In competitive cycling races rarely go according to plan, and perhaps it’s the unpredictably that makes it so fun and incredibly satisfying when all the cards fall perfectly in place (or at least most of them).
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| Tour of Elk Grove Crit Course |
TOEG:
The Tour of Elk Grove is a National Racing Calendar event and is a pretty big deal for both men’s and women’s domestic pro teams. This means that all of us armatures get to enjoy the well-organized, well-supported, and largely attended race in our own backyard complete with Jumbo-Tron!
My CAT 3 race was slotted for an 11am start including 52 riders and some strong team presences. Our race was 60 min long and would take us around the 1.2 mile course more times than I can count. The course included a long dog leg right finishing straight, a notable 180 degree turn #1 and a touchy (thanks to a few slick manholes covers) 90 degree turn #2. The surface was still drying after the morning thunderstorms but by half way through the race I felt comfortable taking most the corners at full tilt.
I knew this race would be one of positioning and accelerations, but I had not previously raced this course so I didn’t really know how true that would be until the whistle blew, well I was right! Since the surface was still wet at the start I reverted to my “fight for the front” strategy to one, hopefully stay out of any crashes and two, keep my eyes on any team tactics that I could potentially join in on.
The usual attacks went off the front, a couple of which by riders I know are strong and enticed me and a couple others to pull them back. I couldn’t help but notice that I was usually the only sprinter at the front of the race surrounded by team work horses and break away artist, but I didn’t really have a choice and continued to fight for position. I can’t say that I was on the rivet the entire race but I surely wasn’t comfortable.
Headed into the bell lap I knew my positioning at the 180 turn would be very important, what I did not anticipate was the importance of my positioning headed into turn #2. I was sitting tight in about 5th wheel half way down the straight approaching turn #2 when the pace let off and before I knew it I was surrounded on both sides and squeezed back, coming out of turn #2 I was now 20 plus riders back.
Had a really thought about the final lap I should have known that this corner would be crucial to a good position going into the finish but a mental lapse struck again and I paid for it. In the second half of the bell lap I tried to claw my way back up but by then the lead outs were at full speed and there was no catching them. I was placed half way down the results page and right next to many of the guys who I had been racing with at the front most of the race.
It’s not impossible to be a strong solo rider and do well, I know a couple of guys that do and consistently place well, but you are not afforded any lapse in aggressiveness or judgment without paying dearly for it.
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| ABR State RR Course |
ABR Road Race:
This race was organized very last min and was a replacement for the previously scheduled and canceled ABR State road race earlier in the year.
For those of you not familiar with ABR, it’s a grassroots racing league that takes a more relaxed and laid back approach to racing. This is not to say that these events are not great, they are often highly contested and lots of fun, but sometimes require a little flexibility and patience.
My race was a CAT 1,2,3,4 open race, meaning mixed ability and age levels. Our race was the longest of the day at 72 miles equaling 4 laps on the 18 mile course. I had one teammate in toe who is a very strong rider and one of the most unselfish racers I know. In staging I immediately noticed a couple heavy hitters among the CAT 1-2 guys most notably Mark Swartzendruber and teammate, whom I know from talking to other riders have a wicked one two punch.
In the spirit of ABR I was intent on trying a more relaxed and unconventional approach to this race. Don’t get me wrong I would never enter a race that I didn’t want to win or had a specific team goal to achieve but if I was going to win today it would be because of a new and risky strategy and not my usual and often boring sprinters gamelan.
The race rolled off with about 25 riders or so, under overcast skies and light to moderate winds. The first lap was pretty tame mostly due to the wrong turn our pace car made and an early group approved nature break.
At this point my eyes were on the 4 CAT 1-2 riders and especially on Mark and his teammate. I know enough about Mark to know he is a very accomplished and racer with a specialty in solo breakaways aka time trials. So it was just a matter of time before the attacks started. With the large majority of the 3’s hiding in the back it was not hard to hold position or to move about the group freely. Mark and his team mate both took some fliers off the front to test the field and their eagerness to chase and each time either I or my teammate Ralph jumped on quickly and willing to work but were brought back within moments to the main group. It seemed like this group was only willing to work if it absolutely had too!
Heading into the 3rd lap I was feeling spontaneous and decided to go off the front to test my legs and see how vigorously I would be chased. I collected at most a 10 second gap until the 3’s realized that the 1-2’s had no interest in chasing me and that they would have to stick their nose in the wind to pull me back. I was keeping an eye on my proximity to the group and the gap seemed to be coming down at a rate that I did not want to outrun and I decided to sit up and take a drink and gel before I was caught.
Going into the bell lap Mark went off the front again this time getting a pretty good gap when I was 5 or so wheels back. When no one jumped to chase I figured I would let the gap open and then hopefully bridge up to him solo since attacking together was not working. I casually made my way up to the front and jumped off the front in pursuit. During my chase I passed a couple other tower riders in their master’s race and gave them a loud shout on my way bye.
I was so focused on getting up to Marks wheel that I failed to realize I was dragging the entire group along with me. When I finally reached Mark in the last corner he was less than pleased to see that I had brought the whole party with me. He quickly and very politely pointed out to me that I had nothing to gain in chasing him since we were technically not racing against each other, and all I was doing was hauling his competition back up to him on my effort. He then mentioned I would be wise to stay on his partners wheel in the next turn headed into the cross wind.
Just like clockwork his teammate attacked and I was right on his wheel along with another wheel sucker whom I am not too fond of, I came around full speed for my pull and once I was cross eyed and needing a short break I had to practically grab rider “X” by the handle bars and pull him up front. We stayed away for a few min but I later heard that the group had to really dig deep to pull this one back. Just as we were coming back together I learned step #2 of the Mark S. one two punch. Mark shot off the front not to be seen again until the last turn where he soloed across the finish for the CAT 1-2 win.
It was now up to the 3’s to sort out the winner, I was leading into the last turn when Ralph came
around me and started to lead out the group with me 2nd wheel. I knew my legs were shot and the best chance I had was for a sit down sprint and hope for the best. I know we started the lead out to far out but when I did come around it wasn’t with much acceleration and with 20 yards left to the line I was swallowed up and finished mid pack, again. However, this time I felt great, I felt like I had actually raced my bike and enjoyed doing it.
If you are an experienced racer and reading this you’re probably thinking to yourself “um yeah, it’s no secret just go out and be aggressive mix things up and if you work hard enough it will pay off!” but coming from a rookie racer who has been so wrapped up in upgrades and high finishes for points I have forgotten that racing is about taking risks followed by either epic success or epic fails, not just playing it safe and hoping for the best.
This isn’t to say that I’ll never sit in during a race and smoke the field in a sprint but it’s certainly not how I want to be known as a racer.
Next Up Winfield’s ABR P 1/2/3 main event on Sunday afternoon!
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