Wow, I can't believe I've competed in 5 races this year. Why? Well it's probably due to the fact that last year I only participated in 4 races for the whole year! Last year, I wasn't motivated enough, but (this year) after joining the newly developed Leopard-Sapporo team and racing Collegiately for my school SF State, I can--without hesitation--say that I'm motivated to do A LOT more races this year.
And because of that, I can gauge race-readiness and preparedness compared to past racing. I'll do these check-ins every 5 races which should be enough.
I know that I've improved quite a bit compared to my last race of 2012; the Burlingame Criterium. Last year, I finished in mid- to late-pack (Elite 4). For this year, apart from my race in UC Santa Cruz, I've been able to grab 3 top 10's and a top 20! And I survived an Elite 3/4 race in which half the field dropped out of! So onto the things I've noticed...
- I'm more comfortable in Criteriums: How so? Last year I always raced Criteriums above LT, at 100% of whatever my max sustained effort for 30-40 minutes is. The past Criteriums I did this year, I've been able to race them under Threshold, which gave me enough to attack the field several times. So if you read my race reports, you'll see that I always attack the field in hopes someone will breakaway with me. That's because it's fairly new to me, I've never felt that experience of attack the field, and I've always wanted to!
- I'm not much of a climber: I mean, I can hang on in a climb, but I can barely launch an attack on one. I even have the physiology of a climber. Less than 1.8 lbs per inch of body height! My training partners Eric and Christian are better climbers than me and I have the lightest bike too. So I've labeled climbing as my official limiter, and will probably fully work on it after Collegiate Regional Championships.
- I suck at handling my bike: I wouldn't draft myself in a criterium or any technical course because my rear wheel is always tail-happy. Sometimes on a climb I can't hold my line. I definitely do not want to be the guy who causes a crash (and I almost did at the Stanford Crit) so I'm aware of this glitch I have and will fix it for the safety of me and the others. Maybe I'm just rusty from not doing Crits or something. But I know I need to keep my butt down and not jump out of the corners to hard because my rear wheel can get off the ground and potentially lose its traction during a fast corner.
- I can move up the field solo: I can also bridge gaps if they're not too far! In both the UCSC RR (MB) and UCB RR (MC) I bridged a large gap after getting dropped on the climb. In UCSC, I bridged a gap that was as wide as half of the 2 mile lap. Before, I would see a gap and have nothing left in me to close it. So I must've been doing something right!
- Pedaling Economy: It's a lot better. And I'm more comfortable spinning fast. I need to do a time trial. At the UC Berkeley Crit, I moved up the field on the climb (in the E3/4) at 125 RPM and didn't even realize it was that fast. Pedaling Economy is not consistent and either goes one way or the other so I need to pay attention to it during the various stages of training.
- I'm a rare breed and probably evolved for a Hummingbird: Or maybe not, but in a graph of people's Max Heart Rates, we know that it will be in the shape of a bell curve, and I would be on the right. My Max Heart rate is so far 211 BPM and my threshold ranges from 183-204 with my LTHR at 183. Does this mean I'm not fit? I'm not sure, I need to more races and plus its only March. I hope my heart isn't inefficient though! My resting heart rate on the other hand, is finally making its way into the 40s. the lowest I've recorded was 40bpm in 2011.
So far that's all, I'll learn more about myself in the next 5 races. Check my Racing Schedule to find out what's next for me :)
--D
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Berkeley Streets Criterium Cat 3/4 Race Report
I wish I was able to race in the Leopard-Sapporo Kit, but the order has yet to come! But that said, this was going to be my first race for Leopard-Sapporo despite not getting any results. But personally, I was happy enough to be able to hang on in this race because it was my first race in a Cat 3/4 field. I raced alongside Erik Camacho and Rann Valdez.
I didn't know how I'd do because of the mixed field. I knew the course already, which was a giant benefit, but I didn't truly know if I was fit enough--I knew it was a hard course. Right off the whistle, Metromint guys took control of the front and set a fairly quick tempo. Earlier in the day...around 3 hours back, I raced a hard Men's C race, but during the 3/4 race it felt about the same. I was stronger in the beginning of the 3/4s compared to when I started the MC race.
My goal was to hang on and not get dropped or pulled out from the race. If my goal is to upgrade to CAT3 this year, then I have to be exposed to their pace. However, I can't officially gauge a CAT3 pace since it was a 3/4 race and most of the 3's were racing the 1/2/3 race so this could've been a warm-up for them.
