To the lay person cycling can seem like an individual sport, one person on the bike, and only one winner of a race. What most fail to realize is all of the work can go behind keeping that one person on the bike and getting that one person to the podium.
Whether in the the 'Tour or racing on a local amateur level your teammates do a lot to help each other out to get the win. Blocking wind, retrieving water bottle and food, lead out for a sprint, launching an attack to weaken the field, keep the pace high thin the field; all are good examples of teamwork in cycling. But like most instances in life this only works well with communication, experience, and cooperation of your teammates.
Yesterday was Jefferson Cup Road Race down in gloomy, raining and cold Charlottesville, VA, I only say that because that is what greeted Luis, Tods, and I as we rolled in the C'ville, yesterday morning for our first road race. It was suppose to be a high of 53 or so, with a 10% chance of rain at the start of our race, but as we arrived at 10:30 we had already been rained on by a few passing showers that would linger over pretty much all day with what a temperature that never seemed to get about 45. Talk about ultimate conditions for racing, especially for our first road race. I'm not going to lie, we went in there with great expectations, we knew we were strong enough and we could work together well enough to pull something off. We had multiple strategies planned out for virtually all types of scenarios and lots of information about the course given to us by teammates who had raced here in the past and videos post on the web of the course.
We arrived early enough to scout out the course and get a good look at what was to come, this was vital. All of the videos we watched, mainly Luis, didnt show much elevation change, hard to portrait that on a helmet cam, and driving the course just behind the Masters race gave us a good idea of what speed to expect in the race, especially with wet roads and tight turns. We drove the course once noting just about every knock and cranny, every apex, every roller, and most notably where to try and launch what I call a faux attack, something to break the field up separate the real racers and the kling-ons that can typically cause mass confusion in descents and sprint for 45th place while taking out as many people as possible.
After the course preview we headed to the school parking lot to register, setup and start getting warmed up. With a drizzle we decided to be wise and park close to the front of the school and setup our trainers under the awning so we could stay dry while warming up. This was a wise decision after there were a couple little showers that passed many fellow racers followed suit setting up next to us as well. For whatever reason I wasnt feeling the warm up, not big on riding on a trainer to begin with I new it was a necessary evil to get the legs moving and blood flowing. I think Luis was having similar thoughts as well, but he was pushing himself. I just kept my HR in high zone 1 and power near zone 2 just bs'ing with some of the Cat 4 riders that finished earlier.
After about an hour or so we were finished, finished getting ready and packed the car up and headed down to the start. There were three groups starting with in a few minutes of us, Cat 5, Cat 35+ and Womens, 3/4 or 4, cant remember. It was a lot of people that's all I know. We had a neutral rolling start of about two miles, one mile to the course and then a mile to the start finish line. Luis and I positioned ourselves to be the in the top 10 or so and Tods just behind us. Once the race started it was almost like a group ride, pace was mellow for the first mile or so. I worked my way to front setting a comfortable tempo for myself and hoping to pick up even more to drop some people off on the little climbing there was. Majority of the leading pace was done by a handful of guys, no one wanted to do any work. It was myself, a guy named Marcus and a couple NCVC guys, who incidentally didnt know each other and havent ridden together, this where team work comes into play.
The first lap was pretty uneventful same goes for the most of the second lap, until last 1/3. On the bottom of the triangle Tods attacked on the rollers. As he went out I saw all of the NCVC guys go after I just yelled "GO TODS" get it, I wasnt sure if he was attacking to break things up a bit or to go off on his own. It didnt last long, but it sure did use a lot energy from the NCVC guys th reel him back in, just like what Luis and I talked about, burn them up.
We cross the start / finish line and I am noticing some pain in my lower back, I mean it is hurting pretty bad but I stick through it. Besides if I am pedaling hard enough how will I notice pain anywhere else except my legs. Back to the task at hand Luis was making it way up the outside getting ready to attack the final "climb" if you will and I knew exactly what he was doing. As he rode past me I grabbed his wheel. We took the turn and out he went. I held on for as long as I could without burning myself up and then let the NCVC guys get him once again burning themselves up. At the top I moved back to the front as they were spent and wanted to burn them up a bit more with a fast pace descent hitting every apex possible carrying as much speed as possible.
