State Criterium Champion

My epic weekend has finally come to a close. Four races in three days. It started off with an 8th place finish in the time trial, followed by a grueling 11th place finish in yesterday's crit, then capped off with a double header today with the Bolder Boulder at 7 am and another crit at 1:30 pm. My legs can finally relax and look forward to a recovery week.

Before getting into the details, here is the summary of the weekend.

TT - 8th
Crit - 11th
10K - 40:08 (PR)
Crit (CO State Criterium Championship) - 1st
Omnium GC- 2nd

Sunday's Crit

Yesterday's criterium was nothing short of absolute hell. During my warm-up I knew it would be tough, I just didn't realize how tough. About 20 minutes into the race, I was clinging on to the lead group of about 15. For two laps I would get dropped on the climb, then descend like a maniac to catch back on. Finally the elastic broke and I could no longer hang on. I knew then there was a real chance I could get lapped. The crit was 55 minutes total and only after 25 minutes, I seriously thought about pulling over and calling it a day. Thankfully I snapped out of it and continued on. I knew as long as I placed top 20 I could get some GC points. The last lap finally came and I was sitting alone at 12th. Two riders were in front of me by about seven seconds as we came over the top of the climb. I knew I could bridge on the descent and I did just that. Going into the final 200m it was going to be a three man sprint for 10th. I was edged out at the line and finished 11th. My legs were utterly shredded after that race and I considered not returning the next day.

I did what I could to recover (cold bath, Recoverite, self massage, stretching) that night. I still had a 10K in the morning and I was still on the fence for the last crit.

Bolder Boulder 10K

I woke up this morning feeling a little better about my body, so I knew I would be doing the double. First, the Bolder Boulder. After the warm-up, I felt descent. Not great, but not terrible. The gun sounded and we were off. I thought I was holding back on the first mile, but when I looked at my watch and saw 6:08, I though "Oh, shit, this is going to hurt." I slowed it down for the next mile all the way back to 6:44. Again I thought, "Oh, shit." This time it was because I was going to slow. Mile three I tried to pick it up but could only muster a one second gain from the previous mile. I was able to pull back some more time on the next couple of miles (6:18, 6:23), but the damage was done. I pushed it up the final hill into Folsom Stadium for the finish and the tank read "E." Now I only had a few short hours before I had to get to Golden for the final criterium in the omnium.

Monday's Criterium

The finale of this long weekend was the Colorado State Criterium Championship. Surprisingly, my legs didn't feel completely shelled after the 10K just hours earlier and the previous two days of racing. When I lined up at the start line, I had a less than desirable position. I was sitting three rows back. Since this was the State Championships, I expected the race to be fast from the start. I wasn't disappointed. After the first lap I was sitting near the rear of this long train. A few laps later and my position didn't really improve much. I knew there was still plenty of racing and my only goal at this point was to get a few places each lap. Don't try and get it all back at once.

The course was pretty technical with eight turns and two long straight-a-ways. With two thirds of the race behind us, I was able to crack the top twenty. That's when I took stock. My legs had somehow been re-energized and I felt pretty comfortable with my position. I knew which turns I could move up on and which ones to lay off and cruise. At that point, I decided I had the legs and I was going to win.

The next few laps, I moved up another 8-10 spots. For the first time in the race, I saw the riders leading this train. One of the riders in the front happened to be the guy that out-sprinted me for 10th. After that race, he told me today's race suited him a lot more with all the turns. He was definitely one to watch as we approached the countdown.

Five laps to go and I was still sitting in a pretty good position. Stay alert, and be ready to go if someone else goes. I thought about attacking in the last lap if the group showed any hesitation through one of the final turns. There was a good headwind on the final straight-a-way, so I knew that would only be a last resort.

Three laps to go. I told myself once again, I was going to win. I was not going to get pipped at the line. Of course as soon as I said that, I lost several positions. No big deal. I can get them back. I just need to be in the top 5-6 in that final turn.

Two laps to go. Someone came to the front and started to string the field out. This was perfect. I knew some more would get dropped by the acceleration which meant less sprinting for the win.

Final lap. I remained in the top ten, but needed to move up a few positions before heading into the sprint. I was able to do that pretty easily. We came around the final turn for the long straight-a-way and I was right where I wanted to be, fifth wheel. As we started to accelerate for the finish, I easily moved into third. This is where it takes patience. A slight uphill with a head wind would crash your hopes of victory if you moved to early. First wheel did just that. As his legs gave out, the rider running second started his sprint. Holy shit, this is the same guy that beat me to the line for 10th yesterday. I let him start his sprint and just tucked in. When the moment came, I swung around. Did I wait too long? I put my head down and pushed as hard as I could. As we were approaching the line I kicked it into a higher gear. Almost there. I tried using my peripheral vision to see if anyone was near but I couldn't see through my sweat. Race over.

There you have it. I am now the State Criterium Champion! How the hell did that happen? Only one word to describe it...Nutty! My only goal was today was to survive and see if I could remain in the top 10 for the overall GC. With that victory, it propelled me to 2nd overall, only one point down from Omnium champ. Remember that sprint for 10th yesterday? How about 8th in the TT only half a second down from the 7th place finisher? It stings a little, but looking back at my expectations, I am quite satisfied. Regardless, that second place finish in GC earned me over $200. That should help cover the cost for a month or two of race registration fees.

Today's victory for Feedback had even more significance. It was one year ago today that Scott Kornfield's life was ended prematurely when a teenager fell asleep at the wheel. Nate and several others of my teammates rode the route that Scott and Nate intended to that day to remember him.