I adapted to the pace every lap, and felt good around the 16 minute mark and decided to attack the field and I gained a gap. One rider came with me but I knew a break wouldn't work so I decided to ride around threshold for a good workout.
For the rest of the race, I had no plan as I felt a little intimidated by the teams of Metromint and even some Squadra SF guys but there weren't any moves, but the race was still hard. In fact, half the field got pulled out of the race! Furthermore, in both my collegiate race and this race, I hit a new max-BPM of 211! 2 beats more than last weekend's race!
So with laps counting down, I was already satisfied that I stayed in the field. Besides, I raced a hard race earlier in the day. I finished 18th and I'm still looking for results to see how well I faired up against the 3's and the 4's. I felt strong in the end, like I could've done a longer race at a faster pace.
And that's when I realized that I'm getting better at Criteriums, and I'm finally seeing improvements from my training. Last year I finished in the last 30 riders, but this weekend I got my first top 10 in a Crit and lately I've been getting top 20s. I'm motivated to get into the Top 15, then Top 10, then Top 5, and hopefully get my first Criterium win at my A race.
--D
I didn't know how I'd do because of the mixed field. I knew the course already, which was a giant benefit, but I didn't truly know if I was fit enough--I knew it was a hard course. Right off the whistle, Metromint guys took control of the front and set a fairly quick tempo. Earlier in the day...around 3 hours back, I raced a hard Men's C race, but during the 3/4 race it felt about the same. I was stronger in the beginning of the 3/4s compared to when I started the MC race.
My goal was to hang on and not get dropped or pulled out from the race. If my goal is to upgrade to CAT3 this year, then I have to be exposed to their pace. However, I can't officially gauge a CAT3 pace since it was a 3/4 race and most of the 3's were racing the 1/2/3 race so this could've been a warm-up for them.
I adapted to the pace every lap, and felt good around the 16 minute mark and decided to attack the field and I gained a gap. One rider came with me but I knew a break wouldn't work so I decided to ride around threshold for a good workout.
For the rest of the race, I had no plan as I felt a little intimidated by the teams of Metromint and even some Squadra SF guys but there weren't any moves, but the race was still hard. In fact, half the field got pulled out of the race! Furthermore, in both my collegiate race and this race, I hit a new max-BPM of 211! 2 beats more than last weekend's race!
So with laps counting down, I was already satisfied that I stayed in the field. Besides, I raced a hard race earlier in the day. I finished 18th and I'm still looking for results to see how well I faired up against the 3's and the 4's. I felt strong in the end, like I could've done a longer race at a faster pace.
And that's when I realized that I'm getting better at Criteriums, and I'm finally seeing improvements from my training. Last year I finished in the last 30 riders, but this weekend I got my first top 10 in a Crit and lately I've been getting top 20s. I'm motivated to get into the Top 15, then Top 10, then Top 5, and hopefully get my first Criterium win at my A race.
--D
UC Berkeley (Berkeley Streets Criterium) Men's C--Race Report
After Stanford's Crit, I felt a lot more confident with my endurance and skills in a Crit so I was actually looking forward to this one, especially because of the slight incline. We only had under 30 riders in the field, and I was again joined by Christian, Eric, and Bryan. I still had a lot of legs left despite yesterday's tough race, so I had good feelings for this race. The race was 35 minutes around a course that took only under 1 minute to complete.
The Start:
Right from the whistle, the pack went hard. Bryan led the pace for the first 3 laps and I stayed in the front hanging on tight. Couldn't believe how tired I was getting so quickly even after recovering from the descending straight. It was an interesting race as we had to dodge two potholes on turn 3 so everyone except inattentive riders took the same line. Turn 3 to 4 was also bumpy and manhole covers ruined the perfect line, sometimes I would take the outside AKA a really horrible line. But for the first 10 laps or so I was struggling to keep the pace and made gaps in the corner as I was concerned about aggressively tackling the rough surface on what was the fastest corner of the course.
Halfway Point of Race:
I was getting a hang of the course, and the pace seemed to decrease. A large portion of the field had already dropped out or had been asked to leave the race, including Bryan who got sick from a Bagel eaten before the race, so he was on the Sidelines cheering across from Ben and Nia. Eric made a nice move from the side and made his way to the front where he set a nice pace to drop more of the weaker riders. Rex Roberts (CSULB) and some Cal and Davis riders also took the front. But the halfway point was really a glory period with nothing major.
