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| 4th over the top, but at what cost? photo: Katie Truong |
9th
The Course
At roughly 62 miles, this is a point to point race, starting in San Jose, finishing just south of Livermore. The course starts with about 18 miles of climbing, in three segments or pitches, ascending a total of about 3700 feet. A 4.3 mile, technical descent follows, then 20 miles of rolling terrain followed by two more short but tough ascents. Finally about 19 miles of gradual descent into a headwind to the finish, near Del Valle Regional Park. Roads are open to traffic, so no crossing the centerline anywhere allowed. Pavement surfaces are good. There is one neutral feed zone and a second non-neutral one.
My Plan
I know this course well enough to understand that a fast ascent of the mountain is not the best hope of success. However if I can keep the time gap to the leaders as small as possible, there will be less chasing to do over the remaining two thirds of the race. So I decided to do what I could to stay with the leaders up the mountain. I set time goals for each of the three pitches, 25 minutes, 12 minutes and 30 minutes. I knew the pace required would put me beyond my target heart rate, but I’d decide later when and if to dial back the effort. My goal was to summit at the tail of the lead group, so as to descend the backside of the mountain with less concern about sharing the tight curves with too many riders. And if I lose contact with the leaders, I’ll know I have strong riders behind to work with during the chase.
The Race
The head count at the start was said to be 20, but I think there were only 18. A few minutes into the first climb, Steve Archer (cat 2, Morgan Stanley Cycling Team) started the first of many surges. There was a cross wind coming from the right side, and the small field was hugging the centerline. I didn’t want to sit too far back for fear of missing a split, so I ate some wind, sitting just to the right of 4th or 5th wheel. The surges kept up. Several of us kept covering them. Just before the crest of the first pitch someone besides Archer attacked (can’t remember who). It was covered quickly and we flew down the slightly technical descent to begin the second climb.
More attacks, sometimes me covering, sometimes others. No real split on the middle pitch, except for shedding a few more off the back.
Shortly after crossing the bridge marking the beginning of the third and final pitch up the mountain, Archer, Jon Ornstil (cat 3, Hammer/53x11) and Max Thompson (cat 2, ThirstyBear p/b Akamai) pushed the pace once again. It was becoming apparent that Hunter Ziesing (cat 2, Hammer/53x11), Hans Gouwens and Brian McAndrews (both cat 2, ThirstyBear p/b Akamai), and Harold Reimer (cat 3, SunPower Racing) were wisely staying under their respective redlines. I couldn’t match the acceleration of the leaders either, so settled back into my lactate threshold groove. I knew the coming descent was not my strong card in this race. Even though getting over the top between groups would leave me solo on the tough road beyond, I calculated that my chase group partners and I would be best off if I descended more or less on my own, then regroup on the other side.
The switchbacks helped the leaders disappear, and soon it looked like only Hunter and Harold were sticking to my wheel, though dropping back more and more. Hunter wisely shouted “Tempo!”, implying that we should dial it back a bit and save up for the chase on the other side. That made total sense, but I still wanted to descend comfortably without having to worry about lousing up my chase partners. So I continued to push the pace, summiting 1 min 26 seconds behind the three leaders. Hunter closed in and as we started the descent I waved him ahead. I know I sound like I don’t have any confidence in my descending skills, but I’m just giving the mountain the respect it deserves. The chip-sealed road surface, occasional debris, open auto traffic, and potential for downed riders ahead cause me to take this 4.3 mile descent conservatively–though only five seconds slower than race winner Max Thompson.
At the bottom, Hunter sat up long enough for me to hitch on. Shortly Harold and Hans caught up. Having teammates in the lead group, neither Hans or Hunter could chase. They would contribute what was appropriate, but closing the gap ahead was up to Harold and I.
I believe as we passed the neutral feed zone, where I took a cold bottle and poured it over my head and back, I felt the first twinges of leg cramps. By now we also had Mark Fennell (cat 1, Fig Mtn Brew Racing) in tow. Mark was just sitting on the back, recovering from the tough chase. Harold looked like he was tiring as much as I was. Hunter sensed all this and attacked, even with a teammate 1:30 up the road. Hans wanted to keep the group together but had to cover Hunter, and so they were gone. Harold and I kept trading pulls, wondering when Mark would get busy. I didn’t know Mark, so I introduced us, and asked him how he was feeling. He got the subtext and said he’d help as much as he could. He must’ve really been cooked because near the junction of Del Puerto Canyon Road, he dropped off the back. I think here was also the second feed zone. CBRE’s Paige Youngman ran along my side, stocking me with two fresh, cold bottles of electrolyte. I don’t know how I got through this race two years ago as an unattached racer without such support.
This point is the start of the first of two painful climbs. About one third of the way up the first two-miler, I couldn’t hang onto Harold’s wheel any longer. Repetitive cramping since the neutral feed zone was now happening in my thighs, calves and hamstrings.
Half of the way up this climb, Mark recovered a bit and passed, doing his best to catch Harold.
Just before the top of the first climb, Brian McAndrews (cat 2, Thirsty Bear p/b Akamai) overtook me. About forty meters from the crest of this hill, both hamstrings seized, locking into solid baseballs. I could only straighten both legs and try to relax, but had very little momentum. I couldn’t turn the cranks or even dismount because the muscles wouldn’t allow it. To keep moving forward, desperate, I flexed my ankles just enough to “ratchet-pedal”, turning the cranks 3 or 4 degrees at a time, back and forth. I was able to make it to the crest of the hill, then coast. I resumed massaging and punching my legs with my fists, trying to pump out the “evil”.
The next one mile ascent came too soon, but I managed to get over it with only a little more cramping. This is the last hill on the course, but the remaining nineteen mile descent is not a free ride. Going solo into the perpetual headwind blowing south into this canyon from Livermore I had no chance recovering time lost during my earlier physical distress. I finished in 9th place, thirteen minutes behind the winner.
Takeaways
Looking at my heart rate data and estimated power, I think I gambled by ascending the mountain a little faster than was ideal, I still think the call was the right one, given the chance of being dropped on the descent.
Mountain Ascent data
- 4th over the top at 1:17:33, 1 min 26 sec behind the leaders
- 18.2 mi., elevation difference 3745 ft.
- Avg. HR 172, Max HR 181
- Time Anaerobic: 29 min.
- Time at Threshold: 42 min.
But at least for this particular race, I'm convinced that putting myself ahead of chase group partners was better than easing off, then losing contact with them on the descent. But it’s also likely that the time spent at high output probably contributed to the severe cramping I experienced later on, and the subsequent loss of 11 more minutes on the leaders.
After the Race
I grabbed handful of deli meat from the back of Long Nguyen’s suburban and horked it down. Thank you Long for laying out the fancy spread! I went over to the race tent and grabbed bananas, orange slices, refilled my bottles, and debriefed with others in mine and other’s races. Once everyone had a chance to reload, Jim Forester, Dan Rugani, James Rainbow, Max Thompson, Hans Gouwens and I rode the 36 miles back to San Jose. Climbing up past Calaveras reservoir we picked up Michael Cochran who was in our race also. 10 miles of warmup, 62 miles of racing and the 36 mile return trip, made for a lovely 108 mile day on the bike.
