Race report - March 14 2010 - 2010 Ris Van Bethel

Race report - March 14 2010 - 2010 Ris Van Bethel

After an off week with travel Monday & Tuesday and working way too many hours the rest of the week and no time on the bike at all, I was not sure I was ready for my first EAST COAST race of the season.

I woke up Sat with that feeling of I’m getting a cold and it was crappy & rainy out side so that makes one who was expecting to get out and ride a bit unhappy. I sort of wrote of the Sunday race as it was forecasted for heavy rain all day. So I moped about all day not certain what do. I effectively wasted the complete day and I was OK with that as I was telling myself I’m sick and need to rest.

Later in the day I start reading E-mails and several teammates are still planning to race and others are also talking up the SUNDAY CRIT. So just in case I went down cellar and cleaned up the trusty Cannondale Crit bike. I don’t think I rode it for almost a month, it was dirty salty and a general mess. That’s what winter riding in Ct is all about, lots of work keeping the equipment in good working order. So I get Bike all ready to race then start getting all my clothes and other stuff ready.

I get back on E-mail and Face book read a bit then remembered we loose an hour sleep Sat night, so I rush around like a nut and try to get my 8 hours min sleep I attempt before a race. I think I got 7.5 hours not the best sleep but felt OK in the AM. I run down to computer and shoot off a few E-mails read that others are already in transit and AKI was going to have the race -> course in good shape. So that’s it I’m going to RACE !! Decision made now it’s time to get my collective shit together and get going in less than an hour.

I did good hit the road and figured out how to get to the industrial park in Betel where the race was going to be A-OK. I only forgot my trainer so I rode up and down the hill to try to loosen up my legs. I have not been on a bike since Sunday in Calif with Gary & the guys @ Training camp. So I was a bit worried but what the hell this is a training Crit and lets just see what happens and how I feel.


The RACE:

Masters 40+ guys all get 5 ish laps around the course to warm up, for me this was my first time @ Bethel so I have to figure out the course also. All looked great no real sharp corners after start a sweeping right hander down hill then it just sort of keeps sweeping to the right till the hill back to the start. I was very concerned with a hill in a crit as I have not done a lot of crits in my short tenure road racing. The hill turned out to be a non issue at least this week, let’s see what I say after next weekend.

So about 30-35 - MASTER 40+ guys all line up, I like this class as I see lots of gray hair and don’t feel out of place like I do racing the CAT 4 class with all the younger guys. We also had 2 junior riders in our class and they hung with the group just fine the whole race. The whistle blows and off we go I try the inside, the outside kinda like I did @ Plainville last year and just get comfortable with CRIT racing again after a long winter.

Training CAMP in Santa Barbra helped with this a lot as I did the Sunday Worlds and the Tuesday & Thursday same ride a total of 6 times in camp this year. This ride sometimes has a easy 50+ riders so I was getting in tight and in a race like group quite a few days already early in the season.

Back to the race, it’s raining a bit but with the lack of tight corners like Plainville or Hartford the wet road was not an issues or concern at all. We all went round and round and I look up and 15 laps out of 23 to go. I’m still feeling real good (Thanks Training Camp), some surges were a bit hard but I hung on moved around in the group. I always worry in a race I will do something stupid and get yelled at or worse cause a crash or just crash. Had a few bumps and guys passing on the right in the gutter real close but all A-OK so far. We get to 5 laps to go and I’m like where did the last 10 laps go, guess I was in the zone. So I’m still hanging in and we get to 3 laps to go the pack is getting nervous guys jockeying around for positions. I just try to get to the mid section of the front ½ of the group, I work up the right side on the down hill and the pace gets fast, I saying save some for the sprint … Going up the hill on the 2nd to last lap the whole group almost stopped brakes grinding and bumping on both sides what the heck, were going uphill why am I hitting the brakes. I thought I was going to get knocked over I lost a few spots and it was the last lap PANIC riders were wicking up the speed the stronger guys all up front I was not positioned as far up as I wanted but as we came around the final sweeper and up the hill it was an all out sprint for the finish line. Last year in the sprints I just did not have the GAS to keep pushing, not that I’m that much stronger this year but I could feel a difference. A few got past me & I passed a few guys and went over the line. Wow what a BLAST cool down lap and then it was over. I pull up to see my team mates all warming up for the next race get my rain coat ( Thanks DAVE ), and start violently shivering. Now It’s time to hit the Van & change out of this soaking wet gear and get dry clothes on. I was asked how I did and said I may have gotten about 15th when results went up shortly thereafter I was 15th. This was a good result for me and I will work to improve over the next 4-5 races in this series.