Racing - 2015 Lime Rock Park, 3rd

Lime Rock Park

So this was my first race since the last of the Aetna Nutmeg Spring Series (ANSS) races that ended April 12th. For me this season has been a sort of revelation. I didn't think I had done much differently compared to the prior 4 years (2010 was an exceptional year) so I didn't have massive expectations. The biggest difference has been losing 15 or so pounds compared to 2014.

The other difference, which I'll address, involves me doing some varied training.

First were some VO2 Max intervals. They've ranged from 5-8 minutes long, 3 or 4 sets per day, 2 days a week. Even though I was sick for most of the ANSS I still managed to improve my fitness significantly, mostly doing the two VO2 Max rides each week. I never do intervals so these longer efforts really helped.

Second is riding with Zwift. With my natural competitive nature (apparently) I found it hard to resist going for the sprints. I basically never sprint on the trainer so for me to do sprints on the trainer, at 100%, for as long as 20 seconds… that's huge for me. I think these short, intense efforts really helped.

My bike is the same as before, wheels, position, even the chain, tires, and cassettes. I've changed nothing on it since 2014, just replaced the electrical tape holding the end of my bar tape and a few zip ties.

Waving to Junior and the Missus, who are on that upper deck area.

Although we arrived at Limerock more than 90 minutes before the start, I was still scrambling to get to the line okay. I had to hit the portapotty while everyone was already lined up, I was physically pushing people (Juniors no less) out of the way to get my bike to the line, it wasn't good. Ultimately though I got everything done - Strava was on, SRM going, helmet cam recording, gloves on, number pinned, bottle on the bike.

I even had to say no to a fellow racer when he asked for help pinning up. As it was I was already scrambling, I think that if I'd pinned him I'd have missed one of my crucial stops before the start. Sorry Jack!

This was a warm day, really the third warm day for me outside (and the fifth ride outside for the year). I  had one Podium Ice bottle, full of ice and water, and I hoped it would be good for the hour long race. I had one such bottle for a close-to-3 hour training ride and it was okay.

I had two teammates and we had really two "plans". Stan had already won the overall at the ANSS and was obviously on a roll. He's our strongest Cat 3 break type rider so he was a natural for going for a break. Nick is also strong and has gotten in some breaks and such. I hoped he could make it into a group off the front. For me it was all about the field sprint. I'd try to help where I could but then I'd focus on doing a good field sprint.

With the win April 12th I had some expectations put on me, both by myself but also by others. For the first time I realized that people would say, "Oh, watch for him in the sprint." To me I wasn't any different but to others I guess I was a guy to watch.

I knew of at least three strong break-type riders in the field. I knew they'd probably mark similar moves and they could very well end up together in a break. I talked to one of the "break-type" riders (he goes by TKP in the forums so that's what I'll call him) and told him Stan would be looking for him.

Problem was that I didn't get a chance to talk to Stan before the race. Therefore...

Telling Stan about allies.

I rolled up to Stan a lap or three into the race and told him that this one guy TKP would be looking for him. Stan immediately moved up and attacked, but TKP didn't go. Then TKP and another guy, GlobeCanvas, went with a second group, chasing down Stan's group. They ended replacing Stan's group and established a solid 20 second lead. With more than 5 riders the break had the whole race sewn up (5 places).

With a massive headwind on the main straight really discouraging chases, and with the hill and downhill a bit limiting in terms of bridging (meaning the field couldn't go that much faster in those sections so it was hard to make up time), the break seemed to have a really good chance of succeeding.

I was focused on the field sprint but I hoped that Stan would be able to get up to the break. Therefore I went to the front to give it a little dig.

Field splintering at the front.

I pushed through and closed some gaps and then went to the front. I wanted to halve the gap, take maybe 10 seconds off the lead, put the break within reach, and set up a good scenario for a counter by Stan. If he could go with one or two other guys (the third strong break type rider I knew was still in the field) then they could realistically make it to the break.

Moving past these guys.

When I hit the front on the main straight I was shocked at how hard the wind was blowing in my face. In the field it felt reasonable, standing near the start/finish building you couldn't tell it was windy at all, but here, on the course, at the front, it was really bad.

Pathetic pull. Break is at the end of the straight.

