Race Report: RIR crit 3/20/11
Racers: 50 CAT 5
Where: Richmond, VA
Distance: 30 mins of .75 mile loop on the bike......and about 6ft off the bike
Results: 4th place
Prerace: I am very lucky. I have the help of a good team and a great shop. Above is a pic of the race rig designed by Bicycle Outfitters, the Ritchey wheels made this killer bike a sub 15 lbs machine. All Shamano Ultegra with Speedplay pedals. Justin and Rick tuned her and got her race ready. The day before I made sure she was spotless and coated her with a lite layer of Bike Lust.
Race Day: I started getting those familiar race day butterflys when I saw the grandstand from the highway. I rolled into the gate, and yes, my redneck NASCAR friends, they let us park in the center of the RIR track. It was breath taking. The Masters open race was already underway and it was pretty cool to watch the peloton whistle by. I also noticed that all the breakaways were getting caught and it was looking like a group sprint finish.
I found Pat and Brian warming up on their trainers......huh....not a bad idea....I should of thought of that one. I definitely felt like a newbie when I was asked if I brought mine. You see, this was my first road race and it started to feel like it. Brian and Pat unhitched and started towards the CAT 3/4 start line when...."hey, did the race already start? no way Brian and Pat are in that group" and I was right. The officials decided to start the race 5 minutes early....that is a first. I saw one of the guys hammering to catch up to the peloton that had left without them. Brain was able to catch the peloton but Pat was further behind and was unable to reconnect. He held up until the Peloton lapped him and he kept on for the ride. This race was not an A race for either of the guys, but I felt bad. Very bizarre.
Wade and I warmed up around the pit lane and conspired on our certain victory. The plan was to connect about 12 minutes into the race and wait for an opportunity to breakaway. Wade would get us to the front and Andy would keep going until I could launch off of Andy's wheel. Keep in mind these guys were there to race too, but they agreed to help me out and see if I could get a gap on the group and get a podium finish. After the launch they would try to spike any effort to catch me.
My nerves were on fire as we lined up on the start line. The director was going through roll call when he looked up from his sheet, called out a name, and then asked what the heck "that" rider was doing in this race.....I gave the rider a good look over and I decided he was going to be my marker, I wanted to keep an eye on this one. The whistle blew and we were off.
The pace was pretty easy, but it was very tight and the track had a grade that made everyone drift towards the inside. Everytime we went around the tight bends the group got close and personal. About 10 mins in I was about 10th from the front and there was a nice dual paceline going at a decent pace. Two lines kept it tight and close, suddenly a rider darted up the middle of the two lines apparently trying to advance up through the group.....this was not good idea. He clipped the back of a wheel and all hell broke lose. It was so quick, I remember the guy going past me and then there was a body sprawled out in front of me and there was nothing I could do. I hit him and went over the bars, I think my bike followed me and landed on top of me. I immediately wrapped my arms around my head and brought my knees to my chest expecting to get hit too. I got clipped but I was very lucky. I don't know how many went down but it was carnage on the track. I was completely stunned. My only thought was to get back on the bike. So that's what I did. Fortunately, the race director neutralized the race and everyone gathered back at the start line. Both Wade and Andy went down too. There were broken frames and lots of red blotched legs and arms.
The director told everyone that the race was now only going to be 5 laps with a neutral lap. Wade, Andy and I decided to try out our breakaway after the first lap. We went around and got lined up on the outside of the group. Once we got onto the straight away Wade took off and we launched past a very surprised Peloton. Once Wade broke off Andy pulled for a while when I noticed the first element of the Peloton started getting close to my wheel. I had a choice....let Andy pull me and the rest of the Peloton or take off early while they were still trying to get onto my wheel. I instantly made a decision and took off. I went on the inside of Andy and gunned it. I was living a dream BTW. Not everyone gets a chance to have a two man lead out in a real life race. I was smiling from ear to ear for about 25 seconds....then it started to hurt. I made the mistake of looking down at my garmin and I read 34 mph and I thought to myself...too fast too early....I came around the corner and Brian was jumping out of his shoes on the sidelines....."You got two chasers, gooooooooo!" So I kept it up but I was slowing down. The first chaser got to me...."Lets keep this up, follow me!" And he proceeded to launch off my wheel and left me behind. Now I was in dead-man's land since I didn't have the guys wheel and had the Peloton bearing down on me. I let up and got swallowed up to about the 8th place. Got a wheel and started to recover. When I looked up the wheel belonged to my old buddy Wade. I yelled up to him that I was on wheel and he nodded. We went around another loop and I had my legs back. On the bell lap we got about half way through and Wade moved up and I followed him. He knew what to do, and I knew what I had to do. We were at a big disadvantage since the front leaders of the Peloton had a tight grip on the inside track. Wade tore out of the Peloton...again.....and I was riding on his draft real tight. He passed everyone but the leaders kept up with me and I couldn't get far enough ahead to take their line. They kept me on the outside which was not good. Wade broke off and I throttled it the best I could. I held the lead for a while but the inside guys starting turning on the horsepower and the first two past me. Then within meters of the line a guy jumped off my wheel and took third.....I can't sprint for crap. The whole finish was very blurry but this is the way I perceived it.
Post Race: The first thing I did after the warm down lap was to check the bike. The right pedal got skinned and the back right of my saddle got chewed up but other than that it came through without a scratch...which tells me it landed on something or someone.
I thanked Wade and Andy over and over again for their effort. They both worked their tails off and I know I wouldn't of had the chance without their help.