Final Laps and End:
Lap Cards were shown at 8-to-go. Lap Cards?! I saw them and I surged from the left side and the field began to yell out my move. I only went 85% of a full attack and wasn't feeling totally good but felt confident anyways. After an uneventful lap, at 6-to-go I attacked and a Stanford Rider followed, I worked with him especially on the downhill where I recovered and got momentum, but I was pulling up the hill, and he couldn't hang on so with 5-to-go I went to time-trial mode. Eric and Christian covered the field but Rex Roberts quickly read it so he prevented any measures of me soloing for the win, as he worked with other teammates to reel me in. With 4 to go then 3 to go, I felt I could make it but I felt I lost a lot of time cornering. With 1.5 laps to go (2nd to last lap) they catch me and I hang on to the front. Surprisingly on bell lap, the pace only slightly increases so I was able to hang on in the front, had a good position in the front for the final sprint but was way too far as Rex had started strong and early. He takes the win with some Davis, Stanford, and Cal guys following and I come in 8th, getting my first ever Top 10 in a Criterium, with Christian 9th and Eric 11th! Update: I just found out that only 12 of us finished out of about 21 guys! I guess the race was that hard!
Great weekend for the Men's C and also Nia Ransom in the Women's C Crit won her race as she lapped the C's and technically Podium'd with the B's!
--D
The Start:
Right from the whistle, the pack went hard. Bryan led the pace for the first 3 laps and I stayed in the front hanging on tight. Couldn't believe how tired I was getting so quickly even after recovering from the descending straight. It was an interesting race as we had to dodge two potholes on turn 3 so everyone except inattentive riders took the same line. Turn 3 to 4 was also bumpy and manhole covers ruined the perfect line, sometimes I would take the outside AKA a really horrible line. But for the first 10 laps or so I was struggling to keep the pace and made gaps in the corner as I was concerned about aggressively tackling the rough surface on what was the fastest corner of the course.
Halfway Point of Race:
I was getting a hang of the course, and the pace seemed to decrease. A large portion of the field had already dropped out or had been asked to leave the race, including Bryan who got sick from a Bagel eaten before the race, so he was on the Sidelines cheering across from Ben and Nia. Eric made a nice move from the side and made his way to the front where he set a nice pace to drop more of the weaker riders. Rex Roberts (CSULB) and some Cal and Davis riders also took the front. But the halfway point was really a glory period with nothing major.
Final Laps and End:
Lap Cards were shown at 8-to-go. Lap Cards?! I saw them and I surged from the left side and the field began to yell out my move. I only went 85% of a full attack and wasn't feeling totally good but felt confident anyways. After an uneventful lap, at 6-to-go I attacked and a Stanford Rider followed, I worked with him especially on the downhill where I recovered and got momentum, but I was pulling up the hill, and he couldn't hang on so with 5-to-go I went to time-trial mode. Eric and Christian covered the field but Rex Roberts quickly read it so he prevented any measures of me soloing for the win, as he worked with other teammates to reel me in. With 4 to go then 3 to go, I felt I could make it but I felt I lost a lot of time cornering. With 1.5 laps to go (2nd to last lap) they catch me and I hang on to the front. Surprisingly on bell lap, the pace only slightly increases so I was able to hang on in the front, had a good position in the front for the final sprint but was way too far as Rex had started strong and early. He takes the win with some Davis, Stanford, and Cal guys following and I come in 8th, getting my first ever Top 10 in a Criterium, with Christian 9th and Eric 11th! Update: I just found out that only 12 of us finished out of about 21 guys! I guess the race was that hard!
Great weekend for the Men's C and also Nia Ransom in the Women's C Crit won her race as she lapped the C's and technically Podium'd with the B's!
--D
UC Berkeley (Crockett Road Race)--Men's C's--Race Report
I was joined by my SFSU Cycling teammates Christian, Eric, and Bryan. Our race was 3 Laps around the 10-mile course. We all got a nice position and the start line, and started on time after the Men's B. As we started I yelled "Let's Lap the Men's B's guys," and some of the riders laughed. Cool--I'm a funny guy.
