This race was my first real test of the season. Sure, I did that time trial a few weeks ago, but that's not really a race. This was my first event where I was actually on the course competing against other racers. It was time to really see how my training has been working (or not working).
This race was a 40-minute criterium on the CSU campus in Fort Collins.
The day got off to a good start, with teammate Aaron giving me a ride to the course. The race wasn't super-far away, but far enough that it was nice to share a ride and get to know one of my new teammates. We got to the parking lot adjacent to the course, and quickly met up with a few other teammates. We had plenty of time before our race start, so we could relax a little and take our time getting ready. We picked up our numbers from registration, then headed back to the cars. A few teammates walked across the street to grab some lunch, but I had brought an almond-butter-and-jelly bagel with me, so I just ate that. (First time eating almond butter. It seemed like it should taste different, but at least on a bagel with some grape jelly, I couldn't taste the different between it and peanut butter.)
After getting dressed (first time in the new kit!), a group of us decided to head over to check out the course. With races going on, we couldn't ride the course, so we just rode the sidewalks, checking out the turns and looking for things like potholes and manhole covers, stuff like that. This was a tricky course with a few sharp turns, and two spots with turns really close together. We got a good look at the course, and headed back to the cars.
With about an hour before our race, it was time to warm up. My warm-up routine is almost always just on the trainer in the parking lot, and goes something like this: Easy Zone 1-2 spinning for about 5 minutes, just to get the legs moving. Then, big-ring, big-ish cog for a minute, about 80 rpm or so. Every minute, step down one cog while keeping the same cadence, for about 5-6 minutes. Spin easy for about another 5 minutes. Then, do about 10s of seated high cadence spins, at least 110-120 rpm, and 50s of easy spin. About 3 times. Then do the same thing again, but with out-of-the-saddle sprints. Finally, cool down for another 5 minutes or so. Whole thing takes about 25-30 minutes, and really gets the muscles and lungs warmed up.
After the warmup, we packed up the cars, and headed over to the course. One last bathroom break before the race. By the time I got to the start line, plenty of people were already on the line. The announcer was reminding everyone that they still had about 15 minutes before the start, and maybe they should go take a lap around the course, but he wasn't getting many takers. Since I hadn't ridden the course yet, I decided to ride past the crowd at the start line and take a quick lap. I'm glad I did. I didn't do this race last year, so this was a new course to me, and like I said, it's a little tricky. After a few minutes on the course, I got back to the start line again, where the announcer was still urging everyone to go and ride a lap. But no one was moving. I guess people were really happy with their spots at the front, and didn't want to give that up. This was a sold-out race, with a full field of 75 racers. One of the biggest fields of any race I'd been in so far. I was kind of in the middle, which was fine with me. This was a 40-minute crit, so I had plenty of time to move up once the race started.
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| Standing around, waiting for the start. I don't think you can see me in this photo, but as you can see, our team is well-represented. Photo: Peg Hallberg |
We stood around nervously for a few more minutes, until finally we got the whistle to start. This one started like most races, weaving around a few people who were having trouble clipping in to their pedals. Then it was off to the races, literally. We started pretty fast, and some of the turns were a little sketchy. This tends to happen on the first few laps of these things, as everyone kind of figures out their lines and gets used to the racers around them. Over the first 10-ish minutes of the race, I managed to move myself up in the group, so I was probably in the top 20 of the field. That seemed like a good place to be.
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| Riding in the pack. That's me in the yellow and black kit on the right. Photo: Peg Hallberg |
At around minute 20, halfway through the race, I decided to move up closer to the front, and try to get myself into the front 10 or so. As we cruised the slight downhill around the "Oval", I managed to pick up enough speed to somehow end up off the front of the race. Not exactly where I wanted to be with another 20 minutes of racing to go. The idea behind racing is to hide from the wind, behind other riders, until you are read to make a move. So, here I was, at the front of the race. I'm hoping someone at least got some good pictures.
As we passed the start/finish line, the announcer was ringing the bell to announce a prime. A prime in a criterium is a mid-race lap where the winner of that lap gets some kind of prize. They do it to add some excitement to the middle of the race, so it's not all about the finish. Maybe cash, maybe some swag. In this case, I heard them say something about a gift certificate. I assume for some restaurant in Fort Collins that I'd never get a chance to go to, so I wasn't very interested. But as we pushed on with the lap, with me still off the front, I could hear my teammate Josh Gottlob behind me, encouraging me to push it. I guess he wanted the prime for some reason. If I could stay on the front for the next couple minutes, maybe I could help him sprint for the prime. So, instead of slowing down to get myself back into the pack where I really wanted to be, I pushed on with Josh on my wheel for the rest of the lap. We sped around the Oval, coming around the turn and heading up the slight uphill to the start/finish. I push on as hard as I could, dragging Josh along with me. With about 100m to go, Josh came around and sprinted for the line with one other guy. From my vantage point, it looked like a photo finish, but I heard the announcer yell the other guy's name instead. Too bad, I thought we had it.
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| Josh and I. I just led out Josh for the prime sprint. Photo: Peg Hallberg |
That lap killed my legs a bit, so it was time to rest for a while. We still had almost half the race to go, so I could ease myself back into the pack to give my legs and lungs a break. I slowed up a bit, and merged myself into the group at around 20th position. After another few laps, we started getting the countdown. Five laps to go, then four. The pace started to pick up some more. With two laps to go, I really should have made my move. But I stuck with the pack until the bell indicating the last lap. I started to move up a few spots when I could, but the turns were so close together it was really hard to gain position for the first 2/3 of the lap. We made one final right turn, then headed towards the Oval and a slight downhill. The pace really jumped at this point, and I pushed as hard as I could. But I'm pretty sure everyone else was thinking the same thing. We were really cooking it around the oval and towards the finish line. I was still embedded in the group, but had two teammates, Josh and Ray, in a good position ahead. As we hit the straightaway, I jumped out of the saddle, put my head down, and sprinted to the line. I'm not sure, but I think this was the first time I was actually sprinting in a race. If nothing else, it was the first time I think I did it well. I crossed the line, spent, and felt pretty good. My first real race of the season, and I was right in there at the end, sprinting across the line. The results posted after the race indicated I finished in 15th, but the results online show me at 16th. Not sure what changed. But since I didn't finish on the podium, and there were no points available for this race, it doesn't really matter.
As we cruised around the course one more time to cool down, I caught up with Ray and Josh. Turns out they finished 2nd and 5th. We didn't end up on top, but we were right there making a race of it, and keeping things interesting the whole time. Another racer rode up to me and complimented the team as we were cooling down, and it seemed like the announcers were always calling our name, both in my race and in later races. I'm sure part of it is the new kit. The fluorescent yellow and black really pops, so it's easy to pick us out of the crowd.
I'm still waiting to see if I can find any other photos of this race. I'll update this post if I find something good.
So, another weekend of racing down. Two races, two good results. The season is off to a good start. Looking forward to Louisville in a couple weeks! Stay tuned . . .
Race: CSU Criterium
Category: SM 4/5
Result: 15/75
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