Vuelta A Valencia Recap

This is going to be a lengthy post to detail how my race over the last two days went. You may just want to just read a stage a day.

When I found out I was going to be in Redlands another weekend, I immediately started looking for a race. Lucky me, I found a stage race in the Santa Clarita area. There were three races in two days. I had no expectations for this race…okay, I lied. I had some expectations. I had a good two weeks of training while out in So Cal, so I felt like I could make something happen. Note to self: Be sure to read the race flyer in its entirety. The stage race would not be won based on time, but rather a point system. The higher you place on each stage the more points you earn.

For those that are not interested in the story here is the summary.

Overall GC - 1st Place

Prologue - 4th Place
Stage 1 - 1st Place
Stage 2 - 4th Place

Saturday – (Prologue and Stage 1)

Prologue (7 mile TT)

The TT was an out and back course. Riders were sent out in 30 second intervals. I was third from the last to head out. The day before I picked up some clip-on aero bars from Mark F. As the riders were being sent, I actually felt pretty calm. I knew this would probably be my best chance at winning a race this weekend.

I stood in the start tent waiting for the countdown. 5-4-3-2-1 Go! I wasted no time getting my speed up. The rider that went before me had a 30 second head start, so that was my goal. Catch him! In a race this short, there really is no pacing involved. It’s almost an all out sprint for seven miles. My cadence was high as was my speed. With a slight descent going to the turn around I was pushing anywhere from 26-30 mph. One by one, I started to reel in the riders in front of me, although it wasn’t until late I caught the rider that started just in front of me. When I did pass him, I think he was a little shocked. From that point on he just sat on my wheel. I looked back to let him know I saw what he was doing, but I had no time to play referee. Just keep ticking out the miles. With about 200 meters to go, sure enough, the guy darts out from around me to get to the line first. Way to go asshole! I still put you in the hole 30 seconds.

After the race I spun my legs out then headed back to the car. I then started taking in the calories (Power bar, banana, recovery drink, etc.). I had close to five hours before the next race. I headed to Starbucks for a Latte then proceeded to the nearest Laundromat to get my stuff clean for the next race.

Stage 1 (45 Criterium)

I got down to where the crit was to be held and watched the pros for a bit. My main objective was to find out the results of the TT then get back to the car and stay off my feet (advice from Diran). I saw the results sheet and started at the top. Not 1st, not 2nd, not 3rd. Damn! I ended up 4th. I thought that would be my best chance to win a race this weekend. There was still a road race ahead which could be my next best chance. I took another look at the results and noticed there were points awarded. You mean it’s not based on time? Again, read the race flyer before you race. The points for the TT were awarded for the first ten places (10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1). I ended up with seven points. I noted the three riders that were in front of me and a few behind me and committed their numbers to memory. Thankfully for me, the numbers were generally in increments of ten. 180, 170, 176, and 160. I would need to find these guys at the start of the crit and watch what they do.

Now to the race. I took my place on the first row, to get a good position. We had to wait a little because the race before had a crash on one of the backside turns that apparently took out most of the leaders at that point. Hmm, would that be a factor in my race?

When the whistle blew the group blew out from the starting line. I had trouble clipping in so that good position I had hoped for was down the tubes. Not that big of a deal since there are 45 minutes of racing. The loop had five turns with the backside of the course in a strong headwind and with a little upward slope. Once we hit that back side, no one wanted to be out in front. It was like the entire group came to a stop. Because of this, I was able to get my position back. I was now sitting third or fourth wheel. Right where I wanted to be. That is until the goobers in front of me pulled out. Now I am driving this train. I pulled for a little then backed off like the man before me. This kept repeating where I would constantly find myself pulling the group. I told myself, “I couldn’t keep doing this, and expect to have anything in the end.” I dropped way back to somewhere around 10-12. From this spot, I could see all my rivals as well. Not a bad position after all, although I kept thinking if someone goes down in front of me I might not make it back to the front. I just had to be prepared for anything at anytime. The man I was most concerned with was the TT winner, number 180. He was tall and lean. He was easy to spot and he also looked dangerous, as in if he tries to break, I need to go with him.

Round and round we went. Halfway through the race, the announcer made the call for the bonus sprint points, “One lap for the bonus points!” At this point, the point system (no pun intended) crystallized in my mind. I could take back those points I gave up in the TT. So for first half of the lap, I maneuvered my way back to the front of the group sitting number three or four. We made the turn to go slightly uphill and someone took off. I jumped on his wheel and was sitting number two now. Now was the last turn for the sprint line, I held out as long as I could, then swung around and accelerated. It was going to be close. Did I wait to too long? Push it Jonathan! Harder! Faster! (I am still talking about the bike race). Yes! Right at the line, I pulled it out. That would be six points in the bank. I wasn’t sure where the other contenders finished, but I did know that the guy I out sprinted wasn’t one of them. Since the sprint points were awarded to the top five (6-4-3-2-1), at a minimum I took back three points, maybe more making me the virtual leader in the GC race.

