A Tale of Two Races

Today was the Campus Crit on the U of MN campus, my first race as a cat 4 racer. I felt that I needed to post a result that would reflect my upgraded status. Finishing would not be enough. Oh no, I was hungry for more. Knowing the course was technical, not really my strongest point, I figured that I needed to be at the front and that the race wouldn't get all bunched up. I was right about that. The race could be easily divided into 2 phases, competing and surviving.

For the first 5-6 laps I managed to stay within the first 5-6 wheels, out of 30, even taking a pull on the front for about 1/2 of a lap. I should have pulled for longer. After I rotated off of the front coming out of the 180 on the front stretch I rolled into about 5th wheel, not a bad position as I could take the turns with good speed, but still be in position to attack. Well, as it happened, coming out of that 180 the guy 2 wheels in front of me, an unattached rider near as I can tell - he was wearing a Castelli jersey - lost his back wheel and went down hard, taking down the Hollywood rider in front of me. I hit the brakes and went for the only place I could, the curb, hoping to be able to jump it. I managed to get on the curb, but then I had to get back off of it. No mean feat since the curb was taped. I got past the tape and hopped back onto the course, hoping to sprint back up to the quickly disappearing pack. Most of the guys who were immediately behind me got caught up by the crash, but the last 1/4 or so of the pack could pick a line and sprinted around us, including super-strong Eli. Big Dog Chris, Jim Grell and Kurt lost the pack and couldn't stay on and pulled out at various points.

I was in full TT mode trying like hell to catch on, but after 5-6 laps by myself I was starting to get cooked. I was caught by 3 chasers, including the 2 guys who crashed and we worked for about 5 more laps, but just kept losing ground and with 6 laps to go were pulled, the pack only about 8 seconds behind us. D'OH! Although I was working hard to get back on, it was inevitable that I'd get caught and pulled. I had to bridge back a 200 or so ft. gap by myself, into a hard-charging pack. To say the field accelerated after the crash is an understatement; they smelled blood and pounced. I would have done the same, so I can't fault them for that. At least the race had a good finish. Coming out of the 180 on the final lap Eli was on the front and charging hard. He got a good gap and managed to out-sprint a hard-charge from a Flanders (I think) rider. Great work Eli, too bad none of us were there to help you out. Next time bro.

I've never been pulled from a race before, although to be fair the only crits I've done have been some Opus crits and the Hopkins crit. I'm somewhat upset about it, not because I didn't finish, but rather because I wasted a good opportunity for a good result. I felt really strong and was handling the corners well. I got to the front early and was doing a good job of holding position. The field was strung out and which is good for attacking. Normally the cat 5 races have a tendency to get bunched up and you get boxed in and can't move up unless you're willing to take a lot of risks. Of course, I am happy that I managed to avoid another crash. That's 3 for the season where the 2 guys in front of me have gone down and I've managed to keep out of it.