As we made the turn on to the final straight, I kept in mind what a teammate had told us to do. If its a group finish TT it up the false flat and just burn as many people off as possible, and this is exactly what I did, from the final turn to the 200m mark. I just got low and pedaled as hard as I could at an effort I could maintain. I pushed, we got to the 1 kilo mark, push even harder, holly shit, almost there just a few hundred meters. I see cars, I hear people holly shit, 200m mark. Where the hell is everyone, no trains? no lead outs? I kept going and going, pushing everything I had. I was so low all I could see was asphalt and my top tube looking for wheels to come around me. None, do I go for it, F yes, go go go, I stand up and just give it everything I have I look up and I see the tent, almost there, no one next to me, keep pushing almost there. My quads hurt so bad, I could feel them burning like they have never burnt before. I had no idea what my power was, didnt care I just wanted to get to that line as past as I could. As crossed the line I let out a sound, cant describe, probably a painful sound, I shot, completely shot. Luis next to me, he did well, he said he got 5th, and awesome job. Had he a bit more room he probably would have sprinted past me. The finish chute was rather narrow and didn't provide a lot of room for the field sprint.
The ride back to the school probably took twice as long as it did to get to the race and it was downhill. I had no energy left what so ever. I was excited for the win and really happy Luis was able to 5th as well, I know he has a strong sprint so if he can sit in he can pick them off one by one at the end. But to go full circle it all comes back to the attacks that Tods and Luis did to break up the field and burn up the NCVC guys. If it werent for them the field would have been much larger with a completely unpredictable finish.
Also over hearing the chatter of the NCVC guys, they were introducing themselves at the begining of the ride, told me a couple things here, they didnt have experience riding and or racing together and most importantly they didnt have any strategies, again team work. We may only be Cat 5 but what we build now together will go with us as we upgrade together and continue to race together. Thanks again Tods and Luis.
And a special thanks to Heather and Christian for putting up with my addiction. You guys are the best!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
2 races down, lessons learned.
Well, we had a strategy going into the race a but once the wheels got turning it kind of went out the window a long with a lot of assumptions that the first race was going to be some what slow because of the bad winter. Writing this now I am sure everyone had a lot of pent up frustration and wanted to take it out on the field like my goal was. Lets review how today went.
Arrive on time but there was a huge line at registration and took about 15 minutes longer than expected this is where things started to unravel. That delay caused me to rush to get on the trainer which I wanted to spend a good 30 - 45 minutes on. When I get over to Luis' car I went to pump up my tires and the valve came off the stem as I was removing the caps, this had never happened to me, but of course my wrench is on the other side of the parking lot in my car. So grab it and start getting things squared away and getting dressed.
I was all over the place, not focused at all, in the end I was only able to get about 10 minutes on the trainer, and that wasnt even with any good resistance, just spinning. Get off, and go group up as the juniors race finish and BS with teammates as we wait for them to clear the course and take a couple laps. At this point Heather, Christian and Joe came over to say hi. I was already a little upset with the way everything went and then noticed my rear tire was rubbing my chain stay.
The clearance was always close but now this was serious. I able to move it over just a bit but it was very close and in a sprint it would flex and rub. Not much I could have done then though unfortunately. As we head off for a couple recon laps it was good to open the legs and chat with teammates about what were going try and accomplish. Legs with a little bit of heat in them not enough to be considered warmed up we head to the start / finish line. I was able to get a good place, evidently a little too good.
As the whistle blew we went off, clipped right in, no issues. Maybe it was anxiousness but as soon as we started I got cottonmouth, gum wasnt helping and I didnt want to reach for my water bottle as I was trying to keep an eye on everyone around as we started to hit the turns. As the laps counted down for whatever reason I was always at the front pulling, every now and then some one would attack and we would catch them quickly as the field was going at a good speed. I am not sure how many laps I lead but between a teammate Jeff and I we did a lot of the pulling as none of the other teams wanted to any of the work. That is the lesson learned. I should have just sat up and let them do it and let the pack slow down. I think coming in to last turn I was in the front but knew since the field was with me there would be a field sprint, as we turned i got over to the right and let them go at it. I was didnt want to get mixed up in a sprint for 30th and be taken out. In the end I finished 16th, not disappointed but could have done less work and raced a little more wisely.
