Tacoma Crit 2010: Cascadia Crit Series Finale

(so yeah this is about two weeks late, but here you go - enjoy! Coming up next are Cat 3 reports from the Capitol Crit & Boston Harbor Circuit, so stay tuned)

A few Saturdays ago was the last race of the Cascadia Crit Series, and I went into it in 1st place, wearing the Leader's #1 number. A little pressure, but not much since I had a good deal of points ahead of 2nd place, and was feeling good. And I can corner like a mofo, which is what crits are mostly about.

A few shots from the scene:

View from the beer garden:


The Race

After 20-30 minutes on the trainer, we did a few practice laps with other racers. The 4/5's were going first so they were still setting up the course when we got there, and at one point they put a big red inflatable banner across the course, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I thought it must be a joke. Only 20-25 feet across, I imagined parts of our peloton bouncing off the inflated thingy and causing epic crashes..

Luckily they thought twice about the plan and put the red inflatable rainbow thingy off to the side, where it belonged. There were enough turtles in the road to look out for without having to worry about that monstrosity.

Anyway we got to the race and did call-ups, I got to get called out as 1st place overall once again. Not something I could get tired of, I must admit...

We got off on the first lap and I put in a good effort (looking at power data, the peak 5-sec/30-sec/1-minute/5-minute/etc for the whole race!) from the gun, hoping to hit the pack hard and soften if up for Kyle, who was gunning for a spot on the top 3 podium, sitting in 4th place.

One junior from Rad Racing and I somehow ended up with a gap between us and the pack on the first lap - not the plan, but for my last 4's race why not? I just needed to get another top 15 or so and I'd keep 1st in the bag.

But once you're out there alone (or with one other you can barely hang on with, in this case) you realize how hard it is to maintain that. I can only do 190 beats per minute for so long..

We got reeled in before too long, maybe a lap or two out there, but it was fun. I guess the warm-up was good, because I jumped right back in the pack when we got caught and got ready to snatch up points premes if they came along (on Kyle's behalf, I didn't really need them).

Sure enough a points preme came along and I got 2nd in it, enough to get 3 more points.

The pack was a little.. squirrelly at times, if you will, and while there were a few close calls on the slower backside (4-5% uphill), I think there was only one minor crash in the race. I came through a few gaps that weren't very big, but luckily kept it upright.

In the final lap I sat back a bit and watched Kyle move up and take 3rd, I got 7th. Success! Kyle moved up to 2nd on the podium, and also got some more points towards his 3's upgrade.

Winnings

As a reward for holding on to 1st place overall I got showered with all kinds of gifts. A trophy (pictured below), a wheelset (seriously!), a leader's jersey, and $125. Never thought I'd get anything but a challenge from racing, but it's been that and then some I guess.

1st overall leaders' jersey!

A cool trophy from the Chihuly institute:


More photos

AJ & other rider off the front in the 3's race:


The pace car for the 1/2's:


More photos on flickr, as usual.

Thanks to Rob from the ride down, and to everyone for racing & not crashing too much, as well as to RT and the whole Cascadia Crits crew for putting on such a great series. Looking forward to next year's edition!

Goodbye Cat 4, it's been fun. Hope to see some of you guys up in the 3's soon!

Ballard Criterium 2010: First Win!!

The Ballard Twilight Crit has been on my calendar since last year, as an "A" race. That meant my whole training plan (when I had one anyway) was centered around this race. It's the atmosphere there that made it great to race there, and probably makes it an "A" race on most people's calendars too.

Getting 13th in the 4/5's last year, after about a month of racing, I figured I could at least do better this time around as a Cat 4, after about a year of racing.

And going into this one I was the overall leader in the Cascadia Crit series 4/5's, even though I hadn't actually won any of the races (placings were 4th, 5th, 3rd - being consistent was paying off, along with the fact that the top guy dropped out after Seward).

In fact I hadn't won any races up to this point - and isn't that why one gets into racing, to win? Getting fitter & faster is fun too, but winning is the ultimate goal.

