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February 5, 2017
Field
Approximately 30, a mix of 45+ and 55+ cat 123s (45/55 race together but picked separately at the finish). 13 of us were registered as 55+.
Result
7th of 13
Course
3 laps on 7.3 mile loop, plus a couple of miles to reach the start/finish of the loop (about 24 miles total). Each lap has about a 350 ft ascent. Good roads, no technical turns.
Weather
52°, overcast. This was the one dry day between winter rain storms. Wind was gentle until after our race.
My Goals
This is my first “shakedown” race of the season. I know I’m not fit enough yet to attempt getting into a breakaway during this short race. I plan to resist fretting about the surges on the front, conserve energy, shadow 3 different guys that I know to be brilliant bunch finishers, and hope for a top-10 finish.
The Race
There was a separation off the front on lap 1. I couldn’t see who was in it but I could guess. I hear there were possibly as many as six riders off the front, but ultimately there were three: Dan Shore (Cat 1, Hammer Nutrition), Cameron Birky (cat 2, R4R-Make A Wish) and Tom Lyons (cat 2, ThirstyBear p/b Akamai).
As lap 2 evolved, the gap to the break grew, but it seemed that no 55+ racers were in it. There was no real effort by 45s to catch.
Most of the final lap seemed slower. Everyone was watching and waiting for a move. Coming down the long backside of the “bump” on Cross Rd. I heard a familiar racer negotiating with a couple of different guys on a plan to go extra hard on the last time up the ascent of Patterson Pass Rd.
By the turn from Greenville onto Patterson, I realized I had allowed myself to drift back to the rear, well behind my marked guys. But expected attacks out of the turn onto Patterson didn’t happen and I was able to coast up into about 9th wheel, next to my marks again.
The last ascent of Patterson wasn’t very fast after all, but the pack was stretched just thin enough to allow a good alley along the shoulder of the road. I heard gears shift and a lunge behind to my right, and saw 2016 NCNCA road champ Robert Pasco (cat 1, SAFEWAY Cycling) fly past with only about 1 km to go. I was in perfect position and jumped on his wheel instantly. It was clear right away that I was too ambitious. Pasco was accelerating incredibly and I couldn’t truly settle into his draft. I was left on my own with about fifty meters ahead of the pack. They weren’t reacting to Pasco or me, so I cut off the power, then reinserted myself at 4th wheel. There wasn’t quite enough time to recover before the entry to the last turn, and I slid back to about 13th wheel.
The short uphill sprint comes right after a slight dip. I knew right away that my earlier surge cost me a shot at the top 5, but I found a line up the right side, through fading riders, hoping to pick of just enough for a top 10 in the mixed pack. The gear I chose would have been perfect, but the pavement turned bumpy for the final 20 meters and that sucked all of my power. I maintained my position but came across approximately 13th in our pack.
Luckily that was good enough for 7th place among the 55+ riders.
Takeaways
The two things I felt I did right in this early season run-through:
- I felt like I was smart to stay conservative. I prefer to help make races interesting for the pack by participating in bridging efforts, or joining attacks, but I need to focus on being smarter, and more efficient for a few more races.
- I also felt comfortable moving into slots through the pack. If there wasn’t an opening, I was able to make one without causing a problem.
The main thing I’m ambivalent about is that in hindsight, it's undeniable that attempting to catch Pasco’s wheel was the wrong move, and took me out of contention for the bunch sprint. Still this could have been exactly the right move to go with if I could have stayed with it. He was a 45+ and if I had enough power to stick with him a little longer, I might have won the 55+ race. So yes the attempt had a direct, negative effect on my result, but the circumstance was a good lesson in recognizing a good move and jumping on it quickly. I’d rather take a shot like that than just wish I had.
A slight revision of this has come to light after reviewing one of Greg Beleira's photos of the race. In it I see what I missed, is that Pasco was chased down and swallowed up by the front of the pack in the sprint. So I definitely made a mistake trying to join his attack.
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