After that race finished there was a few minutes between that and the 4/5 which had a field of 75 riders. I said a couple words to Heather and Christian and headed off for the start. Got a decent position and learned to sit back in the pack more. Whistle went off and away we went. Right away the pace seemed to be faster, I kept eyes on a couple teammates and moved up as they did, generally after the turns. One thing about leading the 5's though I was able to take the line I wanted at the speed I wanted. In the pack there was a lot of slowing down at every freaking turn and then sprinting after every freaking turn. This went on pretty much the whole race. There was one lap where I was able to get away and keep it for almost an entire lap and it at the turns where I felt most comfortable and was able to keep it going, but alas it didnt last long.
Come the final lap the pace picked up a bit and I was in the top 10 and approaching the last turn there was a huge surge of people trying to go for the sprint. I took the turn and held my line, and then proceeded to move to the right and let the people sprint for 30th, because literally as i crossed the line (39th) there were still jackasses trying to sprint for it.
In the end I learned I did way to much work and probably crits arent my thing. Out here raw watts is what will win a race and I generally need a longer race and some good hills to separate myself from the pack. All in all though, a perfect day for racing kept the shiny side up and dont think there were any accidents in the my races, at least none in front of me.
Arrive on time but there was a huge line at registration and took about 15 minutes longer than expected this is where things started to unravel. That delay caused me to rush to get on the trainer which I wanted to spend a good 30 - 45 minutes on. When I get over to Luis' car I went to pump up my tires and the valve came off the stem as I was removing the caps, this had never happened to me, but of course my wrench is on the other side of the parking lot in my car. So grab it and start getting things squared away and getting dressed.
I was all over the place, not focused at all, in the end I was only able to get about 10 minutes on the trainer, and that wasnt even with any good resistance, just spinning. Get off, and go group up as the juniors race finish and BS with teammates as we wait for them to clear the course and take a couple laps. At this point Heather, Christian and Joe came over to say hi. I was already a little upset with the way everything went and then noticed my rear tire was rubbing my chain stay.
The clearance was always close but now this was serious. I able to move it over just a bit but it was very close and in a sprint it would flex and rub. Not much I could have done then though unfortunately. As we head off for a couple recon laps it was good to open the legs and chat with teammates about what were going try and accomplish. Legs with a little bit of heat in them not enough to be considered warmed up we head to the start / finish line. I was able to get a good place, evidently a little too good.
As the whistle blew we went off, clipped right in, no issues. Maybe it was anxiousness but as soon as we started I got cottonmouth, gum wasnt helping and I didnt want to reach for my water bottle as I was trying to keep an eye on everyone around as we started to hit the turns. As the laps counted down for whatever reason I was always at the front pulling, every now and then some one would attack and we would catch them quickly as the field was going at a good speed. I am not sure how many laps I lead but between a teammate Jeff and I we did a lot of the pulling as none of the other teams wanted to any of the work. That is the lesson learned. I should have just sat up and let them do it and let the pack slow down. I think coming in to last turn I was in the front but knew since the field was with me there would be a field sprint, as we turned i got over to the right and let them go at it. I was didnt want to get mixed up in a sprint for 30th and be taken out. In the end I finished 16th, not disappointed but could have done less work and raced a little more wisely.
After that race finished there was a few minutes between that and the 4/5 which had a field of 75 riders. I said a couple words to Heather and Christian and headed off for the start. Got a decent position and learned to sit back in the pack more. Whistle went off and away we went. Right away the pace seemed to be faster, I kept eyes on a couple teammates and moved up as they did, generally after the turns. One thing about leading the 5's though I was able to take the line I wanted at the speed I wanted. In the pack there was a lot of slowing down at every freaking turn and then sprinting after every freaking turn. This went on pretty much the whole race. There was one lap where I was able to get away and keep it for almost an entire lap and it at the turns where I felt most comfortable and was able to keep it going, but alas it didnt last long.
Come the final lap the pace picked up a bit and I was in the top 10 and approaching the last turn there was a huge surge of people trying to go for the sprint. I took the turn and held my line, and then proceeded to move to the right and let the people sprint for 30th, because literally as i crossed the line (39th) there were still jackasses trying to sprint for it.