I will now kick back a little and enjoy my recovery week. I will spend more time in the pool and less time on the legs this week. Then the racing picks up again, with another State Championship, but this time in the time trial.

Coal Miner’s Classic – Heavy hearts and lessons learned

I am trying to think if there was ever a time I didn’t complete a race I started. Granted, I have only been competing now for four years (marathons, triathlons, bike races), but the short answer is no. That would change at today’s race.

Today’s race would start with heavy hearts. It had been renamed to The Scott Kornfield Memorial Race. Scott was killed tragically last year while on a training ride with Nate. Scott helped put Feedback Sports Race Team together. I never knew Scott, so I don’t have the same emotional connection that everyone else on the team has. I can only imagine how they felt, given how I was feeling that morning. Regardless, I knew the significance of this race and what it meant to my teammates.

Left to right - Me, Andrew, Nate, Brad, Diran, Titus, Andy

The night before the race, I had trouble sleeping playing out the different scenarios that could unfold on race day. You know, “what would you do if this happens?” type stuff. The underlying theme of it all was patience. I kept telling myself, "no matter what, be patient."

The race started and once again I had trouble clipping into my pedals. It wasn’t as bad this time, but still frustrating nonetheless. Having Andy right behind me helped keep me cool while I got clipped in. Once clipped in, I found myself in the middle of the pack. I was happy with that for the time being.

During the second lap a break started to form. Nate, the team opportunist, was once again in the break. Seeing that the break didn’t really push a big advantage initially, I decided to remain in the peloton and ride comfortably behind Andy. This strategy seemed to work as I was able to ride within myself never pushing the upper limits.

With about five laps to go the break still had maintained its advantage, even increased it some. I knew then it probably wasn’t coming back. Andy had apparently read my mind because then he put in a Herculean effort to bridge to the break. I sat on his wheel as long as I could, then swung around to make the final push. We passed the start/finish which was on a slight uphill so I knew that would be my best chance to bridge, and sure enough I tagged onto the back at the top.

Once I bridged, I was just going to sit in and recover a bit. I still felt pretty good even after bridging the gap. I just needed about 20-25 seconds of sitting in to recover. I would get that and then some. We made a right turn to go down the back stretch and as we made that turn, I felt me rear wheel fish tail a little. Hmmmm. Ok, keep going. On the downhill straight-a-way, it started to do it again. This isn’t good. Yep, it’s flat. Maybe if I could get around to the wheel pit, I can get a wheel change. Wait a minute. I didn’t bring any wheels. SHIT!!!!!!

I was probably in the break for less than 30 seconds, before I flatted. I couldn’t believe it, my first DNF. After all the work Andy did, this is how I repay him?

The break stayed away the whole way and Nate finished 5th on the day. A good result, but dammit I should have been in the mix! What's the lesson in all of this? Always bring extra wheels for the wheel pit. The pit is there for a reason.

More Racing

After my race, Holden decided to he wanted to race in the kids race. Only problem, he had a flat tire too. This must run in the family. We raced home, changed is tire, then raced back to the race.

Apparently, dragging around a teammate that would ultimately DNF wasn’t enough for Andy. Holden and I arrived just in time to see the last four laps of the Men 35+ race. Andy was at the front looking strong. This man doesn’t stop.

Andy putting the hurt on the 35+ field (in the new clothing) .

Once that race concluded, it was time for Holden to see what his legs could do. I was just hoping we wouldn’t have a repeat of Redlands. We walked down to the start and the kids got all lined
up.

Holden getting ready...A couple of riders don't look 4 to me.

“Ready, GO!” Wait a minute, did anyone tell them where to stop? Holden, took off. From the start it was really just between him and these two other boys. One had gotten away, but Holden dropped the hammer. His legs were pumping so fast it looked like he was out of control. I couldn’t tell from the back but it look like he got to line first. If not first, he was a close second. Regardless, the race had just started for me. Watching the earlier races, Holden saw the riders go all the way around the 1+ mile circuit, so he thought he had to do the same. A quarter of a mile later I finally caught him. I love kids.

Holden starting to crank it up.

And more racing

After taking Holden back to his third birthday party in two days, we headed back to the race site to catch the last race of the day, CAT 3 Men. Diran would once again be the sole Feedback racer. Before the race, Nate spoke to the riders about Scott and everyone observed a moment of silence.

Nate speaking to the 3s.

Once the race got off, it looked fast and furious. Diran looked good and was in the main bunch the whole race. There were a lot of racers that didn’t look so great.

Diran in the mix.

Congrats to the entire team today. We fielded six in the CAT 4 and overall, I think we performed pretty well with two riders (Nate & Andrew) in the top 10. Next up, Rocky Mounts Omnium (and Bolder Boulder).

Last word on Deer Trail

You can read Diran's report here, so I won't go into any details. The conditions were tough, really tough. Even with those conditions Nate attacked with 20 miles left of racing into a solid headwind. he deserved to win it, but was caught in the final mile and ended up with 7th, which is still a good result.

As for me, well let's just say this is a race I would like to forget about and move on. Luckily there is a race next weekend (actually two races) so I don't have time to dwell on the past. I was able to learn a few things in my first race in Colorado. One, the level of competition out here is 20x better than what I faced in California a few weeks ago. That means I will have to work 20x harder to get on top. Only time will tell if I am up for the challenge.

Next week we have Lookout Mountain Hill Climb (4.5 mile climb) on Saturday and Rabbit Mountain Time Trial (11k TT that finishes on a 13% grade) on Sunday. I really need a good result at these races to get my confidence back heading into the heart of the racing season.