I realized I needed to worry more about not getting shelled after my pull than about pulling back 10 seconds of the gap. I pulled only to try to maintain some momentum. If anything I probably allowed the gap to go up.

Nick goes.

When I started getting tired on the hill Nick made a move on the left side. Only one rider went with him so I eased to allow the gap to open. Although initially it looked like everyone just passed me, there was in fact a gap between Nick's two man group and the field.

Easing to let the gap open.

Unfortunately by the hill the next lap the field had reeled in Nick's move. With just one rider for company, and that guy covering for a guy in the break, there was no way Nick's move would work.

A little off the back.

Unfortunately my efforts put me in the red for a bit. The next lap I was struggling to stay on and had to make a big effort to stay on before the downhill. If anyone got caught off a wheel on the downhill then the field would just ride away. The speed of the field (38-39 mph) along with the wind meant that any gapped rider trying to chase would be left behind. I spoke with someone who'd gotten gapped like that - he chased at 38-39 mph but couldn't close the gap and ended up off the back.

Break just ahead.

Up front the break started to crumble a bit. The field seemed a bit more strung out at times so guys were chasing, but I think it was more the break coming to us than the field going to them.

Break, gap, chase, gap, field.

A lap later a chase had formed off the front, and with the added incentive of not letting those guys go, the field really strung out, stretching out and enveloping the chase and the break. Suddenly the race reset for us - Stan, Nick, and myself.

Really far back on the downhill.

On some lap I looked up on the downhill, knowing I'd gone over the top of the hill in "reasonable" position. I was a bit surprised at how far back I was - it was a couple seconds to the front of the group. With the wind and the speed it would be hard to move up significantly here. I made a note to myself that I had to be in good position cresting the hill on the last lap so that I didn't use too much energy moving up on the downhill and the fast bits right after that.

Grass surfing to the right, just before the bell.

We hit the bell with the field all together. We hadn't worked on any teamwork for the sprint so I assumed I'd be contesting the sprint individually. I was too far back though and I wanted to move up. With a guy grass surfing to the right (and later someone on the left), I didn't trust the sides. Plus the field looked a bit spread out and I hoped to move up the middle.

Just before I started to move up - it looks crowded.

Whit line points to the rider I got to, riding through the field.

Target - the white line, pointing to TKP. I didn't think to myself "I want to be near him", I just wanted to move up. He happened to be in good position and when I got there I decided that was good.

Next to TKP.

Much less crowded.

Once I finished slithering through the field I was in good position. I was near the front, still had solid shelter, and I'd be in good shape going up the hill. I knew also that there was an accordion effect on the hill, where the back had to slow early and then accelerate while still on the hill, so I was glad to be toward the front. No unnecessary acceleration on the hill meant a bit more gas for the sprint. I was happy with my position.

Leadout man going backwards.

Problem was a leadout guy for GlobeCanvas going backward on the hill. He had gone 100% to the bottom of the hill and blew spectacularly. Wobbly and exploded he ended up directly in front of me. I managed to get around him but had to virtually stop to keep from knocking him over. I lost all the position advantages I'd just worked to earn.

Now not so good.

After I got around GC's teammate I found myself much further back than I'd hoped. That saved gas for the sprint? I figured I needed to use it now. I knew that I'd have to move up somewhere and I decided I'd do it at the top of the hill. It would leverage my better-for-2015 weight, it would give me the downhill to try and recover (I know I can drop about 10-15 bpm in 30 seconds), and it would be as far away as possible from the line. I expected I'd be recovered by the time I got to the sprint, hopefully in the 155 bpm range.

After the effort. Lead rider is at the top of the picture so about 10 wheels back.

I made a strong surge - 900w peak I'd see later - and moved up into the front end of the field. I still had shelter but I was within striking distance of the front. My heart rate climbed to 166 bpm, which I didn't know until downloading the SRM, putting me well into the red. I just knew I was in position and I had to ease a bit.

Letting in a Junior.

On the run in to the curves a Junior made a move to try and get into better position. I knew it was too early so I let him in, hoping that his gear limit wouldn't gap him off if someone went super fast. I knew, though, that the wind would keep peak speeds down so it seemed like a safe bet to let him in. I had to make a big surge though, a 750w push to stay in position. This prevented my heart rate from dropping more than a couple bpm.

Future winner to my left.

Strong wind from our front left, therefore I'm sitting to the right.