First Lap:
I felt good today--legs were spinning fast and I was able to manage to pedal economically. The course began up a slight incline before a really long descent. Then, a right turn up another small incline--which was apparently enough to make some of the (probably) weaker riders breathe heavily. Next, another slight descent which then led into a Paradise-Loop-Type scenery with fast switchbacks and short powerful false flats. After that it leads a right turn into the steep McEwen road climb. The pack slowed down tremendously and didn't use their momentum up the beginning of the climb, which wasted my energy and probably everyone else's. We only went around 7mph and I did get stuck around weaker riders so had to burn a few matches to get around. No one attacked since it was the first lap and we all wanted a feel of the climb.
First Attack: (First Lap Still)
When the road leveled off, and everyone was recovering, I made a move, as I told Christian I'd need to warm-up since I had a short warm-up. I was next to the center line, and the center line rule was in effect. I made a mistake by technically crossing it even though there was enough room to pass the rider on the right. I was the 7th rider so I zoomed on the left and some people called out my number and "center line!". (Two guys from the same team ended up protesting against this move, but the official didn't do anything since it was at the beginning of the race as well as because we were "noobs.") It was my mistake and I'm not going to attack from the centerline anymore. So I guess I accidently attacked and soloed until the Franklin Canyon Climb going toward the start and finish. I guess I was warmed up enough after that.
Second Lap:
I recovered from the attack quickly, then rolled next to Christian, our star climber, and asked him if he felt like he could attack up McEwen. Positive. So we took it easy until the slight incline after the right turn, where I attacked all the way throughout the Paradise-Loop place, and stopped a moments away from McEwen. We even passed several Men's B riders! Now we were on McEwen, where the field was quickly filtering out. For a while, the pace was only slowly growing, then I saw Christian attack and the surge came. Eric passed by me as I was barely hanging on. I got dropped as the incline leveled off and it became rolling hills. I didn't think I could catch up, but I still made an effort to bridge, and worked with someone else as we entered Franklin Canyon before the S/F line. I was closing the gap when they began to surge, so I went 100% and eventually caught up to them just at the S/F line! At this point, only 8 brave riders had made it through the halfway point.
Third/Bell Lap:
I dropped my chain and thought I'd get dropped but the break tempo was rather moderate so I was able to catch on. Nobody attacked our group and nobody bridged to us. We were 8 riders even up McEwen where a headwind attacked us. Then Christian attacks a few miles before the finish, when everyone was recovering from the climb. I couldn't respond so just stayed with Eric and a UC Santa Cruz rider. The top 5 attacked on the final short incline to the S/F with Christian taking 5th, Eric and I raced each other to the finish line and he beat me for 7th, I rolled in feeling proud with our team's effort at 8th place, and Bryan finished the race with a great workout and battle up McEwen!
--D
First Lap:
I felt good today--legs were spinning fast and I was able to manage to pedal economically. The course began up a slight incline before a really long descent. Then, a right turn up another small incline--which was apparently enough to make some of the (probably) weaker riders breathe heavily. Next, another slight descent which then led into a Paradise-Loop-Type scenery with fast switchbacks and short powerful false flats. After that it leads a right turn into the steep McEwen road climb. The pack slowed down tremendously and didn't use their momentum up the beginning of the climb, which wasted my energy and probably everyone else's. We only went around 7mph and I did get stuck around weaker riders so had to burn a few matches to get around. No one attacked since it was the first lap and we all wanted a feel of the climb.
First Attack: (First Lap Still)
When the road leveled off, and everyone was recovering, I made a move, as I told Christian I'd need to warm-up since I had a short warm-up. I was next to the center line, and the center line rule was in effect. I made a mistake by technically crossing it even though there was enough room to pass the rider on the right. I was the 7th rider so I zoomed on the left and some people called out my number and "center line!". (Two guys from the same team ended up protesting against this move, but the official didn't do anything since it was at the beginning of the race as well as because we were "noobs.") It was my mistake and I'm not going to attack from the centerline anymore. So I guess I accidently attacked and soloed until the Franklin Canyon Climb going toward the start and finish. I guess I was warmed up enough after that.
