It was a beautiful day in Georgia. It was sunny with the temperature hovering around 80 degrees and a slight breeze blowing. It was perfect for bike racing! We found a new place to park this year, which turned out to be much more convenient for me as a rider and also for Shannon walking to the course. It even had some shade for me to sit in while I rode the trainer. I felt good again in my warm-up and was very motivated for this race. While I know I am not in top shape just yet, I felt that I could have a good race on this course and be competitive. I also knew I had good legs the day before at Athens and, by missing the Finals, I saved some energy that others did not.
I started about 2/3 of the way back in the group of over 80 Cat. 2/3 riders. We were scheduled for 60 minutes of racing on the fast five-turn course. The course has long front and back stretches, with a slight climb on the backstretch and also coming out of Turn 5 towards the finish line. Turn 5 tends to be the toughest corner as it is a little sharper than 90 degrees, is slightly off-camber and has a few brick crosswalks in the middle of it. That's where most of the action happens here. One of the toughest things as a rider is judging the sprint here. It is a really long way from Turn 5 to the finish line. It seems like you are never going to get there!
Historic Roswell Criterium course map
Me over on the left during staging. picture comes from a rider's seatpost camera. See the video here.
Our start was fast, but I was more prepared today. I was up to the front in about three laps despite getting caught behind a small crash in Turn 5. Then I found myself on the front. There were three riders up the road at this point. I did not want to pull so I tried to move over, but nobody would come by. I remembered what my good friend Jim Sharp always told me when I was a Junior: "Attack or get off the front!" So I attacked. It seemed like a suicide move considering how much I have struggled in these big races in recent years, but I had some legs today. One rider jumped on my wheel and I drug him all the way up to the three leaders. I actually bridged a gap and was in a break! We made it less than a lap before the group reeled us back in, but still I was very excited to have been able to get there. Shannon even caught my attack on video, which you can see further below.
Me on the outside of Turn 1 on the first lap. Picture comes from a rider's handlebar cam video, which is posted further below.
Same rider following me on lap 1.
Me in the line during the Cat. 2/3 race at Roswell
Crash in Turn 5
Maxxis skinsuit today
photo by Southeastern Cycling
In the break
Two riders are given a little daylight
Another shot of me from the seatpost cam video posted here.
Me getting a drink in the group
I was right at the front as we started the final eight laps. Hot Tubes were constantly attacking, sending one rider up the road at a time, then counter-attacking when that rider was caught. They had a rider off the front with another guy at four laps to go. I got a run up the hill and tried to move up. Again, I did too good of a job at moving up and found myself on the front with a head of steam. I did a seated acceleration to keep my momentum going. It was not a real attack, but Hot Tubes were all over me anyway. It was clear they were not letting any moves go without them being a part of it.
I was on the front for half a lap, then drifted back to save my legs for the sprint. We caught the two riders off the front and immediately another Hot Tubes rider went off the front. This time it was Johnny Brown, who is a serious threat to stick any break. He had help from another rider for a lap, then dropped his companion and went solo for the win. I couldn't imagine he would stick it because the group was just going too fast. But then at two to go, everything slowed slightly. We bunched up tightly and I was shuffled back just by being in the wrong line. Johnny got a nice gap and it was too much for us to overcome with one lap left.
Me on the inside in Turn 5 from a rider's handlebar cam.
He was behind me as I sprinted off Turn 5. Great perspective that I never get to see. Watch his video further below.
The final lap was slow through Turns 1, 2 and 3. I moved up some before Turn 1, but in hindsight, I should have gone all the way up. I had the legs to sit on the front if I had to. I wound up getting blocked in for most of the hill on the backside of the course. I found a hole up the left near the top of the hill where the road widened for a driveway. I squeaked past a few riders, then had to take to the dirt momentarily before I got back in line. The big surge was coming at the front just as I was trying to move up. I did not have the legs to overcome the sudden increase in speed. I had to drop in line before getting all the way to the front. Just as I did, the guy in front of me got his front wheel taken out. He managed to save it, but our line had to check up and we gave up about 15 spots before Turn 4. I knew I was out of the sprint now. It took all I had to get back up to speed after hitting the brakes.
Finding some dirt on the last lap
I kept it safe through the last two corners and then gave what little I had left to the line. I did not have enough legs at that moment to put in a real sprint. I dodged a crash just before the finish line and ended up 43rd. That was not the result I had hoped for, especially considering how strong I had ridden the whole race. Still, I cannot complain about my efforts today. That was one of my better Cat. 2 races ever. Like yesterday at Athens, I felt like I pushed myself and dug way deeper than I have been able to push so far this season. It's like suddenly I can bury my legs more than before. I could feel my left gastroc a little in the final laps, but it felt good, like it was working.
Crash just before the finish
There are several videos posted below. The first is Shannon's filming, then comes highlights from my handlebar cam, then see another rider's perspective from his handlebar cam with lots of me in front of him.
Video: Cat. 2/3 Men's race
Video: Highlights from my handlebar cam during the Cat. 2/3 race
Another rider's camera during the first 41 minutes of the Cat. 2/3 race. I am in front of him often, probably the most video time I have ever seen of myself. I found myself at 0:29, 11:51, 14:22, 19:05, 19:43, 30:47, 32:50, 33:38, 34:37, 35:22, and 37:08. Some of those clips of me are quite long, nearly a full lap at times. It's cool to actually get to see myself ride. The video is also available here.