Going into the left-right-left curves I was sitting about 6 wheels back. Douglas, who got third in the last ANSS race, was directly in front of me. I was so focused on the overall tactical situation that I had no idea it was him. It was only when I reviewed the clip that I saw I was following him. I knew I usually tried to look at the overall picture, not mark a particular rider or two, but I didn't realize to what extent until this race.

Going into the sprint. The bridge marks the beginning of the straight.

Going into the headwind sprint I wanted to be right. I knew that the wind would be coming from the left, I knew it was pretty strong, so the best choice would be to sit to the right. I'd have shelter from the left side crosswind as we went around the last curve. Then I'd have shelter on the straight.

Right side looked tight.

Huge hole to the left.

I knew I wanted to go late because the early guys just wither in a headwind. Therefore I wanted a clear lane when I was ready to go. Problem was it started getting a bit jammed in front of me. The winning move went right but I thought there was too much potential for someone to close the door on them.

Therefore I looked left.

Huge hole left.

It was pretty clear to me that I could go left. Huge hole, not much movement (meaning no one was going super fast so the hole would be static), and I knew I had a solid jump in my legs.

I went left.

It was a solid almost-1100w jump followed by an almost-900w sprint.

Toward the left side of the road now.

Future winner at the front right.

When I was sprinting I didn't think I moved so far left. I thought I went "to the middle". On review I ended up pretty far left. One of the Juniors was to my left, a friendly rival Ednilson to my right, and I blasted through the gap. I made up ground in a hurry but I never felt like I had a solid sprint. In my data analysis I saw that I jumped at 166 bpm, much higher than I prefer, and that's why I didn't have as solid a sprint as I could have had.

Bike throw. Third.

Probably because I was feeling tweaked I left the jump a bit late. I don't know if I'd have done better had I gone earlier. I don't think I had much more speed meaning I don't think I could have gone faster, especially with the headwind. I was closing on the two winners but they were also celebrating. I figure third is what I should have gotten here.

I might have had a chance had I followed them up the right, but that would have really been the only chance. If I'd followed them I'd had gotten a leadout and this would have let me sit until I knew I could go to the line.

Celebrating teammates. Winner's son got 4th.

Douglas won, his teammate got second, and, unbelievably, Douglas's son (a Junior) got 4th just behind me. I was turning my 53x12 in the sprint so the son did well with his 52x14 or whatever gear limit he had.

I was so shattered I couldn't get up the hill on the cool down lap. I turned around and rode on the grass and curbing to get back to the start/finish building.

There an excited Junior (meaning the Missus and mine, not a random racer) came running up to me, jumping to a stop next to my bike.

Running.

Overall it was a good race. I was a bit unprepared before the race. I hadn't eaten much for breakfast and downed a PB&J just before the start (and bonked hard when we got home). I stepped into a portapotty with the whole field already lined up. Yada yada yada. Overall it was obviously a good race. I'm better than I've been in a while. I have to admit it's a bit more interesting racing when I have some form.

The Missus told me the announcer (I don't know who it was) was talking about me during the race. He really didn't know me because he was calling me by my full name and not what everyone calls me, but the fact that such a person was talking about me is actually pretty flattering. I never think of myself as a race contender but it's hard to deny my last two race results.

Now I'm just waiting for the veil to fall. My low FTP, my inability to work during a race, all that stuff. I feel like a pretender right now. My next races will the CCAP Tuesday Night Races, the Kermis (same general location), and the Mystic Velo Crit at Ninigret.

We'll see how it goes.

Helmet Cam - June 24th CCAP Tuesday Night Race, Bs, Heavy D Wins

So as promised here's one of the clips I finished in the last month or so. I uploaded this last night without issues so phew, my post yesterday was a lie.

This is the first in a series of three clips. They sort of fit together although it's not necessarily totally interlocked like, say, the Lord of The Rings trilogy.

But it's sort of close, you know. In terms of production quality, length, special effects, and storyline.

Or not.

Anywho… For the first of the trilogy it's a B race at one of the CCAP Tuesday Night Races. I posted a "pictures + words" race report here.

The attack that won the race.

For the action in motion, check out the video below. Remember you can click on the YouTube logo to watch the clip in YouTube. Usually it's the better way to do it because you can resize it, unlike the tiny thing embedded in the blog.

