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| L to R, Rick Kyle (3rd place, Body Concepts), Troy Deibert (1st place, unattached), and me (2nd place, Cushman & Wakefield Racing). Of 9 races this season, this is my fifth podium visit. photo: Neil Leary |
Teammates:
Neil Leary (m45+4), Rozel Tupaz (m35+4), and Yann Bertaud (m45+5)
Even
shortened from seventy to sixty miles (compared to last year), this road race is
one of the longest on our cat 4 calendar, which is one feature that
has drawn me to it for the second year in a row. The other feature is
the 3.1 mile, 1170 ft. climb that starts at about mile 21. This
course demands not only strong climbing, but the ability to put out
high power for the remaining 38 miles or so, to the finish. Whether
you're in the lead, or one of many chase groups, there is no rest.
You will work. It's fantastic.
A
few days before the race, I was the only CW rider preregistered among
precious few racers in all fields. So few in fact that I was really
worried that Velo Promo might have to cancel the entire event. By
midweek though, the M45+4 field nearly doubled to 21, including
powerhouse teammate (and brand new dad!) Neil Leary. New team member
Yann Bertaud (M45+5) signed up for his first road race also. And by
Thursday, Rozel emailed that he'd be coming up also.
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| When I have too much time on my hands, I put together one of these. Fuchsia highlights the potential riders to mark. |
In
researching the preregistered competition, I usually create a
spreadsheet that makes it easier for me to parse the riders' past
performance in similar USAC events. If they're on Strava, I'll look
at their profile and recent rides, to evaluate whether a the upcoming
race is in their “wheelhouse”. This course has one decisive
feature that frequently causes at least one split in the peloton. The
race winner usually comes from the lead group over the top. This was
the case when I won last year. The only preregistered rider this year
who could match me over the climb was Don Dumaine (Team Revolutions),
but sadly he had to withdraw after being pushed off the road by a reckless driver. Don
is a blast to race with, and a great guy. He was in our 4-man
breakaway last year, racing down in age, as a M35+4 (our fields were
combined). I wish him the best, and hope to see him on the road soon.
Even
though it's common for officials to combine smaller fields, it looked
like I'd have to dial back my speed on the climb to avoid going off
alone. Teammate Neil Leary has proven his serious climbing chops this
season, but he wasn't so sure he'd get over with leaders. He and I
discussed possible race plans on Thursday evening. I said we'd have
to see how things shape up on the road, marking the front climbers,
and going with them if possible. I would try not to push the pace to
the point that Neil got dropped, but I only wanted a handful (4-6)
riders in the lead group with me.
Yann
Bertaud recently joined CW, lives in Marin Co. and was so excited to
make this his first road race, he offered to captain our carpool. We
met Neil in Vallejo, and rode together to Williams to check in and
warm up. During warmup, Neil started the discussion among USAC
officials whether or not to combine fields. Shortly before our 8:40
start time, they opted to combine E4, m35+4, and m45+4 riders for a
field of 53. This added a bunch of unknown riders to the peloton.
After
the initial few neutral miles, the pace was hot. Rolling outbound for
ten miles of flat terrain, speeds surged to 27mph frequently, and the
average pace was about 24mph. Rozel did an admirable job of staying
at about tenth wheel, while I was stuck near the back of the field,
which filled the road, four abreast. Two riders attacked on the 1% ramp leading
to the first tiny climb. The surging had softened many legs by now, so
it was easy to move up front to monitor the leaders. As the actual
climb started, those two were absorbed and we settled into a pace
that was noticeably faster than last year. We flew through the first
0.8 miles at 4%, at nearly 20 mph. I didn't bother to look behind to
see how many of the 53 were still there, but from the sound of all
the heavy breathing, there were too many to take over the top. The
remaining 2-1/4 miles averages 8.7% and it feels relentless. The
canyon we're ascending seems to be in a direct line with the climbing
sun. Even though it's not even 10 a.m., it feels like my head at the
exact focal point of a parabolic heat reflector. The actual temperature is probably 80°, expected to climb to 95° or so by the finish.
It's
sounding quieter behind me now, and I turn to see Neil slipping back. I'm
hanging in with seven leaders, and only one wears a number that
matches the 7xx series of the M45+4 group–a good sign. This guy
wasn't on my chart, and had registered today. The other leaders appeared to be E4s, as I didn't see any wrinkly skin.
I
was trading positions with the back three of our select group, not
even capable of matching the leaders. Simon
Aeschbacher (E4, Davis Bike Club) pushed the pace so hard that he was
soon alone, 10 seconds up the hill and gaining. One of my five
remaining mates just said “Damn dude!”, I think mostly as a
comment on how pointless it is to go over the top alone with a big
gap. Simon did just that. One more guy dropped off the back by the time we
crested, and sailed down the 0.9 mile descent, chasing the leader. I
captained a good 5-man rotation that soon built a 36-second gap to
our nearest chasers. Simon was still up the road, but must've seen
the wisdom in soft-pedaling to benefit from our numbers. The
six of us united by the short climb back. Our small group worked well
together, but I was pretty cooked and was bringing up the rear by the
time we crested the summit. I sprinted over the top to latch onto the
last guy's wheel. No problem rejoining the others though, as this
descent is fast and non-technical. It was easy to coast in a full-aero
tuck, back into the group. We attempted to resume our earlier
collaboration, but it was clear that some of us were a bit fried–me
in particular. The first of many cramps to come were striking my
hamstrings.
At
about mile 40, coming through the feed zone, I'm pretty sure we're
down to about five riders. Simon, Adam Beltz (E4, unattached), and
Troy Deibert (M45, unattached) attack. I take a bottle as Jonathan
Gunning (E4, Team Velo Wrench) works hard with me to chase. Over the next 20
miles, the two of us trade pulls while getting frequent time gaps from the moto
ref. The gap to the leaders hovers at 2 minutes, as does the gap to
our nearest chasers.
Cramps
become so violent that my left leg locks in a straight position. I
can normally power through a cramp but this is a large muscle and I just can't beat it. I wave Jonathan on for the
first of several times. He's just so nice that he eases up just
enough for me to latch back on once the cramp subsides. The moto
tells us that he's racing for 3rd
among E4s, and I'm racing for 2nd
in my group. As the miles roll on, four different muscles are plaguing
me with cramps. With 4K to go, it's certain we're not going to catch the leaders.
It's almost certain we'll stay away from our chasers, so Jonathan
went on ahead to the finish. I had one more bout of trouble, but
luckily regained my spin enough to look like a classy racer as I rolled over the line, 2nd
in my age group, fifth on the road.
Later
I learned that Neil was in the 4-man chase group behind us. He
finished 6th
in our group.
Lessons:
I
couldn't plan tactically for this race, due to the combining of age
groups. I could only go on my experiences from last year. One thing
that I did wrong was to leave my Skratch Labs electrolyte mix at
home. Luckily Neil had a bottle of electrolyte capsules that I
emptied into my bottles. Other than that, I prepared well, warmed up
appropriately, hydrated as much as needed. The cramping is just due
to a lack of fitness. It sounds ridiculous, but this race is more
like a 60-mile TT. As I said, there's no opportunity to rest, hiding
in the pack. No matter what group you're in, you're going to have to
put out power constantly.
My
report makes this sound like a miserable ride, but it's not...
really! It's one of my favorite courses. Check it out next year.