I pondered that for a couple of laps, then got back to work. Dropped back to around tenth position. The race pace picked up at this point, but I was still comfortably tucked away somewhere in the group. We went around for another 20 minutes before the announcer called out the laps. No more of the clock. We had five laps left. I was going to stay put until about three laps left then I would once again move to the front. It played out just like I wanted it to. With two laps remaining, I again moved to the front about four or five back from the lead and stayed put. One lap left. I didn’t want to move any further up with a strong headwind on the back side. We still had a few more turns before we could see the banner. We made the turn to put the wind on our side. I was watching everyone closely to see who would be the first to move. The riders in front of me slowed down to play a game of cat and mouse. When they did that, I just went! I was out of the saddle mashing on the pedals. As I was making my move I heard a few of the riders behind me yelling “Go, go, go!” I guess they recognized me from the bonus sprint, and knew this could be a dangerous move if they didn't cover. I also knew this is where a large group went down in the race before.

Because everyone waas slowing at that point and I was accelerating, I was able to open up a gap pretty easily. The question was, could I hold it. I thought back to the Redlands Classic when I attacked with three laps to go. I got caught in the last half lap. While that race was still fresh in my mind, I knew this was different. As I was pulling away, I sat back down and just kept pushing. That’s when I heard it. That unmistakable sound. You racers out there know that sound. The sound when a rider hits the deck. I didn’t look back. I just kept going as hard as I could. My legs were on fire and screaming at me by now. Fuck, don’t give in. Now is the time to pay the price! I made the last turn for home and got out of the saddle for one final sprint. Again my legs were begging for me to stop. I sat back down to drive it all the way through the line, not knowing who was behind me if anyone. I crossed the finished line and threw my fist into the air. I fuckin’ got it! There was no doubt now I would be at the top of the leader board in the overall GC.

I made my cool down lap as riders past me up and congratulated me. During that lap, I talked with the guy who finished behind me on the stage. The crash I heard was when a rider tried to follow my acceleration and his wheel just came out from under him. Luckily, no one else went down. Unfortunately, I found out later that the guy that went down was number 180, the winner of the TT. He would not race the next day.

What a conclusion to the first day of racing. I wasn’t sure how the overall would shake out, but I knew I would be a marked man tomorrow. I also knew I had to mark those that were marking me. When I got back to the hotel, I found out what the margin was. 12 Points over second place, who consequently finished second in the crit. At first, I started to track down bib numbers of the second through fourth on the GC. After a while, I went over the points and noticed I really only had three numbers to follow. I made note of the names, and would get their numbers tomorrow.
Sunday - Stage 2 (48 mile Road Race)

I did not get a good night sleep the night before. I just kept playing through all the possible scenarios and how to respond to each situation. And I cannot do math that late at night. Although I only had a few riders to watch on Sunday, I also knew that a couple of them have other riders on their team. Again, I was just playing out all the scenarios in my head. This race was far from over. It was clear though. My attention had shifted from trying to win the race to protecting what I had. That’s not exactly how I like to race. I had to race smart, but I also like to race aggressively. I suppose it was both brawn and brains that helped me through the first day. In the end I needed to keep it simple. Mark my three men and watch for the right opportunity to make a move. At this point I was really wishing I had a couple of teammates of my own to look out for me.

I arrived at the start a couple of hours early to get in a solid warm-up and to capture numbers. I wrote the numbers of the three men on the sides of first three fingers on my left hand. I knew the ink would last the whole race, but I just needed it to last the first lap. If I haven’t marked the men by then, perhaps I should just call it quits.

During my warm-up, the wind was outrageous. I am talking Boulder windy. The flags were at attention and tumble weed was flying through the air. This could make things interesting. Surprisingly, I felt really good during the warm up. I suppose the recovery drink and the cold bath actually worked.

Today’s race was going to take the riders through a couple of canyons and up a few hills for two laps, each 24 miles. Bonus sprint points would be awarded at the end of the first lap. These were important points, so I needed to make sure I was in the mix.

We all rolled out. I did not want anything to do with the wind so I tucked myself somewhere in the middle of the group. I noticed the men I needed to watch for were all behind me, keeping a close eye on what tricks I had up my sleeve. The wind would play right into my hands. No one was going to attack with such a stiff head wind, especially on the first lap.

That first lap was so boring. No one was willing to ride at the front, including me. My take on races like this, is when there are teams there with three or more riders, it is their responsibility to take up the pace making. Flying solo here, I have no problems turning down a pull. So our accordion moved along at a mild pace most of the first lap. I was able to chat it up with the number two man on the GC.