Enjoy!

Racing - August 5, 2014, CCAP Tuesday Night Race, Bs, Shelled

Ah, another Tuesday Night race. These races are the basis of my racing summers, low key, fun, and close by. Junior loves it out here with the other kids around (who are friendly to a much younger kid) so we try and stay here as long as possible. A massive difference is the puzzling lack of mosquitoes. In the past they were oppressive - if I stood still long enough to put the bike away I got bit. This year, not so much. It's not just here either - it's at home, and we live next to a very slow moving river, an area known for having a lot of mosquitoes.

Whatever, I'll take it. The cooler weather most of the summer, no mosquitoes… very nice.

This night was the "Ben Wolfe Handicap Night". Local hero pro Ben Wolfe would be starting a second back for every $10 donated to CCAP. Although the gap stood at a manageable (for Ben) gap of 2:30 on Tuesday morning, by the evening it'd increased to a massive 6:59. Even the 3rd best U23 time trialer in the US would have a problem gaining seven minutes back on the field.

However, before the main event, we took to the course in the B race. As mentioned before it's a Cat 3-4-5 race. Initially the 3s really didn't go for it, but now, toward the end of the Series, some 3s definitely come out to win. Our team, Expo Wheelmen, has had both hot and cold days. Generally speaking two riders end up our "leaders", meaning they want to do well, and the rest of us throw our weight behind them. A third rider, Heavy D, upgraded to Cat 3 and prefers to mix it up with the big boys in the A race.

With a decent but not overpowering wind, 90 degree temperatures, and a moderately small field, we expected a break to go. We wanted to work on doing teamwork leading into a sprint but it's been impossible to do that when the group blows apart or when the designated leaders are in breaks.

Start line. Setting sun - the days are getting shorter.

A sure sign of the end of a season is the lower sun at the start of the training races. The long shadows foreshadowed end of the 2014 series, just a few weeks away. The lower sun also increases the contrast in the stills, making for harder-to-see pictures.

Drifting back.

After a lap towards the front I decided to drift back. My self-imposed lot was to help out any newer riders, plus I wanted to get an idea of who was in the race. I say "self-imposed" because although I may have been singled out as someone that might offer "constructive criticism" to fellow racers in the B race, I still pay the same entry fee as everyone else. If I offer such feedback to any rider it's because I want them to be a better racer.

Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies racer.

I slotted in a gap in the line and realized I was on the wheel of someone who was, as I would term it, a "fanboy". I could tell because the rider had not only a pro jersey but also the shorts, helmet, gloves, and even the bike.

Except the rider was female and I know of no fanboy women.

Plus she looked extraordinarily strong.

This reminded me of the day that I did Gimbels and ran across a Rabobank fanboy. Who, as it turned out, was actually Marc Wauters. If you don't know the name don't feel bad - at the time I didn't either. It was only after I perused the names of the guys who got, say, 4th or 7th at Paris Roubaix that I started seeing his name.

View from Heavy D, with my camera.

At some point, for some reason, I pulled through, with Aaron and Nick, our two go-to riders, on my wheel. No reason to pull since there was no one away, my legs just got antsy.

Aaron pulling through.

When I pulled off the guy on Nick's wheel sat up, effectively gapping off Aaron and Nick. They rolled away, took advantage of the gift break, and gave it a go.

However they came back and a counter went.

Two riders off, the two white dots to the left. They'd come back.

After the two riders went the Optum rider went to the front, dragging the field along. Except she pulled hard enough that someone let a gap go.

Optum rider goes clear with one other.

Now clear with one rider on her wheel (I think it was another woman racer - there were a number of women in the race), the field needed to react.

The winning counterattack, up the left side. He'd win the race.

The guy that I think left the gap to Nick went up the left side. He made a big effort, bridged quickly, and set about trying to get the break established. This wreaked havoc in the field.

When he went I wanted to yell at Aaron to go with him but Aaron was too far away, on the wrong side of the field, and I decided to sit tight. That was one of my major mistakes of the night's race.

Fragmenting field. I was too far back and had to close this gap.

I found myself behind riders getting gapped and had to close a somewhat substantial gap. Up front Nick had responded to the countermove, going clear of the field.

Two riders (far left of picture), then three (just behind the furthest right white post), then the field.

