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2013-01-19 5:54 PM

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Subject: 2013 cycling race report thread

Here we go, another race season begins!

Not-so-underground crit cat 4. Nice wide course with 4 turns, one modest hill just after the finish line. Race starts with a neutral lap so everyone can get clipped in, etc. Stayed near the front for two laps, then found myself off the front by myself on a prime lap. Took the prime and kept a steady pace. One guy bridged up and we worked together for 5 laps with him leading down the hill and on some of the flat, and me leading up the hill. I 'gave' him the 2nd prime for his help. Near the end of our time together, he was getting dropped on the hill and eventually I had to leave him. I got caught with two laps left so I hung with the group until the end, then tried to sprint to the finish. Got pipped at the line by two guys and ended up 6th.

Race 2 - Cat 4/5. Much more twitchy than the first race and a bit faster. No break for me this time. Stayed in the group, worked my way up to 2nd wheel and stayed there. As someone would pass, I'd switch over to their wheel and worked out well for a while. On the final lap when we turned into the headwind half-way through the course got swarmed on both sides and fell back. Eventually got over again, but it was too late. After the last turn, I was in the clear so I practiced my sprint but ended up 16th or 18th in the pack.

I was hoping for better but can't complain. If the other guy would have stayed with me we would have taken 1st and 2nd. I was told later that one of the bigger teams told a guy to sacrifice himself to catch me. Still had a strong finish and took two primes. I thought the 2nd race would be better but I didn't have as much strength and they went out really fast. I chased any breaks but didn't initiate any. Was nervous along with everyone else the whole race.



2013-01-20 6:15 AM
in reply to: #4586301

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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread

Well done! Nice, aggressive racing!

In the first race, it's possible you could have kept your breakmate around and got more combined speed if you switched off who led on which part of the course.  If he only gets out of the wind on the uphills, he'll never get a rest, since there isn't much draft effect going uphills.

2013-01-21 11:29 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread
I'm jealous. Road racing doesn't start until March here.
2013-01-21 12:16 PM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread
jeng - 2013-01-21 11:29 AM

I'm jealous. Road racing doesn't start until March here.


Same. Its a high of 10F today
2013-01-21 1:56 PM
in reply to: #4586582

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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread

Thanks Kim! Yeah, I was ready to help more on the flat part but he never slowed or signaled for me to pull through. I met up with him at the race the next day and he was very apologetic for not helping more! I told him he did great and it was fun to be out in the break. Next time I'll help more if I see my breakaway partner fading and I still feel strong.

I made a video of the race: http://youtu.be/VeX-qgyvqkc

 

Next race report:

2013 Avondale Crit #1, men 30+ cat 4/5 - This was a race I wanted to do well in. Old dudes, like me With masters, you never know what you're going to get. Some guys hang in cat 4 forever because they don't bother upgrading, don't want to upgrade, or don't race enough to get the points. Regardless of reason, they like to put the hurt on. Then there are the new racers, jumpy and nervous and chasing anything that looks vaguely like a moving bicycle. If they see a car two blocks away moving in their direction, they're going to swerve. Makes for an interesting bunch. I don't know which group I fall into. Anyway, the start was pretty sedate, and I did my best to stay up near the front. This meant taking a pull once in a while, but nothing too serious. I was more worried about avoiding any carnage. I took a prime for sprint practice, then lost out on the next. Got a little sloppy on the last few laps and gave up my front position for a rear position. Oops! Wife told me I was 4th to last at the start of the final lap. Worked my way up a little through the final corner. The course ends with a long sweeper that I took wide with a long push to the line. Ended up 3rd, missing 2nd by half a wheel. Need to remember the throw my bike at the finish!

Video is here: http://youtu.be/BJhGG6SPIZg

Next race, Cat 4 race 1 - 4th race in two days... That pretty much sums it up! Surfed the front the whole race, still felt pretty strong. Went with a couple of breaks, but could feel it in my legs. In the exact opposite of the previous race, I was top five coming out of the last corner, held the wheel of the guy in front too long and got passed by a lot of people. When I finally stood up to sprint, I couldn't put in the effort and sat right back down. Finished around 19th.

