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What Richard saw:
Category: 4
Result: Mid-pack
One word describes Santa Nella - "flat". Annoying then that my chance of
a good finish ended on the only significant elevation change on the
course. More on that later.
I collected Garry at 5:30am and we were on our way, driving into the
dawn over the Altamont Pass. We got to the race HQ in plenty of time,
and had a good warm-up scouting out the approaches to the finish.
Approaching the finish, about 2km out is a freeway overpass, and I had
the thought that this might provide a suitable launch pad for an attack
to the finish.
The race itself was mixed. We rode along for a lot of the time just
content to ride tempo with a few attacks to break up the monotony. One
of the best, even if I do say so myself, was the one I put in. At the
end of the first lap, I attacked over the freeway, basically seeing how
hard I could go should I want to do something similar on the final lap.
I discovered that it is too far to maintain top speed from the overpass
to the finish, but I did get a good gap on the group. I saw that there
was a rider (Alto Velo) coming across to me so I waited for him. We
worked together for a few miles and I knew that his team mates would be
blocking. Yes, AV rode a good cat. 4 race! After a while, it was clear
that the bunch was chasing and we were not going to be let go, unless I
was able to go really deep and got myself out of sight. This was not
going to happen, so I sat up and waited for the bunch. My breakaway
companion stopped to answer the call of nature.
On the run-in to the finish on lap 3 I got the front of the group
working together well which got the speed up to something sensible. We
had been going slowly and I just couldn't bear it. Over the freeway, and
a small group escaped from the front. Heading into the finish, I
followed a rider bridging across and the breakaway was caught not long
after passing the start for the bell.
The final lap was relatively quick, and the run-in to the finish was
reminiscent of McLean. I got myself into the 4th row in preparation for
the overpass, ready to move forward towards the sprint. Unfortunately, I
found a rider in front coming back through the bunch quickly as he was
finding the overpass too hard. This mucked up my position big-time.
I got back into the group, but now a long way back. I kicked in my
sprint effort from far too far out, just to make up places. I think I
managed to get up to around 8th place before the legs started to protest
and in the final few metres I lost places, ending up about a slightly
disappointed 15th.
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What Garry saw:
Category: 3
Result: Flat! Did not finish.
As Richard says, an early start and many yawns on the way to Santa Nella. For those that have only a vague idea of where Santa Nella is, it's 77 miles from my house, south on I-5. The main landmark for Santa Nella is Andersons Restaurant, famous for it's pea soup and a Dutch style windmill.
I knew I was going to do more of the race than last years edition, where I had a flat as I waited at the start, and not having a spare wheel, had to watch the pack ride away as I returned to fix my puncture. This year I was better prepared with a spare set of wheels!
I started the Senior 3 race and was hoping for a similar style race as the laps I did last year, with a slow meander along the canal road north into the wind and then a brisk crosswind section and then a high speed return to the start finish area. However the 3's where in a mood and we maintained a good tempo into the wind which became very fast on the cross and tailwind sections.
The canal road is probably only 12'-0 to 15'-0" wide, a reasonable surface but the edges are blurry and their are lots of loose stones. Also a few potholes at the periphery added to the general technical issues. A few riders attempted to breakaway, but they were of the wrong riders at the wrong time, and they came back.
Along the cross wind 2 mile section and the 7 mile tailwind section we were howling along, I was cruising in the pack on 53X14 and having a ball. The road surface along these sections was of varying condition, with sections of multiple patched potholes to silky smooth. It was on the cross wind section at 2 1/2 laps in that I flatted. I was mightily dis-chuffed (unhappy). I got a wheel from a race marshal who passed several minutes later, but I had already been passed by the M35 1/2/3 pack and I knew I was at least 5 minutes down. So I rode to the finish to watch Richard finish his race.
The S3 race finished with a break of 6 moving off the front before the end of the 3rd lap which stayed clear until the end of our 68 mile race. (4 laps)
All in all, a good day out. I felt reasonable in the pack, but lacking in output when on my own. It will be a while before I feel confidant about attacking. Still with the HOP ride in my legs from the day before, plus some added hours per week, I should be great shape to pummel you guys on the winter training rides.
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