At this point there were two clear, three chasing, and the field close behind. This was one of those times that a decisive jump could have enabled a rider to cross the gap to the chase solo. With Nick up the road, the break not really solid, I figured we could wait. This was my next big mistake of the race. The reality was that it would have been good to have someone go across to the chase before they gained too much ground on the field. I was too far back to do it and too far away from Aaron to tell him to go.

A lap later the five ahead are together and getting out of reach.

The three chasers quickly bridged to the two rider break, leaving five in the break ahead of the field.  Because they bridged the gap (the break didn't sit up) it meant the gap was suddenly getting into the "uncatchable" zone. With Nick in the break the Expo riders relaxed and forced the others to work.

I'm telling Aaron that Nick dropped out of the break.

At some point I looked up and realized the break had attacked itself, and the one red jersey in the break wasn't there anymore. I moved up and told Aaron that Nick had gotten dropped, but it took me a good half lap to get to Aaron. We already had two guys pulling and I went up there to join them.

Expo pulling but to no avail.

Unfortunately we'd practiced blocking in prior races but not chasing. Our efforts, although individually perhaps fast, were short and uncoordinated. Instead of pulling at a steady, sustainable speed, we made faster surge type efforts. Normally I like the faster efforts but that's to close a 10 second gap or less. I rarely find myself in a position where I want to help close a 30 second gap.

The longer gap meant we weren't going to bridge it with an anaerobic effort. We'd have to do the steady-freddy kind of work, the solid 25-26 mph time trial for 20 or 30 minutes. This isn't my forte, it's not my thing, and I never work on such efforts, mainly because I haven't been able to make them.

It only makes sense that I was probably most guilty of the surge type efforts, the third and last major mistake I made in the race. I am anaerobic as soon as I start pulling so I pull faster by default - I figure I better make my pull count before I pull off and try to recover.

The problem was that racers would leave gaps behind me. In a Cat 3 race everyone scrambles to stay on wheels because they know it's a free ride if someone up front is pulling hard. In the training race, though, riders let gaps go because there isn't as much riding on the race. This had the effect of neutralizing the surges and actually slowing the field down during fast pulls.

After my pull I dropped to the back instead of slotting in near the front.

Another problem was I would drop too far back after my pulls. Because I pulled too hard and too long I couldn't slot in third or fourth spot. If you watch the pros chasing the rider that pulls off slots in a few spots back. I was too blown to slot back in near the front. This caused problems since after another 20 or 30 seconds there'd be no more Expo riders up front and the pace would ease.

In all this time I totally forgot about the mantra that made working in a pace line pretty straightforward - 20 pedal revs and pull off. I think if we'd done that we'd have been fine, three of us chasing pretty hard, saving one or two for the counters. It makes sense now, sitting at the table, but in the race I didn't think about it.

Back towards the front to take a pull.

When I recovered and got up front again I'd take a big pull "to make up for my mistakes". This exacerbated the problem, splitting the field again and redlining me. I went deeper on each of my pulls, making things worse in every way.

When I pull off this time I was done.

In fact I was so redlined after a pull 30 minutes into the race that I blew up and sat up. That was the end of the race for me.

The break lapped the field, except the Optum rider. I think she sat up on purpose as she'd entered the race for training and she didn't want to ruin things for the others. She did a laughing sprint, sort of joking around, so it was obvious she wasn't perturbed about easing off the break.

I had averaged 179w for the 30 minutes. For 60 minutes I averaged 122 watts, which means that I rolled around at about 70 watts for about 30 minutes.

I did jump back in to tell Aaron to look out for the CCB racer - he's the one that I think left the gap to Nick when I did my big pull, and he read the winning move properly. It meant he had a lot of experience. I also felt he was the strongest sprinter in the group. However the CCB rider seemed to be marking Aaron so I never got a chance to tell him. At 2 to go I was told I had one more lap so I eased up, let the small field go, and prepared to do a practice sprint.

With a cross-headwind going into the final straight, turning into a crosswind, I didn't think I'd be very good. Still, though, I wanted to do a big effort. I didn't jump super hard as I wanted to finish strong, but the numbers don't lie. I jumped pretty hard, peaking at 1100w, holding 1020 watts for 5 seconds. This means a really flat sprint curve, not as peaky as I normally do.

Practice sprint - bike tilting right.

Practice sprint - bike tilting left.