In the end I learned I did way to much work and probably crits arent my thing. Out here raw watts is what will win a race and I generally need a longer race and some good hills to separate myself from the pack. All in all though, a perfect day for racing kept the shiny side up and dont think there were any accidents in the my races, at least none in front of me.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
monday made up for sundays snafu
With pent up frustration I need a power test as it has been some time since I did a dedicated one and with all of the rest for the Dismal Dash the next day was as good as day as any.
So with no warm up on the commute to work I hammered it all the way to work. No record breaking times or anything but a good solid effort considering no warm up. The cool air felt great though that early in the morning. I did another good 20 minute effort on the way home as well as I do want to increase my FTP so i need to focus on those types of efforts. When the data was downloaded and looked at in WKO the numbers were right where I expected them to be.
Then last night was the monthly team meeting with my cohorts to discuss strategy for the race this weekend. We are all looking forward to getting out there and racing. Its been a long off season and want to get the wheels spinning again.
So with no warm up on the commute to work I hammered it all the way to work. No record breaking times or anything but a good solid effort considering no warm up. The cool air felt great though that early in the morning. I did another good 20 minute effort on the way home as well as I do want to increase my FTP so i need to focus on those types of efforts. When the data was downloaded and looked at in WKO the numbers were right where I expected them to be.
Then last night was the monthly team meeting with my cohorts to discuss strategy for the race this weekend. We are all looking forward to getting out there and racing. Its been a long off season and want to get the wheels spinning again.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
You win some, you lose some, and sometimes you DNF
Today was the first race of the season, the Dismal Dash 40K Time Trial, down in Suffolk, Virgina. My teammate Luis and I made the trip down to Chesapeake yesterday and stayed at an old friend of his, Bryan.
The drive down took a little under 5 hours and went well considering 95 is usually a mess most weekends. Once down there we hit a local mexican joint for dinner, the place had pretty good food and good atmosphere. Later we BS'ed watching a logging show on Discovery I think, and made fun of the rednecks in North Carolina. Around 10 or so headed to bed to try can get some sleep with the clocks moving forward an hour.
We woke up at 6 and pretty much did our standard routine that we did at training camp. Made breakfast, got cleaned up, then packed up our stuff and left.
We drove about 20 minutes or so to start location and started to unload the car and set things up to warm up after registration. So off to registration we went . . .
After we get back some fellow racers told me that my rear wheel which was setup with a wheel cover blew a tube, blowing the tire off the rim. Mistake number one trying new tires and tubes on race day. I was trying out Continental Supersonic Tyres and tubes which have a slimmer profile of 20cm versus the typical 23cm, and combined weigh about 100 grams less per wheel than regular butyl tubes and GP4000S tyres.
So off to change a tube, i bought four of the supersonic tubes and I was replacing it with one. I was very careful placing the tube properly in the clincher and tire. This of course took time, which wasnt on my side. My plan was to get on the trainer and warm up for about 51 minutes and then head to the blockhouse. Well by the time I got the tube seated to my liking and pumped it up it was 8:35 or so and my start time was 9:18.
Thirty minutes prior to start I take a gel and continue warming up. With a little more than 10 minutes until start time i stop. I decided to change shorts at the last minute and shirt as my shirt was wet and it was barely 50 F and I didnt want to risk getting cold on the course.
With minutes to spare I change my shorts / shirt, put the aero booties on and swap wheels and off I go. I arrive in time and head up to the block. They had a gentleman there holding the seat at the start which is nice to have so you dont have to worry about clipping, a very nice touch.
Go time... I start off strong, not too strong but I get down into a very nice position and just start spinning. Legs are feeling great, watts are there, HR is in the perfect spot, this is proving to be an awesome race so far . . . About a mile in I catch and past my 30 second man, then another and another and another. By mile 4.5 I caught up to all of the adult starters. . . it didnt last long.
At mile 5.3, I hear ssssssssssssssssssssssssss pop. My front tire flatted. Are you serious? yup. Game over.
I get off the bike and move to the other side of the road and start the 5 mile walk back. About a minute afterward a nice family who had two juniors racing pulled over and offered to change my tire. It was like my own personal support. But alas I declined, my motivation was shot, and so many things went wrong that it was just the nail in coffin. But they did give me a ride back to the start area which was very kind of them.
