I usually don't race in the 17s-18s because everybody is ahead of me in terms of almost everything; race experience, equipment, category, fitness, etc. and so it really discourages me from competing with these guys (I got lucky at San Bruno '11). So anyways I got a ride from Alex who was racing with me that day, and registered and everything and we went to rollout and OH NO. Apparently Alex didn't pass, even though he had blocked his gear the day before, to the same setup he had at Sea Otter. Alex started to panic and tried to find a screwdriver, but the Juniors 17/18s were already lined up and the next group to go. Luckily, they waited for him, and what happened was the official rolled out again and since it was so close he just let him go. PHEW.
The start of our race was very calm. We rolled along at about 15mph and we were going easy, which was good because Alex and I didn't have time to warm up, even though we had our trainers and everything. I recognized Alex Freund from Davis Bike Club and the J17/18 National Cyclocross Champion Bjorn Fox. The other CAT3 rider Garrett Hankins was in the front of the pack of about 12-13ish since the Junior Ladies were mixed with us. I knew I had to watch out for Alex and Bjorn so I stayed behind them for most of the 1st lap. The 1st Lap was completely uneventful, there were times it would go hard at the descent but I don't think any of the Junior Guys were dropped. The wind was picking up though.
By Lap 2 I was surprised I had so much energy. Coming into Lap 2, was that long stretch where a headwind was present. There were about 4-5 of us taking turns pulling, with Alex (teammate) telling me to not pull for so long. After the long roll in the wind, we were approaching the climb. About 1/3 through the 1km climb, like I expected, Bjorn attacked. Garrett and Alex Freund responded, while the rest of the not-as-experienced Juniors sat and watched. I didn't mean to be pessimistic, but I had already decided not to catch Bjorn's break since I know I would end up so exhausted and I didn't want to leave Alex behind (If I were to get dropped from exhaustion). Besides, I didn't race here to win, I raced to get good results. With the 3 away, I still had a chance of getting top 5. Remy from team swift did a lot of pulling. We weren't chasing whatsoever, but I was expecting him to drop back so we could pull, but he just stayed at the front. Alex followed, then me, then Nathan Carpenter from Tieni Duro. About half of the 2nd lap Nathan dropped back and for the rest of the lap (and race) it was Remy, Alex, and me.
The climbs were not bad. I found myself climbing in the 52t ring for most of the rollers, and the 39t for the rest. I only used my 30t (which I really need to get rid of!) to conserve energy. The climbs weren't bad at all but a gap would form between Alex and Remy during a descent. I don't know why I fall back on descents but I do know that I could pedal my way to close the gap, even though it means spinning out the 52t-14t. Even though it wasted energy, I caught up.
So we didn't see the 3 leaders for the whole 2nd lap. On the 3rd lap on the 1km climb, one of Remy's supporters had told him the "Davis guy" or Alex Freund was a minute ahead. This was great news, since I assumed he wasn't as agile on the climbs (agile referring to speed, but not power!) but he was one hell of a Time Trialist so he could gap us more on the flats and descents. So we were encouraged and we picked the speed up a little, went through the rollers and what not, and then descended to a marshal who told us to slow down. When I made that right turn I saw a whole bunch of cyclists stopped. NOOOOOOOOOO! This had ruined everything, well just the plan to catch up to Alex. Now our legs would feel all weird when we got back, or the gap would increase. We even thought that we'd be able to go at the same time as Alex and Garrett. They were able to leave before us though. We were probably there for 15ish minutes (which added to our overall times) and the three of us just chatted a good conversation. Apparently there was a bad crash and someone needed helicopter assistance. I hope they're okay.
Anyways final lap, I was stupid and hungry so I took a few bites of my Clif Bar. I swear it was the dumbest thing I could do, to eat during a descent (it was a straight descent) and so a gap had opened between me and Alex+Remy. It took a lot of energy to close the gap, and when I did I thought I had compromised my energy for the last climb, but I didn't. We ended in a group with some Cat 4 guys and we just rode to the hill. 1/3rd of the climb I went off the back to pick some speed up so I jumped to secure 4th place. Alex had also sprinted to the line for 5th place! It was a great result! I was pretty bummed when I saw Alex Freund right in front of me, I was 7 seconds behind him! But he did a good job and he deserved 3rd place.
I really like the course and I hope to do it again next year. The rolling hills are definitely my type, and when I get even stronger I look forward to doing more of these types of races.
Race: Wente Vineyards Road Race
Category: Juniors 17-18s
Place: 4th/ 8th
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