Getting Ready

Kira & I drove over to Ballard and parked close to the course, behind a building where others were parked (we figured it was safe to park there, but nope we got a ticket after all!) I didn't have to worry about getting into the race like at Seward, I was pre-registered and just had to sign in. Plenty of time.

Warmed up under our team tent, a Cat 3 let me use his trainer for a few minutes, sweet. And in fact it was for only a few minutes; after getting signed in, waiting in the porta-potty line, etc, there were only about 20 minutes until our race time!

Riding the trainer was so much better than my warmup for Ballard last year: rolling around the streets east of the course, just riding back and forth on the .5 mile stretch before Fred Meyer. I don't ever use the trainer we have at home, since I like riding outside, but for something like this it was a great way to get the heart rate up and get sweaty. I've always heard you should be a little sweaty when you get to the line, and even though the warm-up was only about 10 minutes long it was enough.

Got to take one or two practice laps of the course, and it was familiar from last year, though there was cardboard held down by duct tape over some 2x4" cracks in the pavement in corner one, and a set of hay bails blocking the apex of turn two, which was a little different.

The Race

One of the great things about being on the overall podium in the Cascadia Crit series is the "call ups" you get to do before the race. Once everyone is lined up they call up the top five people in reverse order, so I got to go last. It gives you some recognition and also gives you a good starting spot.



The whole pack of 75 lined up and ready to go - but only one can come out on top:


After some announcements from the official we were sent off, and I was excited! I used to almost dread the start whistles of these big crits, now I can't wait for them. Another chance for points, another chance for a win. Another chance for fun, and to gain more experience racing.

Got lined up in the first 10 or so riders in the first turn, and loved how much more smooth this race is from the front of the pack than from the back, where I raced it last year. Last year I felt like I really had to dig to maintain contact coming out of turn two, but this year we were coasting into a nice fast backstretch with a tailwind, and not having to jam it at all.

It felt a lot easier than last year overall, though the average speed came out to about the same. Guess I've just gotten stronger. Actually I know I've gotten stronger, I can see it in the training numbers and more importantly results. I was just surprised how different this race felt this year.

Before the race the announcer explained premes to the crowd, and said that "racers can used them to gauge the sprint and get a feel for it" or something along those lines, something I'd never thought of. I always thought of premes as a waste of energy or for those who were super strong, if they could win a preme and then take the race too. So I usually ignored them.

But this time when a points preme came up, I was on the front and went for it. Just kept the pace high and led the pack out (from what I remember). It seemed easy, was nobody else going for it or what I thought? Only 5 points to add to the ~800 I already had in the omnium, but for me it was more about figuring out that sprint. And winning that preme probably gave me the courage/confidence to really go for the final sprint (something I never thought I'd win).

Other premes came and went and I just made sure not to drift too far back, stayed in the top 20 pretty much the whole time. Some people like to ride the race from the back, and "tailgun" it, but it seems to me that just sets you up to have to deal with gaps, crashes, and the accordion effect. F that.

The Crash

About half way through the race we come into the finish straight and we're being waved around a First Rate Mortgage racer lying on the ground in the middle of the course near the finish line. Doesn't look good.



Next lap we come through and there are more people waving at us, and at first we're getting ready to go around the injured rider again but soon realized they wanted us stop completely. I wouldn't have thought it was possible to stop a crit, but it was done pretty smoothly. The officials had the chasing pack stay about 20 feet behind our lead pack, as the field had split into two groups at this point.

They had an ambulance come and take the guy away. Heard later he was knocked out at first, probably broke his collarbone and might have separated his shoulder as well. Along with a concussion, as his helmet was supposedly smashed as well. On the one hand that's a scary image, but I guess that's what helmets are for..

I heard about three different versions of how/why he crashed, ranging from he was along and went down out of nowhere, to the version where a lapped rider took him out on accident. Either way it didn't look good but he was conscious and gave a thumbs-up on the way out.

Hope he's doing alright - anyone have updates on his condition?