2013-01-21 3:46 PM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread

It's the responsibility of the person in front to pull over, so it was up to him judge what he could do... but in the lower cats people just don't know better sometimes.

 

Either way, great racing!  It sounds like you are really developing in your fitness and skills. 

 



2013-01-23 11:44 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread

Monkey--

  great job on the first race.  I'll take a look at the second one later today.  Good movement on the last few laps to get the position.  Do you feel you burned yourself out too much when you were up front alone?  Should you have let the big guy do more work?  Or should you have left him much earlier?

2013-01-24 11:21 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread
Dlaxman31 - 2013-01-23 9:44 AM

Monkey--

  great job on the first race.  I'll take a look at the second one later today.  Good movement on the last few laps to get the position.  Do you feel you burned yourself out too much when you were up front alone?  Should you have let the big guy do more work?  Or should you have left him much earlier?

Thanks CJ. It's a tough call. I could have tried to help more on the flatter sections, as Kim pointed out. I looked at his previous results and it seems that he's a good TT'er, so he may have felt he could help best on the flats. He was also quite a bit bigger than me, so it was natural for me to follow him down the hill. We could have communicated better. The only communication we had was when I told him not to kill himself going down the hill. He was big enough that he could relax down the hill and still maintain good speed.

I think he did great work. He was sacrificing himself for the break. I had to wait for him a couple of times over the hill but the rest I got from him afterwards made it worthwhile. I wish we could have stayed together longer, but he was spent by the time I left him. I tried to race steady after he dropped but backed off when I saw I was going to be caught. My plan was to attack from the 2nd corner out for the finish. Instead I stayed the the guy's draft and didn't push hard until the last corner. I think if I'd attacked when I wanted, I would have had a better result.

I should point out - his teammate is the one that led the chase to catch us. Not good team racing. My teammate was also in the chase group, but he didn't help with the chase. That makes him a good teammate. If he had gone up and disrupted the chase he would have been a GREAT teammate My partner in the break told me that was the most fun he'd had in a race and was so apologetic for not staying with it. While he is good at TT's, that could be the closest he gets to winning a mass start race.

It's a learning process
2013-02-03 11:27 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread

U of A Crit - basic flat, square course raced counterclockwise. Mostly 2 lanes wide with bike lanes, but narrowed on the back stretch. Some of sand/grit on the course but it wasn't really a factor.

Race 1 - Cat 4 - I mostly concentrated on being near the front and moving around in the pack. Nothing spectacular happened during the race. On the final lap, I got near the front. My plan was to take the inside line around turn two and attack up the inside. Everyone had been taking the corner wide, and this time was no different. Right when I attacked, someone clipped the curb far to my left and went down (a good reason to be at or near the front, and inside!). I found myself out front around corners 3 and 4. When I stood up to sprint, I wasn't in a good gear. Because of that, I got passed by three people down the homestretch and took fourth. I need to downshift before trying to stand up and sprint

Race 3 - Masters 40+ - I was pretty nervous about this race. I know some of the guys, and they are all cat 1's and 2's. They take these races very seriously. Again, I just tried to stay near the front to go with any breaks. After a couple of laps, a break started to form. I was in the chase for a minute, then bridged. We had eight guys in the break and worked pretty well together. We ended up lapping the field. Several of the guys in the break had teammates in the field, who helped catch anything else that tried to get away. The race ended in a field sprint (which is odd, considering the best anyone could do was ninth...). I was a little confused at this point and didn't try to contest anything, finishing eighth. I should have just kept racing.

These were fun races. It shows me how much more I need to earn about tactics and placement. It also showed me I can hang with the big dogs, at least for a little while.

2013-02-06 9:18 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread
Video of the cat 4 race here.
2013-02-08 2:06 PM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread
Nice Race.  I enjoy watching your video's.  Gets me excited for race season to start here (NH).  Looks like a pretty fast pace.  


2013-02-11 11:27 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread

Thanks Mike, the racing season had been going well until yesterday....