Second Lap:
I recovered from the attack quickly, then rolled next to Christian, our star climber, and asked him if he felt like he could attack up McEwen. Positive. So we took it easy until the slight incline after the right turn, where I attacked all the way throughout the Paradise-Loop place, and stopped a moments away from McEwen. We even passed several Men's B riders! Now we were on McEwen, where the field was quickly filtering out. For a while, the pace was only slowly growing, then I saw Christian attack and the surge came. Eric passed by me as I was barely hanging on. I got dropped as the incline leveled off and it became rolling hills. I didn't think I could catch up, but I still made an effort to bridge, and worked with someone else as we entered Franklin Canyon before the S/F line. I was closing the gap when they began to surge, so I went 100% and eventually caught up to them just at the S/F line! At this point, only 8 brave riders had made it through the halfway point.
Third/Bell Lap:
I dropped my chain and thought I'd get dropped but the break tempo was rather moderate so I was able to catch on. Nobody attacked our group and nobody bridged to us. We were 8 riders even up McEwen where a headwind attacked us. Then Christian attacks a few miles before the finish, when everyone was recovering from the climb. I couldn't respond so just stayed with Eric and a UC Santa Cruz rider. The top 5 attacked on the final short incline to the S/F with Christian taking 5th, Eric and I raced each other to the finish line and he beat me for 7th, I rolled in feeling proud with our team's effort at 8th place, and Bryan finished the race with a great workout and battle up McEwen!
--D
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Stanford (Criterium) Race Report
Oh this wasn't on my race schedule but I decided to do it anyways because I could do it with a team to replace an Anaerobic-like workout. The Men's C began at 9:40AM but we left around 7, and we had to wake up early from Daylight Savings Time too. I actually woke up at 4Am so technically I woke up at 3AM and got about 4.5 hours of sleep. I was worried that it would hinder my performance but it wasn't too much of a problem.
I didn't have much of a warm-up because I took too long getting ready, but I was able to walk the entire 1-Lap of the crit which consisted of 3 sweeping corners and a 4th corner leading into a chicane. Fun! For this race I joined Yao, Christian, Eric, and Bryan.
Feeling bummed from missing yesterday's break, I decided my goal for this race was to make a statement for our team, which I think I was able to do when I attacked the chase group I was in around 6 times. I saw Davis guys and knew they had a thing for sprinters so I thought I should try to tire out all the sprinters so that Yao could have a clean shot at taking a high position in the field, provided there was no break. I myself, anticipated a break but nobody wanted one, and it may have been because Davis controlled the front.
The Start-
The race didn't start out like what I'm used to. Usually I'm struggling to keep a wheel and I move up places in the corners, but I found it comfortable for me to grab a wheel, move up and repeat. I stayed away from guys who cornered on their hoods and who didn't close gaps after corners since it would waste energy. I comfortably stayed at the front, top 10 for a good amount of laps, until the 1st prime when the first surge hit.
Prime Laps-
The official told us we only had two prime laps, then Davis contested saying we're supposed to have 3, so I hope we really did get 3. Feeling strong, I thought about taking the prime on the first lap but the pace surged and I just hung on a wheel, they drove into the corner so fast that my rear tire got some air and almost hit Christian who was behind me, but he managed to control it and an unfortunately Stanford rider couldn't control the quick fluctuation, but I heard he crashed "smoothly." After the surge, the pace slowed down and then came the second prime where I was closer to the front, but not quite there yet. Then moments later a Davis rider attacks and goes off solo. I waited for chasers but nobody chased, so he was alone for a lap. I noticed that whenever someone would make a fast move, riders at the front (who were probably Davis guys) would point it out saying "LEFT LEFT LEFT" or "ON THE RIGHT!" So it must've meant they didn't want anyone to get away from the pack. Well okay then...I decided to test my observation and attacked on the 2nd corner on the outside of the exit and behind me I hear "on the left on the left" but nobody did anything so I was able to get away, bridged up to the solo Davis guy, sucked on his wheel a bit, and took the 3rd corner and chicane at full speed. I gave a little more gas at the start/finish where the spectators were and realized that the next lap was the final prime lap so I decided to push a little more, felt really good, looked back, and saw a good gap. I did the prime lap alone and was able to take it away even though it wasn't much, but it was my first prime :)
And then the rest of the race...-
Seeing as nobody was bridging to me, I knew I couldn't hold an extreme breakaway so I recovered and went back to the pack just in case my teammates needed me. I actually had a misunderstanding with my teammate Yao, our sprinter. He said "I got you Dom" and I thought he meant he would go with me on an attack, so on the 3rd corner I drove the pace in with Yao behind me and the field actually responded (along with some more "On the left on the left!" So we didn't get away, but after the race Yao told me that he meant for me to suck on his wheel. Whoops haha. Yao and Christian were looking really good and I saw Eric and Bryan at the front occasionally. I was getting a feeling that whoever was at the front (who wasn't from our team) was planning something for the end so I went and attacked one more time and held a really good gap for a about 3/4 of a lap, and when I got back to the s/f there was 4 to go so I thought maybe I could make something work, but the group got me and recovered. With the 3 laps to go I realized I was pretty much out of top end energy so I stayed behind Christian and around Yao, but I got boxed in at the corner between two inattentive riders and had to brake a bit, and I lost about 10-15 places!
