|
Reports by:
|
|
What Richard saw:
Category: 4/5
Result: Mid-pack
I made the trip out to Modesto to ride the 4/5 race in the Save Mart
Criterium. I got there in reasonable time, a little later than I
wanted as I had only just had time to do all my preparations, rolling
up to the start with my spare wheels as we were called to the line.
I hadn't done this race before, but the course was modified this year
due to some construction. We ended up on a 0.5 mile 4 left corner
circuit - any smaller and you could call it a velodrome.
Those of us who frequent the track will not be surprised to learn
that Steve Woo attacked from the start. He didn't survive long, but
helped to ensure that the opening laps were ridden very briskly. I
slipped backwards through the field a bit during these laps.
Approaching half-way it was time to find the wheel to follow for the
rest of the race. This I did, and spent the rest of the race near the
front, only seeing the front of the group once when they slowed and
my momentum carried me forward. I sat up and looked for my wheel again.
With 3 laps to go I was well placed, but then lost ground. Time to
dig deep and I worked my way forward again. I got my position again
and with a lap to go we had the inevitable bunching.
The leadout for the sprint began as we approached turn 1 and I
positioned myself on the inside in the second rank as we went round
the turn, behind an AV rider. Unfortunately, this rider was playing
"chicken" with the kerb.(kerb=curb, for Americans). He lost - he was
thrown a little sideways and I had to take avoiding action. He stayed
up and I stayed up, but I lost about 10 places in the process. I
managed to maintain my position and ended up about 15th.
I am pleased with the way I rode today - this was a sketchy race!
There was one crash on the home straight which took out a couple of
riders. I managed to take the sketchiness more or less in my stride.
In the past, I would be tempted to ease back and watch things from
the back. This time, I kept my cool and was able to ride to a plan
and get a decent finish despite the last lap incident.
Back to top
|
|
What Ziggy saw:
Category: 3
Result: Crash!
So my race went like this: The race started off fast, I tried to go with a few moves, those didn't work, and there were enough strong legs in the pack that it didn't appear that anything was going to get away, so I decided to sit in. As Richard mentioned, the course was really short, and this made it somewhat difficult to move up.
I spent most of the race fighting for my spot at the front 25% of the pack. With about 15 minutes left, I was making my way up the outside coming into turn three from somewhere in the middle of the pack as I had done more than a few times already. It should be noted that at this turn, the course width gets cut in half to allow traffic to pass.
As I entered the turn, a rider not quite completely in front of me made an adjustment to his line and I adjusted as well so as not to be hit by him, but this put my apex somewhere right in the middle of a barrier, so I put the stoppers on a little bit to correct my line and unfortunately locked up my rear end. I hit the deck and slid for a bit, then rolled a little bit further until I came to a stop just as the last man in the pack passed by. I jumped up unbroken and determined to get back in the pack, but the bike bits were too far gone to be rideable anymore, so with 15 minutes to go, my race was done.
Total damage:
- Broken Carbon Fiber seat rail on Fizik Airione. The titanium sleeve around the CF rail severed the rail right at the end of the sleeve. This is the bit that really sealed the deal for the day. The seat was perched on only one rail. Stupid Carbon Fiber! Good thing it was free.
- Broken left shifter. The breaking of this lever locked up the front brakes which originally made me think that my wheel was out of whack as the wheel wasn't turning round. This lever was already broken once, but I beat it back into shape, so I wasn't too surprised when it didn't work anymore.
- Dented Limar 911 helmet. Pisser. This pissed me off most because I really really liked the friggin' thing. I think I'll try a Catlike next.
- Shredded Stella Azzura bar tape. This pissed me off too as it was only a month old.
- Shredded bib and jersey.
- Small hole in the palm of my racing gloves. The long fingered gloves saved me here. If you don't race crits with long fingered gloves, I highly recommend it.
- Shredded arm and leg.
Back to top
|