I think that I was moving right to set up for the left curve in the sprint, hence the emphasis on the right side tilt. I blew up well before the line so sat up and coasted in. I didn't bother doing a lap, I just rolled up to the sidewalk and over to the Missus and Junior.

The Expo hang out area. Both the Missus and Junior are in there somewhere.

I stopped and watched the finish of the Bs. Aaron won the field sprint with the CCB rider in second (and winning the race).

Then we all sat and waited for Ben to go chase the field. At 2:30 the gap was realistic but, with all due respect, 6:59 would be undoable. Therefore all of us fans were there just to watch yet another display of immense power and speed. Ben didn't disappoint, catching the field in about 12 minutes (he started at 6:19 PM and caught them at 6:31 PM). After taking another lap with Expo rider Todd I think that was it.

6:19 PM, Ben starts.

6:31 PM and he's catching the tail end of the field. He'd be leading a lap later.

During the A race I realized that I could barely hold Junior - my back was just short of failing, like wiggly-quivering-about-to-collapse. The Missus held Junior so that he could be at "my level" - he wanted me to hold him but I just couldn't do it. I think that my thoughts on my lack of core strength make some sense. As I said previously this means starting some kind of regular core strengthening exercise program.

Aaron and I chatted a bit about the race. Obviously we were disappointed that the team didn't work well. Missing the break exposed one of Expo's weaknesses, that of being able to chase. It didn't matter how we got there, the fact was that once in that situation we failed to pull back the break or even make a decent show of it.

Aaron pointed out something else pretty clear to him and probably to others - had I been training a bit more I'd have been able to pull through, pull off, and get back in, ready to pull again. Instead my pulls blew me up and shelled me. The lack of training really made a mark here in my lack of recovery.

So in addition to losing weight and strengthening my core I also need to train more.

Jeepers.

Racing - July 29, 2014, CCAP Tuesday Night Races, Bs

Approaching this race I'd had a short "block" of training, doing my April and May hours (14 total) in June (16 hours) and a bunch of of hours at the beginning of July. However I'd just ridden three times in the last two weeks, with two of those rides being shorter, slower, and admittedly less demanding rides. My one training ride was also pretty easy, trying to reintroduce my legs to the idea of pedaling.

I came into tonight's race with no expectations other than to enjoy the beautiful weather. With the temperatures in the mid 70s, with very low humidity, it felt like San Diego during my training camps. It was cool enough that I brought an uninsulated bottle to carry with me on the bike. As a precaution I also bought one of the heavily insulated Podium Ice bottles I prefer in warm weather.

With the Missus and Junior set up with their chairs and cooler I got ready to race. No warm up as I preferred to spend the time catching up with some of the folks, racers and not, at the venue. 

At the start.

For such a beautiful day the field seemed small. I figured there'd be 50 or more riders, but it was more like 30-35 riders. Regardless the field seemed a good size, big enough for shelter, small enough to let riders move around a bit.

Roll off, no neutral laps

We headed off with no neutral laps. Although the pace was fast it wasn't crazy fast, and the field settled into an uneasy truce. Expo usually had numerical superiority, and although we were short a number of regulars, we could still field a good half dozen riders. Two other teams usually had numbers, the Blues and the Yellows. The Blues were short today, I think fielding just one or two riders, and the Yellows had two. One of their two had soloed to a clear victory the last time I was there so he was obviously the one to mark.

Getting ready to rumble. Aaron is to my left, TJ in front.

Jon is in orange, and the rider in black gets a mention as well.

With the two main teams standing off everyone waited for the opening moves. Expo's strongest Cat 4s, looking to do well, were Aaron and Nick. The rest of us, including two Cat 3s, were really there to support their efforts.

Break up the road; Aaron in it.

When Aaron went up the road TJ and I marked moves. Jason, of Yellow, ended up at the front, took a pull, then looked to see why no one was pulling through.

Sorry Jason, no help from the two back here.

All he saw were two of Aaron's teammates. After a bit of waiting, maybe to see if Aaron would blow up, he went to the front and started pulling.

Hard.

In fact I drifted back a bit to get more shelter because I was a bit exposed at the front.

Jason single handedly pulls the field back.

