(If Brett can pun, why not me?) With the forecast calling for rain and 50s, Brett and I almost talked ourselves into a day away from the races, but ultimately decided to go. Mike More zipped pass us on 71, making it a three-Horse race. Short drive, light drizzle, we get there and find a sweet parking place right next to registration. Rain stops. Rain picks up for a few minutes, then stops -- for the whole time we're racing. Nice.
So in the 4s, I scout the competition. Dayton has the numbers again, and Anthem and Cyclesport have their own tough guys there. I decide that I'm either going to get in the winning break, prevent a winning break from going at all, or go down trying. And that's my race: on the first lap I thought we had a good one going, with me, a Cyclesport guy, the rider from Dayton who won last week, and (I think) one more. But we didn't keep it together, and it all came back together in the crosswind/headwind sections on the backside. Lather, rinse, repeat. Each lap until the last one, I thought I might be making a break that could stick, but it would get chased down -- more than once (okay, twice) I was dismayed to have a few seconds with a couple guys, and looked back to see a teammate of one of the guys leading the chase.
And on and on. I gotta admit, I felt pretty good, but I was up against the odds, and on the fifth lap (of 6) a guy from Dayton made a super-strong move and held it to the end. His teammates did a nice job blocking, and when I did take the rightside gravel line and try to get away, every time there was a Dayton guy sitting there, smiling. A little later, Shane from Anthem and a Cyclesport rider took off right when I was gassed from covering a move; they ended up 2nd and 3rd. I settled in and tried to save something for the field sprint (and maybe a few series points). Not much left in the tank, but I did what I could. All in all, good times and a fun race.
[photos from team Bike Source]
[edited 4/22: more pix from velocityimages]
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5 comments:
Heeya Shannon! Sounds like some nice aggressive racin'!
If it's useful to you, I've picked up here and there a few "rules" I try to follow when racing solo or nearly solo. Not that I always manage it -- in a negative race, I have trouble containing my boredom. But when I can, these have been helpful.
Get the teams to work for you, meaning always make sure that a strong team or two is represented in your break. The work they're doing for their teammate benefits you equally. Voila! You just got teammates. If you're in a break of solo riders, or riders who might as well be solo because their team isn't organized, then quit.
Don't start breaks, pick them. When you go first, it's a crapshoot what quality of riders and team representation you get. If you've got the juice to punch up to a break that's forming, then you can hang near the front and be choosy. Much better odds.
You've probably heard this one, but go when it's hard. If it's hard for you, odds are it's hard for everyone, which is a double bonus: a) they're more likely to hesitate and let you get away and b) the guys who are able to join your break are probably some of the stronger dudes, the kind you want with you.
Shannon,
you did a heck of a job. I was a toad and had not much left to help in places where I wish we could have helped each other. I was pretty popped too the few times you needed me to pull through, sorry. at the finish into that stinking headwind owwww eeee. Nothing. Good race man.
we tried and I think shut lots of stuff down.
Hey Adam: good to hear from you -- how's the racing down south?
I tried to make sure I was only going when the big teams were represented -- usually we'd be missing one key component, and get chased down by that team. Other times I couldn't really tell ya what the team tactics were, since I'd be up with a guy, and see his own teammate on the sharp end of the chasing peloton. Phhhtt. I also tried to mark a few guys I knew were strong from the first two races, and match their moves. Mark (second commenter here -- good race, Mark!) covered a lot of moves, too, and I think we probably helped each other a little, but also may have sabotaged each other's bridge attempts once or twice. But that's also racing -- I didn't want to miss out on the move he made, and vice-versa.
All that said, the winning move was super-strong -- that guy deserved the win; his teammates blocked, but the chases we did get going weren't bringing him back much. In fact, he rode a break-mate off his wheel and just kept going.
I went in last week thinking I'd work hard and see what happened -- I may try to ride more conservatively for the next couple races, and see what happens. On the other hand, if Dayton keeps showing up with 10-12 guys, 4 of whom can win, and Anthem & CS have strong teams, I might keep having more fun banging my head against the wall, just to keep things spicy and gain fitness for later in the season. We'll see.
Great work Shannon, despite not getting the result you wanted.
Man, I tell you, it is always frickin' windy at that race.
Hey Shannon -- I'm never good at racing conservatively either. I find it hard to "turn it off" then "turn it on" again.
If this year's OVR series goes like the past two, about now the teams will switch to supporting whichever rider of theirs is top ranked in the overall. That can make it easier to read what breaks are serious and which ones will get team support. -- A
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