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.