McDowell Mountain Circuit Race - Cat 4

I wasn't comfortable with the course, and it showed. All of my races this year have been on wide roads with very few things to run into if you went off course. This race was in a park on narrower roads and a field of maybe 70 people. There were cacti and plants hanging out into the road on various parts, along with the occasional traffic cone to denote a hazard (typically a wash area that had some dirt in it). I think the cones were more of a hazard.

I also have been sleeping poorly which didn't help my concentration or motivation. I stayed near the front for much of the race, though I did find myself near the back more often than normal. Somehow I was at the front for the second to last lap again, I need to stop doing that. When I swung off, I got swarmed and then stuck behind a few people and ended up finishing at the back of the pack. Oh well, that's part of racing.

2013-02-14 11:23 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread
Just watching your video's get's my heart going and wishing it were warmer here.  Love watching them.
2013-02-16 10:22 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread
MonkeyClaw - 2013-02-11 12:27 PM

Thanks Mike, the racing season had been going well until yesterday....

McDowell Mountain Circuit Race - Cat 4

I wasn't comfortable with the course, and it showed. All of my races this year have been on wide roads with very few things to run into if you went off course. This race was in a park on narrower roads and a field of maybe 70 people. There were cacti and plants hanging out into the road on various parts, along with the occasional traffic cone to denote a hazard (typically a wash area that had some dirt in it). I think the cones were more of a hazard.

I also have been sleeping poorly which didn't help my concentration or motivation. I stayed near the front for much of the race, though I did find myself near the back more often than normal. Somehow I was at the front for the second to last lap again, I need to stop doing that. When I swung off, I got swarmed and then stuck behind a few people and ended up finishing at the back of the pack. Oh well, that's part of racing.

Nice videos keep them coming!  During the video I'd make the comment, "He is working too much" and then you'd write it on the video. 

 

Use more people during the race and save yourself for the last attack.  Or do like you did the first race and help with a different team.

2013-02-16 11:20 PM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread

Valley of the Sun Stage Race - Day 1: 14.5 m TT out-and-back.

31:45, 2nd place (13.9s off the winner). It's a TT, not much to say! Headwind on the way out and back (shifting winds), slight hill (300 ft) to the turn-around.

My wife and I were pretty sure the group of 5 I couldn't catch was drafting. I didn't see any penalties for them. Could have been an optical illusion though.

2013-02-16 11:40 PM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread

VOS day 2 - cat 4 48 mile RR. The plan was to stay smart. Hide in the draft, stay with the front group on the hills (basically 3 laps, each with one climb and then a slow descent and flat backstretch to the hill again. Finish was at the top of the hill. This course was designed specifically for me. Not me personally, but me as a racer.

I've beating myself up about being too aggressive and not smart. I wanted to be smart and be ready for the final climb. The first time up, it wasn't crazy but we dropped a few people. The second climb was also for KOM points. I stayed with the lead group but didn't go for the points. We dropped a lot of people on the climb (I'd heard up to 50%). We knew some would get back on. One guy also decided to go off the front. Nothing crazy, but far enough away to not be in the group. Then we were neutralized. Dude off the front was allowed to keep going, our group had to come to a virtual standstill while another group passed us. Everyone who was dropped caught back up. After we were released, we were all together except this one guy (and nobody knew he was gone...). Back stretch had a stiff side-wind and I wasn't getting much shelter. I had a teammate helping, but he didn't get to the right spot so he wasn't sheltering me. I got as much shelter as I could but it wasn't much. It was here that I should have just ridden to the front. Wind from the side is the same whether you're half-way down the back or sitting alone off the front. Instead I kept thinking the magic shelter-fairy was going to come up and block the wind for me. She never showed. Next thing I know, the open lane next to me was clogged and I was blocked from moving up. Now we're mixed in with a lot of the group that we were neutralized for! Shortly after that was the turn up the final hill. I saw that I needed to move up, but was blocked on all sides. Some frustrated people crossed the yellow line to get around, I decided to follow the rules. I finally got around the other side of the blocker. I worked my way up the group and past the bowling balls the best I could. After getting to the front, I realize the group had split and the rest was up further! I pushed harder to get to them, but ran out of real estate. Looks like a couple second gap for me from the main group. The guy who rolled off the front finished 2.5 minutes ahead of the group and will surely be taking first for the race and overall into the crit. The guy who was behind me in the TT was at the head of the lead group and may have made up the time to overtake me.

