Lodoga Road Race Sunday, July 5th, 2015

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

Result: 2nd of 22 in M45+4, 5th of 53 (in the full, combined field of E4, M35+4 & M454+4 riders)

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.

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 3^rd among E4s, and I'm racing for 2^nd 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, 2^nd in my age group, fifth on the road.

Later I learned that Neil was in the 4-man chase group behind us. He finished 6^th 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.