The end-
With two to go, I was burning matches going back to the top but the pace increased and a swarm of Davis guys huddled at the front and took decent control of the pack. I didn't have enough left in me to attack at the corners and so at the bell lap the final surge occurred, and I tried to make it to the top ten but either got boxed in or just didn't have enough energy. I saw Yao and Christian at the front and didn't see any other sprinters except for the leadout train that Davis had going.
Yao ended up getting an impressive 3rd! We talked about it and they told me that my attacks probably did scare them a bit since they really wanted a leadout going. So I'm hoping to have similar legs at our next races.
With Berkeley coming up, I think our team will be able to sharpen up some tactics for our A race.
I didn't have much of a warm-up because I took too long getting ready, but I was able to walk the entire 1-Lap of the crit which consisted of 3 sweeping corners and a 4th corner leading into a chicane. Fun! For this race I joined Yao, Christian, Eric, and Bryan.
Feeling bummed from missing yesterday's break, I decided my goal for this race was to make a statement for our team, which I think I was able to do when I attacked the chase group I was in around 6 times. I saw Davis guys and knew they had a thing for sprinters so I thought I should try to tire out all the sprinters so that Yao could have a clean shot at taking a high position in the field, provided there was no break. I myself, anticipated a break but nobody wanted one, and it may have been because Davis controlled the front.
The Start-
The race didn't start out like what I'm used to. Usually I'm struggling to keep a wheel and I move up places in the corners, but I found it comfortable for me to grab a wheel, move up and repeat. I stayed away from guys who cornered on their hoods and who didn't close gaps after corners since it would waste energy. I comfortably stayed at the front, top 10 for a good amount of laps, until the 1st prime when the first surge hit.
Prime Laps-
The official told us we only had two prime laps, then Davis contested saying we're supposed to have 3, so I hope we really did get 3. Feeling strong, I thought about taking the prime on the first lap but the pace surged and I just hung on a wheel, they drove into the corner so fast that my rear tire got some air and almost hit Christian who was behind me, but he managed to control it and an unfortunately Stanford rider couldn't control the quick fluctuation, but I heard he crashed "smoothly." After the surge, the pace slowed down and then came the second prime where I was closer to the front, but not quite there yet. Then moments later a Davis rider attacks and goes off solo. I waited for chasers but nobody chased, so he was alone for a lap. I noticed that whenever someone would make a fast move, riders at the front (who were probably Davis guys) would point it out saying "LEFT LEFT LEFT" or "ON THE RIGHT!" So it must've meant they didn't want anyone to get away from the pack. Well okay then...I decided to test my observation and attacked on the 2nd corner on the outside of the exit and behind me I hear "on the left on the left" but nobody did anything so I was able to get away, bridged up to the solo Davis guy, sucked on his wheel a bit, and took the 3rd corner and chicane at full speed. I gave a little more gas at the start/finish where the spectators were and realized that the next lap was the final prime lap so I decided to push a little more, felt really good, looked back, and saw a good gap. I did the prime lap alone and was able to take it away even though it wasn't much, but it was my first prime :)
And then the rest of the race...-
Seeing as nobody was bridging to me, I knew I couldn't hold an extreme breakaway so I recovered and went back to the pack just in case my teammates needed me. I actually had a misunderstanding with my teammate Yao, our sprinter. He said "I got you Dom" and I thought he meant he would go with me on an attack, so on the 3rd corner I drove the pace in with Yao behind me and the field actually responded (along with some more "On the left on the left!" So we didn't get away, but after the race Yao told me that he meant for me to suck on his wheel. Whoops haha. Yao and Christian were looking really good and I saw Eric and Bryan at the front occasionally. I was getting a feeling that whoever was at the front (who wasn't from our team) was planning something for the end so I went and attacked one more time and held a really good gap for a about 3/4 of a lap, and when I got back to the s/f there was 4 to go so I thought maybe I could make something work, but the group got me and recovered. With the 3 laps to go I realized I was pretty much out of top end energy so I stayed behind Christian and around Yao, but I got boxed in at the corner between two inattentive riders and had to brake a bit, and I lost about 10-15 places!