The lesson for me is to get smart about when to be patient and when to be aggressive. I was catching the lead group like they were standing still, but just didn't see them quickly enough. My lack of aggression caused me to miss this split until it was too late. Luckily I had the legs to get close but if I'd been in the right spot, a podium was in my future.

Stupid, stupid, stupid...

I'll try to get a video up in the next few days.

Crit tomorrow.



2013-02-18 9:58 PM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread

VOS Day 3 - Crit - Nothing too exciting. Stayed up front, then got squeezed into a corner with really bad pavement and went down around 6th wheel. Luckily almost everyone avoided me. Took my free lap and joined back in. Tailgunned the rest of the race to keep my overall placing. Finished with the pack.

VOS Overall: 4th

2013-02-19 10:17 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread
MonkeyClaw - 2013-02-18 10:58 PM

VOS Day 3 - Crit - Nothing too exciting. Stayed up front, then got squeezed into a corner with really bad pavement and went down around 6th wheel. Luckily almost everyone avoided me. Took my free lap and joined back in. Tailgunned the rest of the race to keep my overall placing. Finished with the pack.

VOS Overall: 4th

Great job on 4th overall.  Good start to the beginning of the season.

2013-02-21 12:55 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread
MonkeyClaw - 2013-02-18 10:58 PM

VOS Day 3 - Crit - Nothing too exciting. Stayed up front, then got squeezed into a corner with really bad pavement and went down around 6th wheel. Luckily almost everyone avoided me. Took my free lap and joined back in. Tailgunned the rest of the race to keep my overall placing. Finished with the pack.

VOS Overall: 4th

Sweet start to the season....looks like you're in pretty good form. Does AZ have classics?

Seriously, tho, like hearing and seeing your race reports. Keep 'em coming.

2013-02-21 5:58 AM
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Nice job!  4th overall. That's great!

2013-02-21 3:37 PM
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Thanks everyone I'm off this weekend for my anniversary, then in Tucson for an Omnium. Here are a couple videos from the race this weekend:

VOS Time Trial - nice and short

VOS Road Race - kind of long, great for watching at work

I'll try to get the crit up soon.



2013-03-04 9:32 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread

I finally got the VOS crit video up:

http://youtu.be/VdVF1patVlA

This weekend: Colossal Caves Omnium

Crit: A 1KM course through a (huge) church parking lot, climbing finish and descending the rest of the time. Another winding course, though the climb to the finish was straight. I was in good position but again gave up position on the last lap and couldn't contend for the finish. I'm starting to see a trend... 10th

Road race: 9-mile circuit with about 500 ft of climbing per lap, concentrated on a long climb. Tried to race smart, stay out of the wind, etc. Worked pretty well until I found myself in the front with a crosswind. I decided if they wanted me up there, I'd put everyone else in the gutter so I went to the edge of the road and maintained an easy tempo pace. I left room for one person, next thing I know we're OTF. He told me we had a gap and to keep going. I kept the same effort, as the next turn was with a tailwind and didn't think we would stay away. I also tried to get him to take a pull and he wasn't interested, so I didn't waste any effort. We were caught not long after the turn and I just maintained my position near the front (something I'm trying to get better at). Turning up the final hill, the lead group attacked. I stayed with my pace, thinking they would burn out. I was wrong I ended up 13th.

Not sure of my final Omnium standing, I think I was around 7th. They haven't posted the final scores yet.

2013-03-04 11:44 AM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread

Day 1 of the Colossal Cave Omnium was a brusier.  The course is a blast - super fast - winding and fun with good corners and an uphill finish.  There were crashes in all of the men's races expcet Mens 4.  The worst crashes were on the last lap of the Mens 3 and the Mens Pro/1/2 races where guys were gassed and going hard for position.  Both resulted in guys going home in an ambulance.