The hills were towards the end of the laps. This is playing right into my strength, how perfect. As we started climbing those first hills, I was feeling very spry, like I hadn’t even raced the day before. I was shocked to see just about the entire group still intact. Obviously the pace was too slow on the first part of that lap. That would change the next time around.

We were approaching the bonus sprints, so again I started maneuvering towards the front. All three of the top GC guys were in the mix. I knew, I didn’t have to win the sprint, but I needed to get some of the points. The third place GC guy took off, I started to follow, but the second place GC man moved along side of me and said "let’s leave him out there." This puzzled me, since it was only two points that separated second and third place. But hey, that’s better for me, so I was happy to sit back. Then I saw others going, so I had to get some of those points. I gave the second place guy a nudge to get him to move. I knew he just had a brain fart, so I was willing to help him, if he could help me later. It was too late to catch the third place GC man, but we were able to catch the others that sprinted for the points. I ended up third for the sprints, but I was happy with that.

The third place guy was still out in front, so we left out there for a bit. It was clear he wasn’t going to work until the group picked him up. Me and the second place guy talked a little. He wanted to attack (clearly he had conceded first place to me) pretty soon and asked what I thought about it. I told him no way. It’s too early. But once we get around to the hills again, if we are to make a move, it has to be then. Things started to shake up some though, so we would have to revisit. There were about nine of us stretched out but with a sizable gap on the rest of the peloton. All of the GC leaders were in this group. We knew we had strong riders, a large enough group to slice through the wind. That’s when one guy started to round everyone up. We got organized and punched it.

Everyone I had to worry about was in this group. I felt like things were playing out in my favor. The nine of us got our pace line going. No one missed a pull. I was cautious not to do too much, but at the same time, I saw everyone pulling hard, so I had to do the same. At one point we even slowed it down a bit to allow a rider a pee break. Once he was back on, we picked up right where we left off. We all knew that there was no way we were going to get caught. The question now was who was going to have anything in the tank as the hills approached. Through the first couple of hills, we still had a pace line going believe it or not. That didn’t last long though. Nine of us turned into seven. Still in the seven were the top three in the overall GC. There was still about seven miles left,maybe five...I think. Since my computer stopped working for parts of the race, I am not sure exactly sure. Anyhow, as the race turned upwards, we basically said "Well done, now let’s race."

I had taken my gels and was properly hydrated, but my legs were now beginning to wear down. I could even feel a little cramp coming on. Not really a cramp, more of a reminder that I did use these same legs in two races the day before.

We kept marching forward, now with one less rider. As one of the climbs leveled out slightly we all just kind of sat up a little. Except one guy, who just kept pushing. Before you knew it, there was a big gap. This was great. If he takes the stage, I am almost guaranteed the overall winner. I still had to finish with the two riders that were right behind me in the GC. One of the remaining guys in our group was giving chase, but no one was helping. He put it a huge effort, I would have liked to seen him rewarded in some way, but at the same time I couldn’t figure out what his motive was. I guess the stage win. He paid the price for his effort and fell out the back. The group was getting smaller and smaller. Still the top three GC leaders were all together.

The race was starting to boil. This is how the race should have unfolded, with the top three GC leaders side by side charging up. The solo break looked like it was going to hold, but the other two guys were determined to try and catch him. What stood in the balance were extra bonus points that could determine the outcome of the race.

We could see the guy in the solo break away and we were closing but it was too late. I saw him cross the finish line with both hands in the air. With that I pumped my fist a little. The number three man attacked and opened a small gap. Then the number two man followed and shot around. I went along for the ride. I almost bridged up to the number two man but I couldn’t do it. The third place man in the GC went around me and that’s how the race ended.

I congratulated the stage winner for a great win. He had three of the top riders breathing down his neck and he still made it. Others then came around to congratulate me for a great weekend of racing. The guys I raced against were all talented and anyone of them would have been worthy winners.

In those two days, I learned a lot about bike racing. Sure the tactics are much different at my level than say the CAT 1 or 2, but there are some pretty basic things I was able to take away from this weekend.

One, it’s a lot harder to protect the lead than, than it is to take it. Going into the final day, I had stressed out about all the possible scenarios instead of concentrating on what had gotten me to that point to begin with. Yes I needed to ride smart, but I also need to ride strong. I rode conservatively and ended up giving away points. I could have and should have won by more points. Don’t get me wrong, I am still happy with how it all played out.

Two, it’s a lot harder when you have no teammates. I lucked out because the guys that had teams there didn’t have any plan going into the race or their plans just blew up in front of them.

Finally, know the race. It's some of the small things that make a difference. Before the crit, I checked who my rivals were and made sure I kept track of theem. Every point counts. Why some of the other GC contenders didn't go for the bonus points is beyond me. On Sunday, they knew who I was now and also knew that the bonus points meant something. Just a little too late.