So I did 6 crits this past weekend. 2 each day. I raced 35+ and then 35+ 4/5 later each day. The 35+ races were tough as expected, with a smattering of Cat. 1/2s in there. Considering this is my first season of road racing I was happy to finish pretty much in the middle of the field of 20-30 each race and I was always with the chase group at the finish. I did get a 4th on the last day, winning the field sprint with 3 guys off the front.
The humorous part were the 35+ 4/5 races. I won all 3, again with fields of 20-30. The fashion in which I won may surprise. The first day I won, simply by out cornering the field. I could sit in on the straightaways and just punch it through the technical section and have 5 bike lengths by the time we reached the straightaway again. Halfway through the race I went to front again and found a buddy able to follow and we traded pulls for the rest of race, pulling away from the field, until the last lap when I punched it one last time through the technical section and rode to the finish with about a 20 length gap.
I thought triathletes didn't know how to take corners?
Sunday was a flat non-technical course which found the whole field in the sprint to the line. I won the field sprint... From the front! I had watched all the earlier races and this finish was unique. It was slightly downhill with a tailwind. In almost every race the first guy to go won. No one could ever come around. Makes sense. Pretty everyone just reached terminal velocity and due to the layout everyone could hold it for a long time, so the first person to reach terminal velocity won every time. I just sat on the front for the last lap and made sure I was first one to go. I started my sprint almost a 1/4 mile out and had 3 bike lengths at the line.
Monday was slightly different again. Two tough corners that were sketchy and it rained just minutes before the start. That changed my plan right there. I'd just raced the 35+ an hour earlier and felt comfortable with the course, but I knew the 4/5's in the rain would be timid as hell the first few laps through those corners. My plan was to just go to front and build a big gap in the first few laps while they figured out how to take the turns and then hope I could hold on. In the back of my mind though I knew (4/5 was the last race of the day) that not one single solo breakaway had survived on that course. I was fortunate though that another guy decided he wanted to go to the front as well and he had raced the Cat. 4's earlier, so I was optimistic that he would be more confident through the corners early on. We established a gap after the first sweeping left hander and I gave him my best "you can do it, lets work together, stay off your brakes, keep pedaling through the corners, keep it steady on the straights, we'll make time in the corners speech" for the remainder of the first lap. We traded pulls for the rest race, lapping about half field and finish 1:30 up (1/2 a lap) on the chase.
I'm pretty sure it is written that triathletes don't win crits in the corners or the sprints! :)
Now, to be fair, this was 35+ 4/5. Not the Pro/1/2 race. Not exactly the Tour, but I did a tough race each day before the 4/5's (only had a 50 minute break on the last day) and even though I race as Cat. 4, I don't technically even have enough points to be a 4, I just petitioned at the beginning of the season to cat up. I don't think that qualifies as sandbagging. I'm moving up as fast as I can. Hopefully, after this weekend I'll be able to move up to 3's, and that's as far as I ever plan to go. All of my teammates are 3's. Most of them are 35+ as well.
Got to love cycling! I covered all my race fees and hotel in 4/5 races, although I made more getting 4th in 35+ than I did winning the 4/5's later that day.
----------------------------------
Justin in Austin, get it? :)
Cool races:
- Redman
- Desoto American Triple T
The humorous part were the 35+ 4/5 races. I won all 3, again with fields of 20-30. The fashion in which I won may surprise. The first day I won, simply by out cornering the field. I could sit in on the straightaways and just punch it through the technical section and have 5 bike lengths by the time we reached the straightaway again. Halfway through the race I went to front again and found a buddy able to follow and we traded pulls for the rest of race, pulling away from the field, until the last lap when I punched it one last time through the technical section and rode to the finish with about a 20 length gap.
I thought triathletes didn't know how to take corners?
Sunday was a flat non-technical course which found the whole field in the sprint to the line. I won the field sprint... From the front! I had watched all the earlier races and this finish was unique. It was slightly downhill with a tailwind. In almost every race the first guy to go won. No one could ever come around. Makes sense. Pretty everyone just reached terminal velocity and due to the layout everyone could hold it for a long time, so the first person to reach terminal velocity won every time. I just sat on the front for the last lap and made sure I was first one to go. I started my sprint almost a 1/4 mile out and had 3 bike lengths at the line.
Monday was slightly different again. Two tough corners that were sketchy and it rained just minutes before the start. That changed my plan right there. I'd just raced the 35+ an hour earlier and felt comfortable with the course, but I knew the 4/5's in the rain would be timid as hell the first few laps through those corners. My plan was to just go to front and build a big gap in the first few laps while they figured out how to take the turns and then hope I could hold on. In the back of my mind though I knew (4/5 was the last race of the day) that not one single solo breakaway had survived on that course. I was fortunate though that another guy decided he wanted to go to the front as well and he had raced the Cat. 4's earlier, so I was optimistic that he would be more confident through the corners early on. We established a gap after the first sweeping left hander and I gave him my best "you can do it, lets work together, stay off your brakes, keep pedaling through the corners, keep it steady on the straights, we'll make time in the corners speech" for the remainder of the first lap. We traded pulls for the rest race, lapping about half field and finish 1:30 up (1/2 a lap) on the chase.
I'm pretty sure it is written that triathletes don't win crits in the corners or the sprints! :)
Now, to be fair, this was 35+ 4/5. Not the Pro/1/2 race. Not exactly the Tour, but I did a tough race each day before the 4/5's (only had a 50 minute break on the last day) and even though I race as Cat. 4, I don't technically even have enough points to be a 4, I just petitioned at the beginning of the season to cat up. I don't think that qualifies as sandbagging. I'm moving up as fast as I can. Hopefully, after this weekend I'll be able to move up to 3's, and that's as far as I ever plan to go. All of my teammates are 3's. Most of them are 35+ as well.
Got to love cycling! I covered all my race fees and hotel in 4/5 races, although I made more getting 4th in 35+ than I did winning the 4/5's later that day.
----------------------------------
Justin in Austin, get it? :)
Cool races:
- Redman
- Desoto American Triple T