After the race, I just didn't feel like taking my skinsuit off. I had the need for speed! I wanted to race more. I decided to sign up for the Pro/1/2 race and get me some of the big boys. The people I work with have been asking me all week what I was doing for my birthday, which was the day after Roswell. I am not much for doing anything special. It's just another day to me. But this year I decided this race would be my "present." I would gift myself more suffering!
I had several hours between races. That gave me time to rest and go eat some ice cream at the Sweet! Roswell shop along the course. I was probably the only Pro rider that had a big ice cream cone before the start. I enjoyed listening to two little girls at the ice cream shop, obviously from out of town, talk about Roswell being "where the alien abductions happen." Wrong Roswell, but funny!
The Pro race was scheduled for 90 minutes. I was hoping to make at least 20 minutes before getting popped. I thought that would be good considering I had already done one race today. We ended up with a 26.6 mph average speed in the Cat. 2/3 race. I expected to see around a 27.2 mph average speed for the Pro race. I was wrong! It was blazing fast from the beginning and I was at the back. I did my best to move up, but the group was always crumbling from the pace. No matter how many I passed, I always seemed to be just a few riders from the end of the line.
Pro Men staging
I sat in the shade during staging. I knew I was going to start in the back so why not be cool while waiting.
Pro start. I'm visible in the middle of the shot.
photo by Southeastern Cycling
We came down the front stretch a few times at 36 mph and were averaging over 28 mph. The pace did not back off for more than one straightaway at a time. We would slow down for a few seconds, then somebody would attack and the group would string out again. If the aggression of the riders was not enough to keep it fast, we were being primed about every other lap. It's prime mania at the USA Crits races. You can count on it. The bunching in the corners is what hurt me most. We would slow to 23 mph in Turn 5, then sprint back up to 36 mph and hold it almost all the way to Turn 1, which is a long way!
I was relieved to get to 20 minutes, but then the pace got faster again and the relief turned to agony and concentration. I could see a rider ahead struggling and knew I needed to get around him because he was about to let a gap open. I passed him, but somehow he ended up in front of me again on the backstretch. I tried to pass him in Turn 5 as he looked blown, but he had the inside and he beat me through the turn. And sure enough, he let a gap open up. I went by him and tried to close it immediately. I had some legs left, but I was losing ground to the group. I was cranking 34 mph, but I was out of the draft and they were gone. I chased all-out for two laps to get the best workout I could before they pulled me. The officials pulled me after 27 minutes with completely spent legs. Again, I was pumped. I made it longer than I expected and was able to really dig deep yet again. It was a great end to a fun weekend of fast racing. We had a 28.0 mph average speed when I came off the back and the group never let up for the final hour.
Pro Men string out on the front stretch
Me doing my best to hang on near the back of the Pro group. I was always this close, or closer, to the back no matter how much I moved up.
Great shot of Andy Reardon during the Pro race.
photo by Southeastern Cycling
Video: My full race during the Pro Men's race from my handlebar cam
The Pro race made me laugh a little, thinking back to a local group ride I did a few weeks ago. The riders in the Clarksville area continue to label me as the "wanna be," so they feel the need to give me advice on racing and training every time I ride with them. The latest advice was to only do one race per year because "that is all that you can truly prepare for." This is the Lance-effect. America now believes that you can only do one race per year (the Tour de France) because that's all Lance Armstrong did. Actually, he did more races than that, but America only cares about the Tour so that's all they thought he did. With the Tour being three weeks long, it is reasonable to think that you could only be on top form for that one race considering its length. I do 60-75 minute criteriums most of the time. I am NOT preparing for only one one-hour race per year. That's ridiculous...and not fun! I do so many races because I love racing them. I told the guys I would be doing quite a few races with several as target races. They were appalled. Their solution for my awful schedule was to "sandbag" all the races except for the one I considered most important. Ha ha ha! That shows how little they know about Pro races. There is no sandbagging at 36 mph. At least not for me! Oh, and they said I should stick to my strengths, which is mountain biking, and just hang up this road racing thing. I don't think so! I'm not about to back down from this fight just yet...
Like I said above, my birthday was the day after Roswell. It was a mixed day. I was off work, which was nice, but I managed to run over two of my seed trays with the car because I was not paying attention. My poor plants have not only had to survive the intense heat of the greenhouse, but also me! Apparently, it was redneck day as well. Every car that passed me during my ride was a freak yelling, honking and trying to run me off the road, which hasn't happened to me around here in quite a while.
Later that evening, Dina and my Mom planned dinner and birthday cake for me. My Grandparents were there when we arrived and I was shocked. They had not attended any kind of function for me in at least 10 years, with the exception of my wedding. We all went inside and then Grandma asks "What's the cake for?" Turns out they had just stopped by and had no idea it was my birthday. Grandson was not so special after all! If nothing else, it gave us all a good laugh after they left. She also asked me how I stayed so skinny and was surprised to hear I still rode bikes. It's amazing how out of touch family can be sometimes.
I'm going to keep pushing myself during the next week just to see what I can handle. I would love to be racing Speed Week, but I can't justify spending that much money right now. Though we might would have gone had I known there would be Cat. 2/3 races all week long. Last year, there were only Pro races held at the Tuesday and Wednesday night events. Now those venues are hosting a full schedule of races. They are going to Charleston, SC this year, which is a city Shannon and I both have always wanted to visit. Also, Spartanburg is on the schedule again for Friday. I love that place. It's my favorite course and just a good atmosphere surrounding the race. Maybe next year...
The next race for me is May 2 at the Sevier Park Criterium in Nashville. More from that race in the next blog.
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