Race Restart

The officials set 15 minutes on the clock, and restarted us. I looked around and the front line was almost the same as when we started, lots of points leaders: Dave Z., Chad, Adam, Rob, and me.

After a little while they switched from time to 8 laps to go, and the countdown began. A Lenovo guy went off the front, but couldn't get much distance. Pretty hard to go off the front in a flat crit like that, but he lasted a lap or two I think.

With about three laps to go the pack was back together and my team mate Kyle came around the front and started to light it up. I could see what was happening (he was leading me out for the win!) immediately, so I jumped on his wheel. This was the time that would decide the winner, I figured.



One guy in an orange or red kit was between Kyle & I, but on the backstretch he dropped out, couldn't hold the pace. I could barely hold the pace myself but yelled "GO!!!" at Kyle, making sure he kept the gas on. We were doing close to 30 mph, or maybe more, and it was all I could do to hang on. I could only hope our high speeds were stringing out the pack, and setting everything up for a win.

Looking at the photos, the pack sure was strung out! Perfect.


This effort hurt, a lot, but I knew that there were only minutes left in the race. Time to empty the tank.

One lap to go, and it's still Kyle & I on the front, and he's turning the screws as they say. In the back of my head I'm just hoping we can hang on to this, and see what happens coming out of the last corner.

Sure enough we come into the final turn 1st & 2nd, and as we get into the finish straightaway I'm hoping people don't start swarming around us. Wasn't sure how much of a gap we had on the field, if any, but I know my sprint isn't award-winning so it was going to take a little gap to get me to the line.

Switched all the way to 53x12, and ground out the sprint up the slight uphill towards the line. Felt hugely over-geared and as if I was doing 60 rpms, but just held the gas as much as I could. Nobody was coming around yet!

I could hear the announcer calling the sprint and my name, and it certainly helped as motivation. Since Kyle is so fast I was almost afraid I wasn't going to be able to come around him, but slowly gained ground on him and finished with space between us, his hands in the air in celebration of our team's win.



(as a side note, I promise to buy these photos!)


(from the GCRacing FinishLynx camera)

Thanks a billion, Kyle! Couldn't have done it without your leadout. Team work in the 4/5's, who would have thought?

After crossing the line I closed me eyes and thought "HolyshitIcan'tbelieveIjustwonBallard!!!!!", then sat up and gave my victory salute: arms down but slightly out to the side, as if I were ascending into the sky at that very moment. I like to think of it as my "Cat 3 birth" in fact, as it give me the points I need to upgrade to the 3's!

After the race we did a cool-down lap I got to give a little interview over loudspeaker, that was pretty surreal.


If all this description of the race isn't enough for you, someone from the Bikesale.com team made a great video of the 4/5's race! (and a bunch of the other races too)

Race #4: Second Ascent Ballard Twilight Criterium Men Cat4/5 2010 from David Hose on Vimeo.

Won a Thompson seatpost & stem, along with some more free socks (I'm starting to get a collection of these). And of course bragging rights for the next year..

The other thing I got from the race was seven upgrade points, giving me 26 total! Since you only need 20 points to get to the Cat 3's I can upgrade now, something I thought would take years. (Some never get out of the 4/5's at all) I became a Cat 4 back in March, so it's taken about three months, I can't believe it. I think the whole "build/base/peak/race" training plan has worked out well! (7-12 hours per week these days, for the record, as I've been asked a lot about this lately)

Since I want to finish out the Cascadia Crit series as the 4/5's points leader by doing the Tacoma Twilight Crit next weekend, I'm going to be a "sandbagger" for that one race and stay a 4 for now. $125 goes to the overall winner in our category and I want that person to be me!

A message to Rob, Ian, Chad, Dave Z, Tim, Kyle, Jed, Adam, and everyone else I know in the 4's: get your asses up the 3's soon! I'm gonna need the company. But I'm looking forward to longer races that start later in the day, and "Cat 3" certainly has a nice ring to it..