With Aaron solo off the front and Jason pretty much solo at the front of the field, it became a two man pursuit, one against the other. And as much as I am one of Aaron's supporters, Jason was going noticeably faster. The chasers always have that going for them - they just need to catch the break. The break has to go to the finish. Usually the chase can go much harder and that's why it's tough to win a race in a break.

In a few laps of steady, powerful riding Jason closed the gap.

Jason catching Aaron and co.

Aaron is just around the corner in the picture above, maybe 20 meters in front of Jason, 3 or 4 seconds. I lost focus for a bit, I was looking down a lot (so my helmet cam clip doesn't tell me much), and suddenly the race situation changed.

Another break goes, no Expo in it.

Note the very artistic yellow circle - that's where the break is in the picture.

Another break went, a perfect time really. The field was strung out, the probably-strongest guy had just pulled for a bunch of laps, Aaron had been off the front so he was a bit cooked, and everyone else had been hiding from the wind. Two riders took off. TJ didn't go, I didn't go (I didn't even know they went), and the two moved away with no Expo rider tagging along.

I tell Aaron who to mark before I go to the front.

With Aaron a bit tweaked from his efforts off the front and TJ suffering from all the jumping around to hold second wheel I realized that I needed to do some hard work. I took the opportunity to tell Aaron who to mark, then after his nod I rolled up to and past the front of the field.

Beginning the chase. Jon was pulling.

I circled the break in very artistic yellow. They weren't that far ahead, and my goal was to bring the whole field up, not to bridge myself up. Therefore I pulled steady and not that fast, trying not to gap off the field. Some gaps opened up regardless but overall the field was motivated to stay together so I kept going. After about half a lap I rolled up to the break, with Aaron just behind.

I blew just after I caught on so I sat up, intending to stop. The two man break rolled away again, an unintended result of my sitting up at Turn One. By Turn Two the fragmented field looked… fragmented.

After a lap I'm blown, this is at Turn Two after four riders have passed me.

Aaron blew by, followed by Jason, marked by TJ, and one other rider. I was going so slow, they were going so fast, I figured that was it. A few length gap, then more riders, more gaps, more riders.

Doubting if I can stay in the race.

As the rest of the group streamed by I stayed on the hoods, effectively signaling my intent to drop out of the race. It took so long for the fragmented field to roll by that I followed the last three riders into Turn Three. I got good protection from the wind (from the left at first, then from the right, necessitating a tricky move from the right to the left) and hoped the field would collectively ease.

They did and I groveled for about three laps before deciding that I shouldn't give up, that I should keep going. I didn't realize that Aaron had gotten away from the field along with the Yellow that had been in the break I chased down then let go. The effect of TJ and Jason at the front, blocking, meant that the field eased a bit.

Then two very strong, very fit riders took responsibility for the chase. They traded pulls for ten minutes, keeping the field strung out.

Aaron and another are gone. Two guys pulling the field along.

After a few laps of everyone staying in the same order I realized that this is what it must be like in the pros, when there's a break, there are a few riders pulling the field, and the rest of the field is just waiting. The riders pulling are doing so for a reason, and the riders waiting have nothing to do except stay on the wheel in front of them.

A side effect of this is that you get to learn all the idiosyncrasies of the rider in front of you, and, in a crosswind, the rider in front of them.

In my case I happened to be behind an ERRACE rider Michelle, and she was on a Biker's Edge rider. I watched how they dealt with the final straight "left-right" wind, how they cornered, how they accelerated. You learn more about a rider in this kind of environment than you can in pretty much any other environment - with multiple laps around the same circuit, with wind hitting you from all directions, it's a telling exam.

Initially, before I relaxed in my spot, I'd been trying to edge in front of Michelle and even the Biker's Edge rider. However I realized that there was no point to it so I just settled behind the two. Likewise whoever was behind me settled down as well.

TEN minutes later, riders in the same order.

Rider in blue was one of two pulling for those ten minutes.

If you look at the other riders you might think the two above pictures were taken 20 seconds apart.

I did make one mistake, I think it was during this time - I cleared a nostril to my left. In fact I cleared my right side much earlier but there had been a rider to my left so I decided to wait until it was clear to do the left side. I figured this was the time. I moved to the left a bit just after Turn One to give myself room. However the rider behind me moved left also. I didn't check, didn't signal, and when I "cleared" I heard a surprised (and probably disgusted) yelp. So apologies again, after the apologies I muttered at the time. It was my fault, my bad. Next time I'll check first.

