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What Richard saw:
Category: 4
Result: Flatted
I was feeling nervous last night after what felt like a good
tune-up, so decided that to help ease the nerves, I would do a spin
before heading down to Los Gatos. I did the Portola Loop and felt a
bit sluggish almost the whole way round, but it did help to clear the
legs. I then drove to Cat's Hill and did a good 2 interval warm-up
before the race and was able to get the HR up where it should be
relatively easily.
I started off relatively near the front, balked a little by a rider
having a clip-in problem. The first time up the hill, miraculously, I
chose the correct gear for the climb for me: 39x19, and got up it
pretty easily. This continued for the next few laps and I was
comparitively comfortable each time up, but did slip a little through
the group. Once we were past halfway, I was determined that I was
going to finish, unlike last year where I got dropped then pulled.
At 3 to go, I made up some ground at the top of the course and as
usual, was enjoying the final turn onto the home straight. I love
that turn for some reason. Crossing the line with 2 to go, there was
some talk of a flat, and it turned out to be me. Fuck - too late for
the free lap, and that was my race over.
Overall, I have satisfaction about the way I rode, but
frustration that I flatted yet again. It looks like the flat was
caused by old rim tape, too sunken into the spoke holes. Sigh...
I stayed after my race and watched the 3's and took some pictures of
Garry and Biker Bob. I didn't realise that Ziggy was there as he was
riding incognito, so got no pictures of him. We then had lunch and
headed back to the course in time to watch the end of the M35+ 45,
the W123 and Pro12 races. Cat's Hill is such a great course and LGBRC
put on a good show.
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What Matt I. saw:
Category: 5
Result: Mid-pack
This was the first race in a while where I felt really concerned and nervous. I was concerned mainly, of course, about the 23% climb up Cat’s Hill. I read all I could about the tactics involved, and asked around about strategy to help me get a feel for what to expect. I want to thank those of you who gave me your insight about the course and also give me some pointers.
I got to Los Gatos about 8:45 and found a great parking spot just a block away from the registration booth. I went right away to get my number and find out where the restrooms were. I got back to the car and set up the trainer and got ready right away. I was really glad that I pre-rode the course so I had an idea of what kind of pain I would be getting into going 10 times up Cat’s Hill.
At the same time, I didn’t want to focus too much on the hill, but wanted to be equally aware of the other parts of the course. My field was full at 50, and I knew right off the bat people would contest for the front of the field. I knew no one wanted to be at the back of the pack going up the grade, to avoid those that drop their chain or clip out. When the call was made for people to get to the starting line, I got myself set up on the far left side. I went over the course in my head and especially the part about shifting before the hill. The whistle blew and I got clipped in right away.
I was surprised to see a rider drop his chain right away. I moved to the front and tucked myself in behind a rider on the approach to the hill. I got the shifting done right and went up the hill relatively easy. I realized the hardest part was the section after cresting the hill. It’s got a dip plus some rough road all the way until the next turn. I stayed with the bunch for about the next 7 laps. I started to feel the effects of the hill after the 8th lap and found it hard to hang on to the group. I tried my best to catch up to the bunch on the downhill section, which I did. I didn’t last long. By the time were were on the last time up the hill, the field split apart. I could almost barely turn over the cranks. There wasn’t anything left in my legs to catch up, and I finished off the back of the main bunch.
Later in the day while I was bumming about my performance, my friend who saw the race from start to finish was telling me about the parts I never saw:
On the very first time up the hill, people were clipping out, walking their bikes up the hill. By the time the first lap was finished riders were already dropped. When I finished it sure felt like I was way in the back at 40th, but he was telling me that so many people got dropped and that I wasn’t far behind the main pack. Whew.
All in all, it’s a fun course, but very hard. If I was going to do it again, I would select better gears to get more leverage. The cat 5 rider who won the race climbed the hill on the last lap in his big ring!
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