From what I keep hearing it's not that much faster in the 3's, it's just that the surges are faster and the fields are deeper, and of course the races are longer (crits are one hour, road races are 60-90 miles). The worst it can do is make me faster.. also looking forward to racing with Jordan R., Mark, and Jordan L. that I've raced with previously. See you guys soon!

Stats

Ballard Crit 2010 (minus stoppage time)
Duration: 31:10 (38:18)
Work: 463 kJ
TSS: 51 (intensity factor 0.991)
Norm Power: 287w
VI: 1.16
Distance: 13.071 mi
Elevation Gain: 855 ft
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1004 247 watts
Heart Rate: 121 198 182 bpm
Cadence: 16 121 81 rpm
Speed: 0 37? 25.1 mph (a tad faster than last year I think)
Crank Torque: 0 1695 243 lb-in

Thanks to all the volunteers & the Second Ascent team/shop for putting on this awesome race, and all my friends (Liz/Dennis, John, Rachel) that came out to race or watch! And of course to Kira for coming out and cheering me on. I'm so glad you were all there to see it.

Cascadia Crit Series: Leader!

I was sitting 2nd place overall in the Cascadia Crit Series coming into the Seward Park race yesterday before this race. The third race out of six, Seward is a course I've done about 25 times since last season, so nothing new, but a big crowd and lots of motivated riders ready to tear it up.

I've been racing the 6 PM race there this year (the 3/4's field) which has provided extra challenge, so I was hoping doing a 4/5 field would be a tad easier. Maybe, but not by much!

The Race

Team mates Kyle & Chris were there, and Chris even went on a flier during the race, hoping to draw Counterbalance guy into a failed break, or something. Kyle later did the same later on, trying to wear out those eager to win from a break. And the whole time, I just sat up front and watched with glee.

As the final laps came around I made sure not to leave the top 10, but that was easier said than done, and coming into the final downhill I was probably about 15th. As we got to the flat-ish section the pack was together, waiting for someone to pounce. If nobody pounced most would happily cruise up to the top of the hill, and then light up the sprint.

But I've raced here enough times to know that the ones that win the sprint start before the climb, to get a gap on the field. A guy led me up the left side of the pack and then pulled off, and that's when I took my chance. I pounced. Already red-lining but the finish line is close, so I emptied the tank.

As I took the soft left on to the climb, I looked down and though to myslef, "Holy shit! I'm in first, and nobody has come around yet! I won finally!"

But it was too early to celebrate, and not long after cresting the hill at least one guy had already jumped beyond me, and I could hear others behind. The rest is kind of a blur but one more guy snuk around me towards the line, and I just held on the gas up to the line. Here are the three of us sprinting around the bend towards the line. (Note: I didn't coast in the sprint like I used to, that's for sure!)

Congrats to Jeff that took the win, he also beat me out in one of the points premes and is obviously strong. I looked around to see how Aaron on Counterbalance did, since he was 1st overall and leading me in points. Nowhere to be seen?? Later on someone said he had to pull out due to a mechanical issue or something. Sucks! Not the way I wanted to get on top of the overall podium but that's racing I guess.

On to the podium, where the top 5 in the race got $20 cash. Then the overall podium, and guess who's on top? Me!



In addition to a nice pair of socks and a water bottle & nuun tablets, I was also presented with a Leader's number to wear in the next race! Pretty sweet:

But it's not over yet, there's still Ballard & the Brad Lewis Crit to contend with this weekend!

Here we go...

Woodinville & Fremont Crits 2010

Saturday - Woodinville 4/5 Crit

The first crit in the 6-race Cascadia Crit Series.

Rode 20 miles to the start up the Burke-Gilman, but got there way too early so it wasn't the best warm-up. Got there with 45 minutes or an hour until the race, so the course wasn't even all the way set up yet. Signed in and said hi to a few familiar faces: Rob, Alan, Chad, Tim, and even met a guy from the East Coast here for the race! I wonder how racing out here compares to over there..

