The storm behind me on my ride home from work Friday
We were up and at 'em early on Saturday in order to finish the drive to Athens so I could race the morning qualifier. I had planned all winter to race the Pro events at all of these big races, but it just wasn't feasible with my current form after all the sick stuff. I was very thrilled to have an itchy throat Friday night and Saturday morning. Got to love the timing of my sicknesses! So with so much still unknown about just how well I'm riding, I was facing the amateur races at Athens. The amateurs get to race the downtown course in the evening before the Pros if they qualify during morning races at the Oconee River Greenway. For the Cat. 1/2 racers, the top 35 move into the Finals. I am not a fan of the greenway course. It is nothing like the Finals course. There's a long uphill to the finish and the backstretch is very long and flat. You usually get the swarming effect going on on the backstretch every lap when people try to avoid sticking their nose out into the wind. It's always difficult to stay up front or move up near the end of the race because the road will be blocked up as riders fan out at the front.
Oconee River Greenway Course
I put a lot of pressure on myself to qualify for the Finals to at least salvage something out of what has been, up to this point, a disappointing Spring campaign. The course doesn't suit me well with the uphill finish, but I have made it into the Finals the past 2 years so I know it could be done again. Last year I just squeaked in with a 32nd place.
Cat. 3s near the end of their qualifier
The car was loaded to capacity and of course, the trainer was in the depths of the trunk. After a full unload of the car, followed by multiple reloads as I retrieved all the things I had forgotten to get out the first time, it was time to loosen up and prepare for battle. I got a good start position which turned out to be a very, very good thing. The first 10 minutes of the 50-minute race were very fast. We would slow down near the end of the backstretch and then kill the climb. Our average speed was over 27 mph for the first 15 min. I dropped back and found myself near the end of the line halfway through the race. My legs were not feeling good today, perhaps from yesterday's storm time trial. I was having a hard time accelerating out of turns 2 and 4.
The car was a little heavy in the rear with all our gear as we left Clarksville. We actually rubbed the fender on the tire as we left the driveway.
Cat. 1/2 riderss on the start line
Cat. 1/2 group come sup the climb the first lap
Rider in turn 2
Turn 2 was my toughest area. It seemed like I hit a manhole cover, reflector, or asphalt patch every lap and had to back off as my back end got sideways. We had only one crash during the race, and it happened early in the race in turn 2. Only one rider was involved. At one point, the group split and I missed the split. I was in no kind of shape to bridge, so I was happy to see things come back together after a lap of worry.
Lots of things going on in this picture. You have a guy crashing and a train going by overhead.
I had a hard time getting to the front and staying there. It took 3 laps to move up, but only 20 seconds to slide all the way to the back. We were spread all over the road up the hill. One side of the group would be moving faster at the bottom of the hill, causing me to commit to that side, but then the other side would accelerate before the top and to the back I would go. I hate races like that. The deck gets reshuffled every lap and there isn't much you can do about it without staying on the front.
Front riders on the backstretch
A long single-file line
That's me in the orange, just 3 riders from the back.
Much like Anniston, I found myself too far back in the final laps and had to take some chances to move through the group. I was blocked in the last 3 laps, but was able to weave my way through the middle and get into a good spot coming off turn 4 the final lap. I just held my spot in the sprint and wound up 19th. That was more than enough to put me into the Finals. We averaged 26.7 mph for a race time of 48:33. I only maxed out my heart rate at 185 in the sprint. I was sprinting at 193 last year in my better races. My average heart rate for the race was 171.
Nearing the end of the Cat. 1/2 race
My Heart rate and elevation profile for the Cat. 1/2 qualifying race at Athens
I tried the seatpost camera again. it worked for the first 40 minutes, then I plowed the manhole cover in turn 2 and the camera dropped down. Got a great view of my tire the rest of the race. I'll post some highlights of the race when I get around to editing it. Here's some video taken by Shannon on her camera.
Video from the morning races
After a good cool down, we rolled to the hotel and dumped off some things we wouldn't need the rest of the night. I got in a cool shower which felt great on the body. It was a mostly cloudy day, but the temp was in the upper-80s which made me sweat more than I have at any race this year. We then rolled back to downtown Athens, getting a good parking spot in a garage off turn 3. I got to warm up on the trainer in the shade of the garage which was very nice. I lined up super early this year to avoid starting on the back row like I have the past 2 years. I was on the start line 30 minutes before our scheduled start. We ended up starting 15 minutes late, so I sat on the line for 45 minutes. That made for some stiff legs the first few laps. It was worth it though, as I was on the third row of 105 riders that qualified for the Finals. I ran the GoPro on my helmet because there was sure to be some excitement during this race.