The end-
With two to go, I was burning matches going back to the top but the pace increased and a swarm of Davis guys huddled at the front and took decent control of the pack. I didn't have enough left in me to attack at the corners and so at the bell lap the final surge occurred, and I tried to make it to the top ten but either got boxed in or just didn't have enough energy. I saw Yao and Christian at the front and didn't see any other sprinters except for the leadout train that Davis had going.
Yao ended up getting an impressive 3rd! We talked about it and they told me that my attacks probably did scare them a bit since they really wanted a leadout going. So I'm hoping to have similar legs at our next races.
With Berkeley coming up, I think our team will be able to sharpen up some tactics for our A race.
Stanford (Road Race) Race Report
Unlike the UCSC Road Race, this race was actually planned on my schedule but as a "C" race (no pun intended, and you'll see why in the next sentence.) I had decided to downgrade from a B to a C because the Collegiate season is too early (for me at least) in the general season to suffer in the B's, and all I want to get out from Collegiate races are 1) Learning Team Tactics, 2) A great workout and most of all 3) FUN! In this case, doing this race was a combination of all 3 in the Men's C Category because I joined my other 3 teammates and had a great, fun, workout.
Yao courteously drove Eric, Christian, and I and we were there early enough to eat and get a really good warm-up in. Yesterday, I did my LTHR test, because I've been waiting 4 weeks to do it (it was a rest week) and I didn't want to wait another 4 weeks while at the same time risking overtraining by training at an intensity higher than what I really should be at. I felt good during the field test and I tested it with a headwind too. I also lowered my seat a bit after I realized it was a bit too high while I was riding on the trainer. So yesterday I also realized that my economy was better (but it could've been due to the fact that I had zero fatigue as well!). With all that in mind, I was pretty excited for this race because I felt I had really good form.
Our warm-up was at an effective tempo-like pace with a small sprint thrown in the middle. I actually didn't feel too optimal during the warm-up, and my other teammates looked really good so I couldn't predict my overall performance for the day.
The Start-
We had a mild and relaxing start and nobody attacked from the start. I had a great position because I was at around 2/5ths of the whole field and right in the middle, so I was unaffected by crosswinds and such, and I saved a ton of energy especially when dropping down during the small descents. It was like that until the first attack of around 6-7 guys came. Christian was in the break and I felt like I could bridge the gap since they were in plain-eye view, and I was feeling strong enough, but still struggling enough for me to hesitate. I had to think about it--it was the beginning of the race (about 20 minutes in) and I knew from past races that most early breaks were unsuccessful. As a result, I just sat in top positions of the field and saved more energy. I was still with Eric and Yao and since I was feeling good I stayed near them just in case they needed me.
The Field Explodes-
Because the climbs were short and moderate, I didn't expect the field to explode like it did. The main field caught up to the break on a steady climb, and I was struggling and thought I was going to get dropped, but I stayed on a wheel. I was able to "steal" a lot of positions because a lot of the riders kept leaving gaps that were as wide as two bike lengths. The twists were great as I was also able to steal wheels from riders who weren't as skilled enough yet to close gaps on turns. Every small climb would drop other riders and it came to the point where a lead group had form in front of the exploded field. Christian and I were together but Yao and Eric weren't able to make the lead group.
The Break and the Turnaround-
I looked at my computer and realized the time was now reaching 45 minutes, meaning that the turnaround was near. A few moments later, three riders break off while the rider next to me gets a puncture flat. The speed was increasing slightly and it was fluctuating throughout the Paradise-Loop like terrain. I assumed that the break wouldn't get away because it was pretty much the halfway point of the race and there were only 3 guys, but it turns out they must have been 3 really strong guys. We passed them as we approached the turnaround and I actually saw them turn around from a distance so I thought it would be okay to rest a little more and bridge after the turnaround. After the turnaround, I heard two Cal Cycling riders talking and one said "It's go time" so I decided it would be go time for me too. I was the third man and I thought we were going to bridge the gap but it turns out neither rider had the capacity to work or maybe they realized there were enough riders. So we drifted back into the pack which Davis was pulling. Realizing that Davis had a man in the break, I knew that other teams and our team would have to work out to phase Davis out and set a faster chasing speed because Davis was taking it easy at the front.
