Crits Anyone

Criterium Defined.... 

So let me continue my story about the challenges of Cat 5 Road Racing. A few weeks ago I competed in a weekend of crits to get a few more mass-start races under my belt so I can cat-up one of these days. Definitely looking like a 2013 objective as I just can't do any more road races this Summer.

Okay, so first up was a Cat 5 crit of 30 min duration with an hour or so rest and then a 60 min crit in the Cat 4/5 Masters division. I did the first race with pal and colleague Lex as he is dabbling in road racing as well. We both made the drive to Hagerstown, MD on a 1 mile course in section of town where the finish area was in a beautiful, old, elegant neighborhood and the other parts of the course were on the "other side of the tracks". For the record it was VERY HOT and the first race started at 8:30 and it was already in the 80's.

Lex and I stacked-up on the line and then we were off for 30 min of pack riding with about 40 other riders. Needless to say this was my first crit since last Summer and no doubt it is intense riding. It must take a while to be comfortable but the close quarters, speeds in the mid-20's, and a lot of inexperienced riders tapping the brakes makes things very stressful.

That's me out of the saddle on the first 90 degree turn

The race was certainly  competitive and there were no breakaways that held but I did struggle a bit coming out of the corners. For several laps I was at the back of the pack and this just saps energy because of the yo-yo effect. The last 3 laps is when the intensity picked-up. The scorers flip a number to let you know how many laps you have left and if you are in a bad position you have no chance for the bunch sprint.

Okay......................so we hit the scorers table and this is when the race picked-up. About 100 yards later we have a right turn with plenty of room but we are also carrying a lot of speed. I am mid-pack and just as we turned a rider went down about 4 bike lengths in front of me and immediately brought down 4-5 other riders. I was able to do the tap-tap, swerve, tap, swerve to avoid the carnage but by this time i was going about 10 mph and there were 7 riders that dodged all of the mess and they were about 200' in front of me. I sprinted but just burned up energy so I had no chance to catch-up. The last 2.5 laps went fast and I ended up 11th but it really did not matter. I was pleased that I did not go down though and am glad I have done all that mountain biking to permit me to react fast on a bike. Lex cleared the wreck clean and finished 5th.

After I was dropped in second race

After the race I cooled off in the shade of my car but the temps were climbing in to the 90s. I kicked back to take a load off my legs but when It was time to get going again I could tell it was not going to be easy to get the blood pumping again.

Starting Line Cat 4/5

In the drops and fading

 Well, let's cut to the chase as that is all I did in the second race was chase the pack for 2 laps and then i was spit out the back. Just no pop. So...............i ended up riding hard, sharing pulls with another guy, and just practiced my turns for the next 50 minutes. In the end it was worthwhile and great practice but the lead group lapped me twice, heck, maybe 3 times. VERY HUMBLING.

Fast forward to the next day at the Chantilly Crit. Again...............very hot. Thankfully Lex and I had done a workout here the previous week so we both knew the .7 mi course and the one 90 degree turn pretty well.

The 30 min of racing was a lot of fun and I did a better job of keeping in the middle of the pack or toward the front third. Heck, I even pulled for about 20 seconds. There was one interesting moment on the back straight away when a rider drifted in and bumped me as we were cruising at about 25mph. I said "Cuidete" and he responded with "you are in my line" and I responded "I have had this line for 30 secs" and he goes on and said "you are all over the place" and I said "then get up front" and he shut up at this point. Lex told me after the race that he was way out of line during this exchange because he (Lex) was on my wheel during the whole exchange and said my line was just fine.

Anyway, when we hit the last two laps just on the top of a short hill, there was a wreck of 4 riders--caused by the same velo club--NCVC/Long and Foster--that caused the wreck the previous day at Hagerstown. It happened at my 2 o'clock position and all I did was swerve a bit and get back on the back of the leaders. Needless to say I kept with the pack and with about 300 yards to go I tried to surge but sprinting is not my forte and I ended up finishing last of this bunch. 21st of 41 total. Lex was caught-up behind the wreck and he was in the same situation as I was at Hagerstown.

JOCMO: 3 more Cat 5s down and counting! Great to ride fast, handle the bike well, and start to get the edge you need for road racing.