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What Carl saw:
Category: 4
Result: Back of pack
Here's my take on the Cherry Pie Crit on Sunday.
I arrived with my family to the race site with plenty of time for a good warm-up which turned into extra time for warm-up since the races were behind schedule about 45 minutes. With the races not on schedule that meant that there were no warm-up laps on the course which was unfortunate since I had never done the course before and the first time down in a pack made for some interesting riding.
The Freewheelers team again had a strong showing at the Cat 4 race with 5 riders at the line (Brian J., Ziggy, Scott, Jeff and myself) we all set off with a plan of just seeing what happens and riding our own races (probably the right plan for this course). The first lap was quite exciting in that we took off on to the down hill and the pavement was terrible, especially that big pot hole in the middle of the street, and this caused a whole bunch of water bottles to come bouncing through the group.
I rode the race trying to keep a position within the front third of the field and to check out where I believe the moves would happen. I was feeling Ok during the race and planned to work my way up with about 3 laps to go and then catch a rush on the final lap and make a go of it on the final climb to the line. I was executing my plan in the final laps with success and on the last lap I was looking to catch a rush after the second turn which I did and was just staring to go when some riders bumped into me from the right side and we rubbed wheels. I recovered from that and then about 25 yards ahead I got my front wheel into another rider rear wheel/derailleur and I heard this ting ting sound and my wheel started wobbling. I though about just going for it but was worried about the wheel ,maybe failing on the climb and causing a serious incident so I pulled off to the side and let the group go and then rolled up to the finish. No pie or placings for me this time, just another trip to the bike shop for some repairs!
I believe Ziggy was able to get a top ten placing and was close to getting a prime, I will let him tell this story. It was another good showing for FFRT and look forward to seeing our group out at Snelling.
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What Ziggy saw:
Category: 4
Result: Mid-pack
Here's the condensed version of my race:
Really long warm-up, lost my water bottle at the start, chased just about every
break, none were successful, won a prime, got 11th place.
Here's the long version:
As Carl said, the race was started very late and I was able to get in a great
warm-up. Rolled to the start and talked with the team that perhaps we should
try to string out the pack with about two or three to go. The race started and
I immediately lost my waterbottle, having ridden right into one of the
cavernous pot holes in the road. So right away I was mad because I now had to
race for 45 minutes without water!
I moved to the front right away because mid-
pack was way too sketchy. This was where I would stay for all but one lap.
Everybody in this race had the idea that they were going to save themselves for
the final sprint and would do no work to chase breaks, speed up the race or
attempt to ride any faster than their Monday afternoon recovery ride. This
makes me mad. Bike races are no fun when all the wheelsuckers from the back of
the race come up to the front and make a mess of things trying to find a wheel
to suck instead of doing work.
Anyhow, I chased many breaks, each time finding
that the two or three people in the break didn't want to cooperate and were
happy to let the guy who started it cook himself until the pack caught them.
Asking for help, was no good, and yelling only earned me blank stares from the
ones "sitting in". Why they were sitting in, I'll never know. They had no
teammates up the road, or in the break, nor were they working hard because they
all had their mouths closed while breathing. Punks.
On one such breakaway, we
happened to be on a prime lap, and I was willing to let the prime go if the guy
in front of me was willing to pull through and give the first guy a break, well
he didn't do it, I got mad as heck, and said eff this and took the prime. We
got caught shortly after the downhill portion. The one time I sat in the pack
was during the first prime lap (a little out of order here). I needed some
rest from all the damn chasing, so I hid while the front half of the race
contested the prime.
On the last lap, I got caught up in a surge of "guys that
were saving themselves" after the downhill, and had to stick my nose in the
wind to get to the front for the finishing sprint. I was first into the hill
and stayed this way for about half the hill, at which point I started losing HP
and guys started coming around me. after about five or six guys came around
me, I sat up about ten feet from the line, figuring I would hold whatever
position I had at the time (also a little peeved that I wasn't going to get a
top 3). Wrong! I lost about four positions in doing this and ended up with
11th. Lesson learned: suffer until fuly past the finish line, ALWAYS.
In the
end, I had a great time. I managed to get some water from one of my breakaway
buddies. Also, all my hard work didn't go unnoticed by several riders. This
was the first time a fellow racer actually mentioned my "good job" at the
front. This was probably the high point of my day. If nothing else, this race
was great for some serious threshold intervals (about two per lap). BTW, the
prime was $15, enough to cover entry fees! Velo Promo should take a hint.
They charge almost twice as much for a race and NEVER give anywhere near half
the prizes or money that club races front.
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What Tim saw:
Category: 45+
Result: Top ten
45 Race report.
More folks than last year (51), but still nothing like the 3 or 4's. Readers digest version. Larry left, I moved up on the last lap got 10th.
Longer version.
I got an OK start and tried to settle in. Pack was up from 40 last year to
51. As usual I was hanging back too far trying to conserve energy knowing
full well when Larry took off I wouldn't be able to follow. There were a
few minor breaks but none got away, then with about 20 minutes into the race
Larry took off.
Eventually we caught him at the top of the hill then he
really took off and two followed. They rode off the front, Larry held up
awhile for his teammate, Peter to catch but he didn't quite make it. Then
Larry left the other two!
I was muddled in the middle in 20th to 30th. I
was making up ground up the hill only to lose it on the downhill. So with
five to go I played the same game. By going down the hill on the right it
was possible to move up big time, the trick was getting through the first
corner. I pulled that again on the last lap, then on after the second right
the pack went left then slowly pulled to the right, I just went straight so
I gained some more.
On the final straight before the hill someone really
hit it, I jumped on, but it was a bit too late. I charged up the hill but
just couldn't get around Bob Parker and another guy (I think a 55) so I got
10th. As far as the race goes, I guess I tried too hard going up the hill
earlier and tired my legs out. Regarding training, I had planned to get
some uphill sprint practice in just for this race, but I didn't get around
to it. Too bad, because it definitely would've helped.
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What Brian J. saw:
Category: 4
Result: Mid-pack
Well my story is short! Because I was using Carl as my leadout man. So you
know what happen there. Glad Carl didn't go down, because if he did, it
would have been my tire tracks on him. I tried to recover and ended up with
a 39th out of 83. Better luck next time! F.Y.I., I mailed off my
pre-registration for snelling yesterday. I'm racing masters 35+ 4/5, anyone
else?
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