Took a few practice laps in the wet, and got a feel for the course. 3 corners, almost flat. The word on the street was some man-hole cover and (slick) crosswalks in a few of the turns - and indeed they were there but weren't really a factor. The third/final turn kind of pinched from three lanes to two, so that made things interesting. And a gazillion white "turtles" in the middle of the lanes to boot.

Lined up in the front row for the first time, which I actually didn't like; our bars were so close it seemed like we were doomed to crash in the first few feet. Luckily I got off the line faster than most of those around me, or close enough, so it wasn't too chaotic.

Avoided all the turtles & man-hole covers in the corners, and generally just tried to stay in the top 20 from the get go. There were some prime laps, but the only ones I cared about were the (omnium) points primes - 5, 3, and 1 points for the top three on that lap.

We stayed together until the prime attacks came, and a Counterbalance guy eventually got off the front, and stayed out there solo! A few guys including me tried to bridge at one point, but couldn't hack it... he was generally unknown to the peloton, and we all thought he'd just come back. Never did.

Went for a omnium points prime and squeezed out one point from it. I think on that one I attacked before the third turn and got a little gap going into the third turn. Held off all but one Bikesale guy who came around me for 2nd place for points.

That gave me a good feel for just how long the final sprint was, and how fast I could go. Time to set up for the finish! And ignore any other primes that came along, no matter how tempting they might be.

The course was nice and wide, so when you wanted to move up you pretty much could, except for the final straight that was only two lanes wide and not so much space. But still enough to move around. I would essentially drift backwards over a few laps, then move up after the 1st turn on the inside before the next turn. Slight uphill there and people went pretty slow on that section.

It was at least 300m and slightly downhill from the 3rd corner to the finish, so I felt like I had no chance with a field sprint out of the corner... and also didn't want to fight for the apex of the turn with about 20 other people - I wanted to enter that final turn solo. The Counterbalance guy was somehow still off the front solo! He had at least a half-lap on us and was eventually out of sight.

On the last lap I lit up my sprint in an all-out 1k-attack of sorts, in between the 1st & 2nd turns. Didn't look back, just concentrated on going as hard as I could.. on the next leg of the course, which was felt slightly downhill, I already felt like I wanted to give up but didn't hear anyone behind me so I coasted for two seconds and kept on grinding.

And sure enough I went through that turn alone, though I figured guys were closing in from behind. I felt like I wanted to go into it much faster but since it was wet I just did the best I could.

So at this point I'm already turning myself inside-out, and the 300m+ sprint was about to start.. two guys came around me about 100m from the line, and I was just waiting for the rest of the field to come around.

But as you can see in the photo below we had a decent gap! Came in for 4th place.






An image of the power output for that last minute or so - as you can see there was an initial jump (at 1000+ watts), another little one after the next corner, and then another sprint after the final corner.
(yellow = power, red = heart rate, orange/brown = elevation, blue = speed)

4th place, lots of omnium points, 3 upgrade points, and my first real winnings in a race: $35 gift certificate to a bike shop!! I might just frame it.

Huge thanks to Rob for giving me a ride home after the race! Even though I brought another kit for the way back my shoes were soaked and I really didn't feel like doing the BG Trail again. Gotta save energy for tomorrow's race..

Sunday - Fremont Crit Cat 4/5's

Another 3-corner affair, but flatter and on "city streets" in Fremont (read: cracked pavement, some nice gaps, reflectors, man-hole covers, etc). When I got up early in the morning it was sunny and I thought this was going to be a more comfortable affair.

But by the time I rolled out towards the race there was a light drizzle. So be it.

Got there with enough time to sign in and do a few warm-up laps. The race was right next to the outdoor movie theater & close to the Fremont Market, a great setting for a crit.

The first turn was indeed interesting, kind of like the 130-degree turn at Seward Park. The back stretch was long-ish, and featured some nice old/wet leaves or something in the right lane that looked nice and slippery.

Turn two had a manhole cover and led to a hugely-cracked short stretch that led to the final turn and a short sprint to the finish line. Cool.