I raced the Mens Cat 5... I am a newbie this season.  My goal was to not be content to sit in the bunch.  I went right out on the front and attacked several times.  I didn't get away solo but I initiated a break with 7 riders including one of my team mates.  At this point my team mates who weren't racing started hollering at me to stop pulling the break and I dropped back took cover and caught my breath.  I had a team mate with me and after about 5 minutes of rest I attacked the break and my team mate went to the front of the break and blocked.  I went off the front for about two laps, but the rest of the break eventually went around my guy and worked to shut me down.  At this point the break was about to lap the shattered remnants of the field and all of the riders that weren't in the break were yanked off the course.  That felt good.  The last lap a fellow that had sat in at the back of the break attacked and got a gap.  He took the race (smart racing) and I finished just off the podium in the sprint. 

I would have liked to podium, but I felt good that I didn't just sit in the whole race. 

Tolero Racing hosted the race and they sponsor two more crits on this course (The Tolero Crit Series - Mar 30 and April 6).  If you like Crits, this is a FUN course.

2013-03-04 3:32 PM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread
MonkeyClaw - 2013-03-04 10:32 AM

I finally got the VOS crit video up:

http://youtu.be/VdVF1patVlA

This weekend: Colossal Caves Omnium

Crit: A 1KM course through a (huge) church parking lot, climbing finish and descending the rest of the time. Another winding course, though the climb to the finish was straight. I was in good position but again gave up position on the last lap and couldn't contend for the finish. I'm starting to see a trend... 10th

Road race: 9-mile circuit with about 500 ft of climbing per lap, concentrated on a long climb. Tried to race smart, stay out of the wind, etc. Worked pretty well until I found myself in the front with a crosswind. I decided if they wanted me up there, I'd put everyone else in the gutter so I went to the edge of the road and maintained an easy tempo pace. I left room for one person, next thing I know we're OTF. He told me we had a gap and to keep going. I kept the same effort, as the next turn was with a tailwind and didn't think we would stay away. I also tried to get him to take a pull and he wasn't interested, so I didn't waste any effort. We were caught not long after the turn and I just maintained my position near the front (something I'm trying to get better at). Turning up the final hill, the lead group attacked. I stayed with my pace, thinking they would burn out. I was wrong I ended up 13th.

Not sure of my final Omnium standing, I think I was around 7th. They haven't posted the final scores yet.

 

Much better job of not using your energy on the race when someone else wasn't interested in helping out.  Keep up the good work this season.

2013-03-05 6:26 PM
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Subject: RE: 2013 cycling race report thread
bluebike - 2013-03-04 9:44 AM

Day 1 of the Colossal Cave Omnium was a brusier.  The course is a blast - super fast - winding and fun with good corners and an uphill finish.  There were crashes in all of the men's races expcet Mens 4.  The worst crashes were on the last lap of the Mens 3 and the Mens Pro/1/2 races where guys were gassed and going hard for position.  Both resulted in guys going home in an ambulance.

I raced the Mens Cat 5... I am a newbie this season.  My goal was to not be content to sit in the bunch.  I went right out on the front and attacked several times.  I didn't get away solo but I initiated a break with 7 riders including one of my team mates.  At this point my team mates who weren't racing started hollering at me to stop pulling the break and I dropped back took cover and caught my breath.  I had a team mate with me and after about 5 minutes of rest I attacked the break and my team mate went to the front of the break and blocked.  I went off the front for about two laps, but the rest of the break eventually went around my guy and worked to shut me down.  At this point the break was about to lap the shattered remnants of the field and all of the riders that weren't in the break were yanked off the course.  That felt good.  The last lap a fellow that had sat in at the back of the break attacked and got a gap.  He took the race (smart racing) and I finished just off the podium in the sprint. 

I would have liked to podium, but I felt good that I didn't just sit in the whole race. 

Tolero Racing hosted the race and they sponsor two more crits on this course (The Tolero Crit Series - Mar 30 and April 6).  If you like Crits, this is a FUN course.

Nice job! A lot of people were pulled from the crits, so just staying in the race is an accomplishment. Top ten is even better! That hill destroyed a lot of people. I liked the course, but there is definitely a good place to attack (the hill) and the other places where you just want to hold your position (the rest of the course!). I didn't realize the other TR races were in the same place. It's tough for me to go to Tucson for a short crit, though I may try to get down there for one of them. Are you on their team?

Did you do the RR?

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