The Series of Attacks & the end-
I forgot how many people we were in the chase group but I thought we were enough to catch the break. However it didn't help that the Davis guys were out in the front slowing the pace down, so I decided to attack the group and get a small gap going between the field and I. Before I could get a gap, the Davis guys responded and spun up as well, which brought the overall pace in the chase group up. So I drifted back into the pack, and realized that I recovered fairly quickly, so I did it again, and this time got a small gap going, but the headwind was nasty so I didn't want to waste my energy just in case we did catch up and I'd need it for the sprint. When the group caught up later, the two same Cal guys asked me "Hey SF STATE, do you have a man in the break?!" and since we didn't, he said he'd work with Christian and I to chase the break back. Great idea, I thought--so he went and pulled, then his teammate, then I did and then next thing I knew I might've pulled too fast but I knew that we'd need a much faster pace to catch up.
By this time, most of the guys must've been tired and Christian was still hanging on strongly. I was feeling strong so I attacked again and actually got a bigger gap than my last attack--yet no one followed. I knew I needed someone to come with me so I recovered and threw in yet another attack, (one of the guys at the front said "Is he seriously going again?" and Christian and a UCSB guy followed, but around 2 minutes later the field caught us. Finally, after recovering from that, I let out a 95% effort and held it for 3 minutes when someone from UCSB bridged and agreed to work with me. So we tried our best to get a bigger gap and I looked back and we had a pretty decent gap that was actually growing so I went a little harder on the pulls and so did the UCSB rider, it lasted almost 6 or 7 minutes but I started to cramp up and I told him I couldn't take it anymore, plus the break was nowhere in sight so we relaxed and the field eventually caught up, the pace was pretty steady and I was feeling good and was planning one last attack but before I knew it I saw the Winery tower where the finish line was and the pace increased.
I forgot how many people we were in the chase group but I thought we were enough to catch the break. However it didn't help that the Davis guys were out in the front slowing the pace down, so I decided to attack the group and get a small gap going between the field and I. Before I could get a gap, the Davis guys responded and spun up as well, which brought the overall pace in the chase group up. So I drifted back into the pack, and realized that I recovered fairly quickly, so I did it again, and this time got a small gap going, but the headwind was nasty so I didn't want to waste my energy just in case we did catch up and I'd need it for the sprint. When the group caught up later, the two same Cal guys asked me "Hey SF STATE, do you have a man in the break?!" and since we didn't, he said he'd work with Christian and I to chase the break back. Great idea, I thought--so he went and pulled, then his teammate, then I did and then next thing I knew I might've pulled too fast but I knew that we'd need a much faster pace to catch up.
By this time, most of the guys must've been tired and Christian was still hanging on strongly. I was feeling strong so I attacked again and actually got a bigger gap than my last attack--yet no one followed. I knew I needed someone to come with me so I recovered and threw in yet another attack, (one of the guys at the front said "Is he seriously going again?" and Christian and a UCSB guy followed, but around 2 minutes later the field caught us. Finally, after recovering from that, I let out a 95% effort and held it for 3 minutes when someone from UCSB bridged and agreed to work with me. So we tried our best to get a bigger gap and I looked back and we had a pretty decent gap that was actually growing so I went a little harder on the pulls and so did the UCSB rider, it lasted almost 6 or 7 minutes but I started to cramp up and I told him I couldn't take it anymore, plus the break was nowhere in sight so we relaxed and the field eventually caught up, the pace was pretty steady and I was feeling good and was planning one last attack but before I knew it I saw the Winery tower where the finish line was and the pace increased.
Felt strong but I was in the wrong position especially since I didn't know the end would be so close even though I frequently checked my time on the Garmin, so the sprint started and I was able to pass a good amount of riders but got boxed in at the final 10 and settled for 8th place.
I had a great race and the course was fun so I'm planning to do Panoche Valley as an Elite 4 if I'm committed to the drive. My teammates did very well too, Christian actually finished in front of me at 6th and Yao and Eric finished a little later.
We couldn't truly execute a tactic because the field exploded but I think we got close and still figuring our fitness levels. This was our first race together! Stay tuned to hear the good news at our Crit!
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