At any rate one of the two riders finally got disgusted with the lack of help (or he got tired) and drifted back into the field. This broke the "Tour de France chase" spell and riders started moving up and around and stuff.

The lap cards came out (they count down the last 5 laps only), more shuffling, and soon it was one to go.

I'd drifted back a lot to find Nick but he wasn't around. Ends up he flatted out, ironically running over a safety pin. TJ wasn't looking very fresh - he'd been sitting in the top five for probably the entire race, covering everything for Expo. I looked around for a rider to help while still trying to maintain some generically good position. It's no good to offer to help someone but then not be able to help them.

Bell.

Jason is to my front left.

At the bell I was in fine position, although really any position would have been fine in the smaller field. There were a couple riders I'd want to avoid - mainly ones that acted hesitant in the turns or one that switched lines pretty abruptly - but otherwise any wheel was a good one.

I also gambled on a long move from Jason. He's incredibly strong and fit and I expected him to win the sprint from the front. Anyone that beat him would have to be vigilant and have a jump left after following Jason for a good 200-300 meters.

Telling Jon to get on my wheel.

As we rounded Turn One I pulled up even with Jon, the guy that was chasing when I put in my big move. He's one of the riders really learning in the B races. He's impressed me both on and off the bike - he seems pretty savvy, he is generally a super aware rider, and he isn't afraid of working, and off the bike he's always been gracious and kind and polite. Sort of spur of the moment I decided that it would be fun to give him a massive leadout.

I looked over, told him to get on my wheel.

Just as the words were sinking in a slowing rider came back to us. I went right, Jon had to go left because he was already to the left of the slowing rider's wheel.

And then that was it, we were in two different lanes, separated by a line of riders.

Parallel moving up, Jon to my left.

I went up the right side, basically on my own, while Jon followed TJ following Jason who had made the expected early move. Jon got caught in traffic so that was that. Now it was down to seeing if I could get back up to Jason and get him before the line, even though I'd been in the wind much more than I preferred.

Going to the right.

Coming out of Turn Three Jason had a pretty good gap to three riders, with me sitting just behind them. As one started to fade I went right, on the protected side. I gambled on being able to move back to the left, for shelter. I knew that shelter would be worth 20 or 30 or 40 meters at the line and therefore it was worth getting shelter for a bit and sacrificing position.

Now committed to the right.

However TJ blew trying to follow Jason and he naturally tried to get closer to anyone sprinting up to him. This side-by-side made it a bit wide for me to dive left - if it was just one rider then I'd have moved left, I had the room - I'd have ended up in TJ's spot. With two riders it would have been a super sketchy and dangerous move.

Therefore I stayed right, knowing I'd be feeling the full brunt of the wind.

Stuck right.

Sure enough the wind hit me hard, zapping my sprint right out of my legs. I thought for a moment that I could get around the rider in black and then pass Jason on his sheltered left.

Blowing up right.

The problem was I couldn't pass the rider in black and I promptly blew up. I was out of the race and I knew it so I checked to make sure I was clear and moved out of the sprint lane. Ends up the rider in black caught and passed Jason, winning the field sprint, so he did a great sprint. If you look at the pictures he's pretty much never on a wheel so he did a massive solo sprint.

After a cool down lap I rolled over to Aaron, who, with his sunglasses, had an unreadable look on his face. He and another guy had finished ahead of us in the break but I hadn't heard one way or another if he won or not. He didn't look crushed, like he got second, but then again second wasn't bad either, so maybe he was happy to have stayed away.

Aaron won.

"You win?"
"Yeah."

Remind me not to play cards with Aaron.

With that out of the way he couldn't help but grin a lot more. He was very thankful, he knew that me pulling back the break helped set up the race's outcome. At the same time he made the race as well, doing the first attack, forcing Jason to pull for a number of laps, then going again before Jason could go with him. Overall a very strong race for Aaron, very astute, very fit, and one that made me proud. TJ was great also, marking everyone so well. It's exhausting doing that - I can't do it - and he still managed to be at the front in the sprint.

Next time it'd be nice to work on sprint stuff. It's harder to stay away in the "real" races. All too often they end in field sprints and to prepare for that requires some "field work", if you will. You can't do field work when you're not in the field.

Next time.