand new experience for me. In my profession, I usually work either as an employee or independent contractor. I've only rarely supervised and/or managed crews on single-day video production shoots–so seeing my race teammates give their all, to put me in position to sprint up Carroll Rd. was transformational for me. They did everything that was asked and more. I can't say I'm completely at ease with the demands put on them, especially as I watched my heart rate lollygag in zone 2 for most of the race, but having been in their position for other races this season, I know they were glad to do it, not just for me, but for the team. And I knew my result was their result, so believe me I felt pressure and responsibility to deliver.

Teammates:

Henrik Schubert, Rob Lytle, Neil Leary, Mark Carson, Robin Roberts, Jorge Lopez

The core team consisted of me, Henrik, Neil, Rob and Mark. Since Robin is new to road racing, Kevin O'Donnell wisely suggested he use this race as a learning experience, and so we didn't assign him any challenging duties. But we left the door open if he was feeling comfortable doing some work early in the race. Jorge was a same-day registrant, and I didn't have time to find out what his strengths are, and so sadly I wasn't able to incorporate him into our crew.

Goals:

Glen on the top step of the podium, with potential for podium and/or top-5 results for Henrik and Neil.

Original Strategy (many thanks to Henrik for finessing this out of my first plan): 

Dial back the tempo on climbs, to keep our powerhouse teammates, Rob, Mark and Neil in the mix to “freight train” it on the flats, while protecting Henrik and me. Pushing the pace like this on consecutive laps, we hoped to wear down potential strong climbers before the final ascent to the finish. Henrik protected me in the peloton. He was committed to deliver me to the base of the final climb in the front few positions, where I was confident that I would be able to match the fastest climbers for the final climb and sprint to the line.

Results in a field of 42:

Glen - 3rd

Henrik 7th

Mark 12th

Neil 20th

Robin 31st

Jorge 34th

(by listing everyone's placing, I just want to show how well they finished, even after the significant amount of work they did to get me onto that podium)

Flaws in my plan:

Not enough knowledge about competitors. There was zero intel on winner Thomas Ivey (cat 5, team Skadden), who raced on a single-day license. I also should have paid closer attention to the resume of 2nd place Kevin McHugh (cat 4, Coretechs Cycling Team). I should have noticed his strong finishes at Sea Otter and the Central Coast road series races.

The hamstring cramp came from nowhere. I was thoroughly hydrated, and my fitness is great right now. I rode hard on the Wednesday evening Col du Pantol ride, but rested thoroughly and did only two other z1 recovery rides in the days leading up to this race.

Before the race:

Every teammate was onsite at least two hours before race time. We checked in with each other and everyone knew the plan, but would be ready for adjustments on the road.

The race:

Just as planned, our team set a comfortable pace at the turn onto Altamont Pass Rd. Rob, Neil Mark, Henrik then me. Rob Neil and Mark set a calm pace on this first climb. To avoid swarming, we upped the pace across 580 onto Flynn Rd. with Mark and Rob driving. 

Mark Carson (front left) and Rob Lytle (front right) driving a hard pace on upper Flynn Rd.
photo: Alex Chiu

The peloton didn't seem to mind letting us lead. Cresting the Flynn climb, Henrik me, Phil Malaspina (SJBC) and 4 or 5 others descended fast enough to cause large gaps on the strung-out peloton. While I knew these wouldn't stick, it told me that there were just enough skittish descenders in the pack that we would be able to hammer the descents on each lap, causing cumulative fatigue in the legs of those who allowed too much space ahead of them. Hopefully some of these guys would be the same ones who hoped to beat me on the climb to the line.

The peloton reunited on the slog up Patterson Pass Rd. to Cross Rd. There's a hump on Cross which makes even the strongest rider feel like resting. The pace eased here. Rob and a rider from Peninsula Velo hammered, and soon had a good gap. Our race plan was flexible enough to include opportunity for Rob and/or Mark to break away if circumstances were favorable, but this wasn't the case now. Rob says that rider refused to work with him because our team was so big, so Rob came on back. North on Greenville, The northwest wind was fairly significant this morning, so anyone on the left side of the pack was working a bit harder. Rob brought powerful Robin roberts up front to help Mark and Neil, while Henrik and I cruised, sheltered in the peloton.