I got back to the car and just packed it up, I was pretty upset. I was feeling strong, and in the zone all shot to hell. I saw two other teammates Mitch and Ted and chatted with them as they prepped for their races.
Luis got back a little later as he started a few minutes after me. He was a bit worried as he had none done this distance before in an all out effort. I kept telling him leaving it all on the course being able to sprint at the end is a bad thing. Judging by his face and the sounds he made, well he had nothing left in the tank, he was running on fumes. One point on the way home he made the comment that he tried to use every muscle in body to make speed. He was extremely sore and could barely get off of his bike. I had been there and I envied it badly. I wanted to be in pain, I wish I was.
After about an hour and half of some walking around, stretching we finally get on our way home. Him still shot and me frustrated we left the flat lands and return home to NOVA. I did decide that I will channel this effort to Vint Hill next weekend. More on this later, but I am prepared to make people cry. ;)
The drive down took a little under 5 hours and went well considering 95 is usually a mess most weekends. Once down there we hit a local mexican joint for dinner, the place had pretty good food and good atmosphere. Later we BS'ed watching a logging show on Discovery I think, and made fun of the rednecks in North Carolina. Around 10 or so headed to bed to try can get some sleep with the clocks moving forward an hour.
We woke up at 6 and pretty much did our standard routine that we did at training camp. Made breakfast, got cleaned up, then packed up our stuff and left.
We drove about 20 minutes or so to start location and started to unload the car and set things up to warm up after registration. So off to registration we went . . .
After we get back some fellow racers told me that my rear wheel which was setup with a wheel cover blew a tube, blowing the tire off the rim. Mistake number one trying new tires and tubes on race day. I was trying out Continental Supersonic Tyres and tubes which have a slimmer profile of 20cm versus the typical 23cm, and combined weigh about 100 grams less per wheel than regular butyl tubes and GP4000S tyres.
So off to change a tube, i bought four of the supersonic tubes and I was replacing it with one. I was very careful placing the tube properly in the clincher and tire. This of course took time, which wasnt on my side. My plan was to get on the trainer and warm up for about 51 minutes and then head to the blockhouse. Well by the time I got the tube seated to my liking and pumped it up it was 8:35 or so and my start time was 9:18.
Thirty minutes prior to start I take a gel and continue warming up. With a little more than 10 minutes until start time i stop. I decided to change shorts at the last minute and shirt as my shirt was wet and it was barely 50 F and I didnt want to risk getting cold on the course.
With minutes to spare I change my shorts / shirt, put the aero booties on and swap wheels and off I go. I arrive in time and head up to the block. They had a gentleman there holding the seat at the start which is nice to have so you dont have to worry about clipping, a very nice touch.
Go time... I start off strong, not too strong but I get down into a very nice position and just start spinning. Legs are feeling great, watts are there, HR is in the perfect spot, this is proving to be an awesome race so far . . . About a mile in I catch and past my 30 second man, then another and another and another. By mile 4.5 I caught up to all of the adult starters. . . it didnt last long.
At mile 5.3, I hear ssssssssssssssssssssssssss pop. My front tire flatted. Are you serious? yup. Game over.
I get off the bike and move to the other side of the road and start the 5 mile walk back. About a minute afterward a nice family who had two juniors racing pulled over and offered to change my tire. It was like my own personal support. But alas I declined, my motivation was shot, and so many things went wrong that it was just the nail in coffin. But they did give me a ride back to the start area which was very kind of them.
I got back to the car and just packed it up, I was pretty upset. I was feeling strong, and in the zone all shot to hell. I saw two other teammates Mitch and Ted and chatted with them as they prepped for their races.
Luis got back a little later as he started a few minutes after me. He was a bit worried as he had none done this distance before in an all out effort. I kept telling him leaving it all on the course being able to sprint at the end is a bad thing. Judging by his face and the sounds he made, well he had nothing left in the tank, he was running on fumes. One point on the way home he made the comment that he tried to use every muscle in body to make speed. He was extremely sore and could barely get off of his bike. I had been there and I envied it badly. I wanted to be in pain, I wish I was.
After about an hour and half of some walking around, stretching we finally get on our way home. Him still shot and me frustrated we left the flat lands and return home to NOVA. I did decide that I will channel this effort to Vint Hill next weekend. More on this later, but I am prepared to make people cry. ;)
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