The Amateur Finals are 20 laps of a 1 km course. All categories are lumped into one group. There can be quite a range in speed and ability levels out there. The guy ahead of me on the start line really worried me. He had aero water bottles and was adjusting his brakes all nervously just minutes before the start. Sure enough, he couldn't get his feet clipped in when the whistle blew to start the race. I got stuck behind him and dropped like a rock through the group. I got clear of him just in time to get behind a guy who pulled his foot out of the pedals. It was a starting disaster for me to the first turn. I was probably 80th going up the hill the first lap.
The downtown course is way faster than the morning course. It's a big rectangle with all 90-degree right turns. There is a slight incline coming out of turn 2 and then decline to turn 3. The rest of the loop is pretty flat. The crowd was HUGE for an Amateur Finals crowd. Usually the spectators don't wander over until halfway through the Pro Women's event. The crowd gets you pumped to race hard and that keeps the speeds high. I used the adrenaline to work my way up, mostly by running the outside through the corners. It's dangerous out there on the outside, but dang is it fast!
Athens Twilight course in downtown Athens, GA
By lap 5, I had moved into the top 50. The pace slowed down some, but the group fanned out and I couldn't find any holes to slip through. I got to maybe the top 25 by lap 10, but then I started to fade. I had strong legs, but I am still missing my top end. I can't hold the high heart rates for very long like I have been able to do in the past. I started to struggle coming off turns 2 and 4. That caused me to drop back through the group to 60th or so. I'm really surprised there were still that many riders left in our group with a race as fast as this was. Even with the speed and loudness of the fans, I could still hear Pat's voice over everyone. She is so loud in a good way! I heard lots of people yelling for me. Thank you all, it helped very much!
One rider stayed off the front solo for the first half of the race
Pack in turn 1
Chris Cundiff stayed near the front the entire race, but flatted with 3 laps to go.
I got a second wind with 5 to go and started moving up. I got hooked up with Shannon Williams and we used that outside line to get back into a decent position. I made a big surge to get back into the top 25 with 3 to go, but then I died again. My heart just couldn't do it. I had no speed left when it came time to take it up a notch. I faded back again to 60th again with a lap to go. There's no moving up at that point. Your race is over. I just tried to get through the last lap clean and save it for tomorrow. I dodged the crash coming off turn 4 and barely even sprinted for the line, finishing in 57th. What a disappointment. I really thought I could be in the running for a win here, but I had no chance. My speed just isn't there. We averaged 27.4 mph for the 20 km race, finishing in 26:14. I averaged a higher heart rate than in the qualifier at 175, but maxed out at only 183 for the evening race.
Riders coming out of turn 2 and starting up the hill
Me sprinting the hill with the GoPro on my head. Made it easy for Shannon and Pat to spot me.
My heart rate and elevation graph from the Finals. The heart rate line was very steady compared to the qualifying race. Not much recovery to be had in the Finals.
Here is the full video from my helmet cam. There's a few interesting moments, but no crashes on there. We actually had a safe race this year.
Full Amateur Finals video from my helmet cam
We hung around and watched the Pro races. They are so fun! The crowd was big. This year they seemed to be more interested in the racing, which is much better than a bunch of unruly drunks like we saw last year. The Men's race was fast as usual. I know I don't have the speed to be in the Pro race, but it really eats at me while I watch. I want to be out there so bad! Being in the big show is way better than watching it. Maybe next year...
Here's a video of all the Twilight races taken as we walked around the venue.
Video clips from Athens Twilight
We were up early on Sunday, despite a late night. We wanted to hit church in Roswell before racing began. I woke up with a real sore throat, not just that scratchy feeling. I guess the late nights and early rises of this week were catching up with me. We took in church and then rolled over to the race in plenty of time to get ready. I did a shorter warm-up today due to my legs being tired. I had some major quad burn while riding the trainer. I was worried how I would feel, but the legs came around during the race.
I got a decent start spot for the Cat. 2/3 race. I was in the middle of the group of 93 riders that started the Historic Roswell Criterium. We were scheduled for 60 minutes, but the officials decided to shorten us to 50 minutes due to the races being behind on time. Again, I was bummed that I wasn't in the Pro race, but I saw this as an opportunity to get some upgrade points and maybe get some money to help with the always-rising travel expenses.
The course at Roswell has 5 turns, all lefts. Turns 1, 2 and 3 are close together after a very long front stretch. The backstretch begins after turn 3 and features a short climb and then a downhill into a tight turn 4. The road continues downhill slightly to turn 5. To me, turn 5 is the tricky corner. The road slopes away from you and the corner tightens at the exit. To add to the fun, there's also two brick crosswalks in the center of the turn. That's where most of the crashes happen. I saw several in the early morning races. The straightaway from Turn 5 to the finish looks like a million miles. It is very easy to misjudge your sprint here.
Roswell course
Cat. 4/5 Men
Cat. 4/5s in turn 5
Crash video from Turn 5 during the Cat. 4/5 race. Notice the guy catch my bike.
