Burlingame Criterium Race Report (CAT-4)

I can still remember exactly one year ago I came to watch the Burlingame Criterium. I wasn't a committed racer yet, and this was actually the first time seeing a Criterium. Watching the Criterium was so exciting and got me pumped up watching all those cyclists pass by so fast.

So I looked forward to this race for a whole year, and it sure was worth the wait! This race alone was one of my incentives to upgrade into the 4's! That being said, this was my 2nd race as a CAT4 and my first CAT4 criterium, so I was ready to adapt to the 4s for today. There was about 50ish of us and our race was in the morning...7:00AM! I woke up at 4:30 to get ready and eat and drove down to Burlingame at around 5:40. This is the 3rd closest race to where I reside (The Other being SBM Hill Climb and the Ronde Van Brisbeen).

I ditched the trainer and warmed-up on the road for about 16 minutes because since I knew my way around very well I knew that the flat roads were perfect for easy and hard efforts, on top of that there was no traffic whatsover except for other cyclists and those driving to the race. I was able to do a few laps on the course--it was no surprise since I walked the whole course a year ago and I also went here on Thursday. I got to rollout on time, and went to the front...but some guy coming from the opposite of the start/finish decided to jump in next to me...so I was squished between him and the wall. I thought that would be pretty dangerous trying to clip in with such a small space so I just went behind him.

Alright onto the race...the pace was smooth and I was able to hang on. I think I might be getting better at Criteriums! I hung on even when the pace was getting faster. And I tried to keep a good position in the front. Most of the race I was in the middle but I couldn't help but move up when at every corner you have a course Marshal yelling "GO PENVELO and MOVE UP DOM" so that was a big help! I was the only PV guy racing in this field. The Prime Bell rang, and I was debating if I should try to get the first prime of the day. I was in the top quarter of the pack, until the back stretch when it just got crazy so I didn't take the gamble. Plus I might've not been able to hang on later on since it was only the first 10 minutes.

I'm not really sure but I think 2-3 guys got off the front for a few laps. Therefore the pace nailed it about 3 more MPH, so we all had to work a little harder but I still felt energetic. Some guys tried to bridge but they weren't successful plus we caught the break later on anyways.

AT about 25 minutes into the race, on the left turn onto Burlingame Avenue from Park Rd. (I call it the the Apple Corner Because of the Apple Store) I have no idea what happened but riders went down. I was coming in way to fast to avoid the crash, and I took the outside of the corner were the riders piled up. I thought that this was the first time I would go down in a race. I grabbed my brakes and skidded, and I couldn't completely stop so the barricades helped me stop. Luckily I didn't go down and I clipped right on time when another guy hit the barricade. However from all the braking and bouncing around, my chain fell off and I couldn't get it back on so I decided to take advantage of the pit and the free lap rule. (Thanks to the guys who helped me put my chain back on especially since my chain was pretty dirty). I was able to slip in at the middle of the pack with a helpful push from Coach Ray.

Getting caught up in the crash actually gave me a lot of recovery time so I was energetic. I tried my best to move up to the front at every possible opening. I thought I actually had a chance to contest in the sprint! The only thing that annoyed me was that everytime the pack would slow before entering a corner so I would take the inside, and on the last lap I decided to take my own line instead of hanging onto a wheel and getting their line...and when I did that I gained about 10 places...it made a big difference! Since it worked on the first corner I tried it on the 3rd to last corner but no luck since everyone was already pushing it. I was in the top 30 of the pack on the Bell Lap coming out of the final corner. I wasn't going to go for an all out sprint since I don't really work on my sprints, but I did go pretty hard to the finish line.

I had a fantastic time out there on the course, I love this course so much! It was a lot of fun fighting for a position in the pack, that's something I'm currently working on. And I think the best part of the race was being cheered upon by all my teammates who were Course Marshals, I never had so much support so thanks to all!

I placed 29 out of about 44 so I wasn't dead last and I didn't get dropped! I still feel like I'm improving in Criteriums! Racing with the CAT2/3 Specialized guys really helps :)

I had a fun time as a course marshal myself cheering for PV teammates in their categories and other guys I knew. I had a great day!

Garmin Data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/95159154

^PS: Is the crash obvious? =p

2011 Pescadero Coastal Classic Race Report

The Pescadero Coastal Classic was the road race I had been looking for all year, I wanted to do it last year but I wasn't ready and I was quite afraid of the descents here. Actually, coming into the race the descents were my main concern. I was familiar with the course and the descents of Stage Rd and Haskins were still a concern because first off it was my first time racing as a CAT 4 and second I've always been careful on descents when training or casually riding, so I was inexperienced with high speed descents at around 40 mph.

Like stated earlier, this was my first CAT4 race so my result was unpredictable. I've been training for this race the whole year, focusing on Force, Muscular Endurance, and Speed Skills. Despite my training, I placed pretty poorly, but personally I think my physical ability during the race was alright.

The race started at 7:45, I met up with John Luk also from PenVelo, but I didn't communicate with any other PenVelo members. I wasn't able to warm-up even though I brought my trainer and everything, so I just rode around and did 1 hard max effort. I also had a terrible starting position, in the back of the pack, because I thought there would Juniors' rollout and I'd just be able to hop into the front, but there wasn't any rollout. The pack went hard right away especially because there was a Prime coming up. Coming into the Stage Rd. climb, there were multiple dropped chains so there was a bit of dodging going on. I saved my energy on the climb, and I felt really strong on the climbs on Stage Road...

However my efforts on the ascents were worthless because of my descending. Ever since my teammate Alex crashed in Sea Otter, I've been really aware of my descents and those who descend around me. I thought to myself it wouldn't be so bad since it's the CAT 4's, but at every race I'm at there's always a crash in the 4's so I was taking it easy. So I was falling back on the Stage Rd descents...but I caught up at the La Honda rd North and I decided I should start moving up the pack to ensure a good position up Haskins so I wouldn't get dropped at the descent.

Suddenly, there was a crash about 3 riders away from me...at the center of the pack. They didn't see a pothole and a few riders went down. Fast forward a little more, about 10 minutes later, another crash when someone's wheel overlapped, I was going pretty fast and it was quite a close shave from me.

So we went up toward Haskins and I was feeling pretty good. However I was in the back, and so were some of the guys who weren't really climbers...It was so hard to go around these guys since we couldn't cross the double yellow line. I was feeling really strong and I needed to get around them since I was 40 riders back from the front. Well I couldn't really and I only passed about 15 guys at the end of the climb...then the descending came and it's the same story as Stage Rd.

At Pescadero Road a small group of 5-6 guys saved my life as we took short pulls to try to catch the peloton. When we returned to Stage Rd we actually saw the peloton and we started chasing, but I was toasted from chasing earlier so I didn't see the peloton again.

After that, I just continued to try and finish the race, I encountered other riders and we made a paceline until the final time up Haskins.

I really need to improve on my positioning in races and have more confidence while descending. At least I have some experience with the 4's, I have a feeling I will be in the 4's for a while but honestly I felt safer in the CAT5's pack.

My result was 44/64 and 58 guys finished. Hopefully my next races will be a little better especially when I apply those limiters.

Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/93795226