More familiar faces & got to chat with the Counterbalance guy that won our crit the day before. Congratulated him on holding us all off, and he said he was surprised by it! Also said it put the hurt on his legs and when I asked him if he was going again he laughed and said probably not. I told him I'd be on his wheel if he went this time..



Kyle & Ian were there and we lined up together in the third row or so. I joked about how not many in the field will clip in well and how we'd have to dodge lots of them, and sure enough it seemed like most guys were still fiddling with their cleat while I was ready to get it on. (I'm using Speedplays, very easy to get into, no need to look)

Eventually we got up to speed and hit the first turn. I was probably in the back half of the pack at this point (out of 60 or so starters), and just hung on for a while to see how the course was and figure out where to move up.

After a few laps I made a little jump up the right side on the backstretch (ironically where all the dirt/leaves/slippery stuff was), and slotted into the top 10 or so.

Pulled for a lap or two, and when on the front I made sure not to push too hard, since people will always come around when you start going too slow. I used to hammer once on the front, which is OK to do sometimes, but can be a big waste of energy sometimes too.

A points prime lap came and I found myself going for it, and getting 3rd in it for one point. Not surprisingly it was the Counterbalance guy and Dave Z that beat me out for 1st. Seemed like not long after that the announcer said it was time for another prime and I wasn't quite recovered yet from the last one, so I shook my head in mock disgust. The announcer saw this and said "Even if you shake your head!" or something, kinda funny.

I let people go for that one and just hung on, losing spots but knowing it would cool down a bit after the prime was over. Sure enough we came back together and I found my spot back in the top 5 or so.

At one point I attacked coming through the final straight, and held it for a bit, and the Counterbalance guy bridged up. But I could barely hold his wheel, and knew I just didn't have the legs to stay off the front at that speed. Had to drop back to the pack.

Soon after Ian, another strong guy on my team, went off the front in one of his favorite moves: attacking.


Later on in the race the Couterbalance guy was off the front with Kyle, a strong youngin' on my team. They stayed out there for a while, but they eventually came back. It seemed like the Coutnerbalance guy was stronger than all of us, and was in every break attempt.

Towards the end of the race it seems like I heard about three crashes behind us in corner one, that's where most of the action was.

In the final few laps I was in decent position (top 5 or so), and when the final lap came I was setting up for something good. (weren't we all?)

But coming into turn two, a hothead came up on the inside (yelling "INSIDE!!!" as if that really makes a difference..) and jammed our three or four-person paceline to the outside, causing commotion and yelling/cursing. Coming up on the inside out of nowhere in a turn is a common tactic that commonly causes crashes.

Coming out of that turn the guy in front of me started get really bad speed-wobble, so bad he even unclipped and I figured the race was over and we're going down. Dammit. Somehow he save it(!!!) and I came around him, but had to slow down if not brake a bit, ruining any chances of a top three in this one.

Coming out of the last turn the race winners were far up ahead, but I wanted to at least get some upgrade points out of all this. So I put in my best effort, and just barely passed Adam from Arrivee before the line. It felt like a good effort but I was but I was sprinting for 5th instead of 1st. Got 5th, not bad but not what it should have been...

Kyle from my team won it! He just barely beat out the Counterbalance guy at the line: (click for sequence)


So now I sit 2nd overall in the Omnium points standings! Won some socks, my second-ever item won from bike racing. I'll call that progress... next step, cash!

Oh and 5th earned me two more upgrade points, so that's five for the weekend and 15 overall - if my calculations are correct. Cat 3 used to seem like next-to-pro, but it's starting to seem less intimidating. I always thought it would take me years to get there, but it looks like I should be able to get there by the season's end or early next year. The upgrade will probably send me to the back of the pack, but I'm thinking racing with faster/better racers can only make me faster/better.

Before I do upgrade I'd like to get a win though! Let's see if I can do that at Seward on Thursday, Ballard on Saturday, or Boat Street on Sunday.

(photos by wheelsinfocus)