Staying cool and protected on Henrik's wheel
photo: Alex Chiu

The four of them really flew up Greenville, and kept things hot on Altamont. Rob kept the speed up to the base of Carroll, where the second ascent was even more relaxed than the first. I had been having a luxurious zone 1 & 2 Sunday ride to this point. I can't explain why halfway up Altamont, my right hamstring locked up in a cramp. I think I heard snikkering behind me as I lurched out of the saddle to allow other muscles to take over. I would've had a hard time avoiding a laugh out loud if it had happened to another protected rider. I dropped back 15 positions while I massaged the area and brought the spasms under control. I felt like a wuss, being pampered as I had been, yet suffering a cramp?! Along the ascent of Carroll, I checked in with Henrik to give him a heads-up that I had some cramping. Onto Flynn, Neil and Mark were driving the pace hard. Henrik got word to him to dial it back a bit to give me a chance to shake out the muscles. With some out-of-saddle relaxing, I was back in business.No attacks, and gruppo compacto, there were no real fireworks on the descent of Flynn. On Cross again, Rob was doing more work, but was spent. He wished us farewell and dropped back, while Neil drove the wagon train hard. At some point, our field was neutralized to allow the P 1/2 race to pass safely. This allowed Rob to rejoin our peloton.

Neil drilling on the front, as he did so much of the time
photo: Alex Chiu

As far as I can recall, Neil drove the bus hard from Cross Rd, Greenville, to Altamont on the remainder of this second, as well as on the third and final lap, with big horsepower help from Mark as well.Approaching the third ascent of Carroll Rd, Henrik quietly told me to watch out for attacks. He had picked up some hints that the race might explode on this climb. The pace up the steep part of Carroll was in fact much faster. The group was strung out, but not catastrophically. Neil led the descent of Flynn, with Henrik and I in tow. I made space for Phil Malaspina ahead of my wheel, hoping he would work some of his expert descending magic and perhaps go up and drive, but he was content to sit in.Neil kept hammering on Cross, then the peloton regrouped and swelled forward on Tesla and Greenville. I was making room for Mark to go up front to work with Neil, and now I think Rob was still running strong in the group again. But a few more riders slipped between Mark and Henrik and I soon found myself near the back of the field. Henrik noticed this too, but no big emergency, before the hump on Greenville,I moved up on the left side without burning any crucial matches, to catch Henrik's wheel, where we coasted down the other side, to a spot in the front few positions of the peloton. On this last cruise of Greenville, I'm really starting to feel the responsibility to win this race. I've been cared for by an incredible team of individuals who have selflessly sacrificed their chances of victory. Was my hamstring loose enough? Am I going to get a puncture? Will there be an attack that sticks?A couple of other riders were drilling the pace and peeled off before the turn onto Altamont, where Rob gave one more powerful surge. He had a good gap of 60 meters or so! He tromped on the gas as long as he could. I thought “Go Rob!” If he could get enough of a lead, maybe he's got a shot! The peloton was really stringing out in chase, so this hammered some guys. Rob ran out of gas before the turn onto Carroll, but he did some more damage to some other guys' hopes with this final effort.Neil can climb fast, but had consistently hammered for laps 2 and 3, yet I hoped he could somehow be in the mix on this final ascent of Carroll with Henrik and I. Yes this is my A race, but the line is fair game for all of us.Henrik put me exactly where I wanted to be–at the front, just before the turn onto Carroll Rd. A tall rider (Thomas Ivey) attacked into the turn, coming up the left side, like a rocket. Two more riders reacted (Kevin McHugh and Iain Russell). I was right on them, but Ivey was 50 meters ahead and disappearing already on this, the steepest pitch of the climb. McHugh was getting away as well. I overtook Iain quickly, and was fully anaerobic trying to claw back to the two leaders. As the grade of the climb starts to ease, I was gaining on 2nd place McHugh, but damn it if Ivey was long gone. I flew faster up that climb than I ever had, face contorting worse than Thomas Voekler's, but could not close the gaps and came across the line third, to huge cheers from scores of CW fans, including my wife. What a damn thrill!I'm really proud of our result, though I felt I had not fully done my job after all the dedication of my team. They did exemplary work keeping me fresh and rested, then put me in position exactly as planned, where I could do my job. None of us could know who was hiding in the pack, riding smart, riding sheltered. Third is not first, but that's totally on me. I think this was another A-grade effort by this fantastic team. I'm so glad I was able to finish off with CW on the podium.

Takeaways:This race has left me with many mixed feelings. First of all I'm in awe of the dedication of this team, and I'm so proud and grateful that they all allowed me the chance to lead. I tried to make sure that everyone had a chance to give input to develop the plan, and the freedom to execute adjustments on the road. My road captain, Henrik is an amazing solid, cool performer who was happy to do for me what I tried to do for him at Copperopolis. But when I wrote “3rd” in “results” above, it really struck me, how different this season is compared to 2014, after racing unattached, every race an “A” race, free to ride as strong and stupid as I wished, with some great results and a very high ranking. This podium result belongs to this team, and I won't forget that.