Genius me forgot to stick the SD card in my GoPro, so I got no video. I had planned to run it on my helmet again, but you sort of need that SD card. I had a good start and never dropped back too far. I was much, much more aggressive today, pulling out of line and sprinting up the hill to keep myself in the top 1/3 of the field. I was having fun running through a flower bed on the left side of the road. It was smooth and never blocked by other riders. After the race, I was looking at that flower bed and noticed two huge rocks buried amongst the plants. Glad I missed those!
My legs got better and better as the race went on. Two riders slipped of the front and nobody wanted to chase. I actually considered trying to bridge at one point. That's quite the opposite from yesterday when I was just hanging on for my life at the back of the group. I never did try to bridge because it looked as if we might bring them back, so I waited, just staying in the top 15 and watching the race unfold.
The two leaders
Cat. 2/3 peloton
Our chase lost interest and the break did stick. We were left to sprint for third. The race had been clean until 6 laps to go. Turn 5 then claimed it's first victims. I was on the inside and slipped under the crash. One rider hooked his handlebar on the inflatables along the barrier. That sent him flying over the bars, taking out several other riders in the process. My friend, Chris Cundiff, was on my outside and got caught up in the mess. He said he "ate the red inflatable," but didn't go down. The crash left a big gap in the group. I worked hard for a full lap to close that down and get us all back together. We had a near-crash in turn 4 that opened another smaller gap, but everybody stayed upright.
The group climbs the shaded hill on the backside of the course.
The two who got away...
Me a few riders back, in the white Maxxis jersey today.
Me coming off turn 4 just a second after the near-crash. the guy on the inside is trying to get his feet back into the pedals.
I was pegged with 3 laps to go, but I was at the front in a good position. I stayed top 10, but then found myself in another tight spot coming to 1 lap to go. There was another crash just ahead of me in turn 5. The two riders in front of me slid out and somehow ended up flipping. I managed to get through with only brushing the shoulder of the second rider, but was again faced with a big gap.
I closed the gap down as we heard the bell ringing for 1 to go. I tried to pull out of line and move to the front, but the wind hit me like a sledgehammer. I only gained a few spots before having to duck back into line. I just didn't have the strength left to move all the way up. I got blocked in up the hill and found myself sliding backwards with nowhere to go. I have a knack for picking the wrong line on the last lap. I was way, way back coming off turn 5, and despite picking off some riders in the sprint, I wound up 30th. It was another huge disappointment considering how good I felt. Those gaps just came at bad times and finished me off before the sprint. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time for the gaps, but looking at it from a crash standpoint, I was in the right place at the right time to not get torn up. I'm grateful for a safe race no matter what the outcome was. We had averaged 27.2 the first 15 minutes of the race, but once the chase lost interest, we slowed to a 26.7 mph average by the finish. We clicked off 22.3 miles during the for the 50:06 of racing. My heart rate was still low. I averaged 170 and maxed out at only 179. I'm not going to get a good finish until I get my max back up to at least 190.
We hung around the rest of the afternoon to watch the other races. The Pro races are always fun to watch. I am a big fan of cycling no matter what category is out there racing. The Pro Men looked more tame today as compared to last night in Athens. I kind of wished I had ridden Pro this time, but whatever, too late now. I was excited to see them bring back the crowd primes. People were throwing money from everywhere. They had over $800 for the Gambler prime with 2 laps to go during the Men's race. I wish people would toss out money like that for sponsorship. Maybe I should work on my talking skills like announcer Chad Andrews. He talked those people into giving all kinds of money.
Pro Women
Pro Women await call-ups as they become the center of the photographer's attention
Eventual Women's winner Laura Van Gilder rolls up to the start line during call-ups.
We had dinner at the Fickle Pickle during the women's race, including their famous fried pickles.
We had a good view of the start/finish line from our table at the Fickle Pickle.
Pro Men stretched out from turn 4 all the way to turn 5
Turn 4
The street was lined with brick sidewalks and green hedges
A Kenda rider blurs by in turn 4 while my GoPro records from street level.
A white picket fence along the uphill was next to my favorite flower bed. I made a few tracks through those plants during my race.
Some gaps forming in the Pro Men's group as they come off turn 3 and start the uphill.
The field has split this lap as they go up the hill.
A few riders slipped away in the closing laps. Three riders stayed away to the finish.
2 laps to go for the Pro Men
Here's a short video of the Roswell races shot by Shannon and by myself.
Roswell Crit. video
It was a great weekend despite the lackluster finishes. I still had a great time. It was cool to introduce Pat to big-time crit. racing. I think she was amazed by the speeds and the dedication of the riders. We got home really late Sunday night. It was a groggy Monday at work, but it's all worth it. I can't wait to do it all again next weekend! Spartanburg is Friday...in Pro...
Look for race updates on here. They'll post a link to live video if one is available.
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