Tour de Ephrata 2009

Tour de Ephrata 4/5 category
Results

I headed up with Tom around noon on Friday so we could run a few loops of the road course that afternoon. Now that was time well spent! It’s a really fun course with a nice mix of terrain and somewhat technical turns/s-turns. Riders sitting mid to rear in the pack were going to get hurt at the tricky sections due to the accordion effect. On Friday, the wind was fairly stiff, but on Saturday the wind was hardly noticeable. The element of wind would definitely have a major impact on this course.

After the recon, Tom and I discussed the various spots to get away. One was at the small climb. If that failed, the second spot was before the little bridge with a technical chicane followed by a short power climb roughly 1.75 miles from the finish. There was one more sharp s-turn a little less than a 1/2 mile before the finish which definitely favors a solo rider or the front riders. I’d imagine that if you’re not in the top 10 going into that turn, you won’t be in the top 10 by the finish.

I had a good plan throughout the week to get me to the line feeling fresh. It worked. My legs felt great for the entire weekend. Honestly, I had put a little pressure on myself. There was no reason why I shouldn’t try to dominate the 4/5 race and win. I really wanted to be active in every race. Make guys hurt, take some chances, ALWAYS stay at the front and go for it.

Road Race (Saturday morning):

I wiggled up to the front within the first 3-4 miles and stayed there. With the yellow line rule and lack of a shoulder, it was hard to move around. BUT, once you got the front (top 10) it was SO easy to stay there.

During the first loop, I just tried to inflict as much pain on the pack as possible by hitting the technical sections pretty darn hard. If you were on the back, it would not be fun. Going up the main climb, a guy drops his chain midway up while sitting relatively close to the front. I think he eventually fell over and took out a bunch of guys. I hit it to the top of the climb and carried it hard another mile or two. I’d guess the pack was cut by a 1/2 after that.

Fast forward coming into the climb on loop two. I made the mistake of getting stuck about 3 rows back going into the climb. Guy’s Racing dude (Calvin) attacked with the help of his teammate at the front. Between the yellow line rule and the front riders collapsing, I couldn’t get to the front until about 2/3 of the way up and proceeded to take off in chase. The tip of the pack caught me after the downhill, but I picked it up after the hard left turn and pulled another two guys off the front with me. We got to within ~5 seconds to Calvin, before the pack caught us. I decided to buy more time. I felt confident I could close the gap after the bridge where I would attack.

Tactical Error #1- I let a rider bridge the small gap up to Calvin when we almost pulled him back. Tactical Error #2- I didn’t see the move as a threat.

The Spinners team had like 6-7 guys still in the pack and they acted like they wanted to chase, but never really did. I watched the 2 riders stretch the lead to around 20-30 seconds. At one point, I lost sight. Tactical Error #3- I should have got the pack excited and started closing the gap getting the front guys involved in bringing it back. Just doing more cheerleading would have probably done it. Maybe not.

Right before the bridge chicane, I attacked with everything I had from about 6 back going up the right fringe. I flew through the tight 4 turns and punched it hard up the power climb after that for about 30 secs before looking back. Nice, gap is big enough that the pack isn’t catching me. Now, chase down these two!

Here's a cool photo of the 1/2/3 race at the bridge chicane with ~1.75 miles to go:





I blew by the rider that had bridged before the final turn. But Calvin was still ~ 8 seconds ahead going into the last ½ mile. Regrettably, I just ran out of real estate to close the gap finishing 5 seconds behind and 8 seconds ahead of the pack. Props to Calvin though. He executed his plan and his team did just enough to help him to stay away. I spoke to him afterward and he said he realized that he needed to drop his companion in that last mile and half if he had any hope of winning.

Power #’s:
Road Race:
Duration: 1:03:28
Work: 1034 kJ
TSS: 100.3 (intensity factor 0.974)
Norm Power: 336
VI: 1.24
Distance: 25.499 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1038 272 watts
Cadence: 34 141 94 rpm
Speed: 2.9 39.3 24.1 mph


Tom and I chilled out and watched the rest of the races that afternoon. After the 1/2/3 race ended, we headed over to the TT course to do some recon. VERY GLAD we did! Great idea, Tom. We pulled the TT bikes out and we rode the flats and practiced taking the turns at speed staying aero. We even practiced the one foot down start. Uh, we drove the climb. It didn’t look too bad from the car!

Pain Mountain Time Trial (Sunday 7:50 a.m.)-

Tom offered up a lot of good insight in prep for this event. I can’t thank him enough. In theory, the plan was fairly simple for me. Hold 325-330w avg (comfortably hard) through the first 4 miles. Keep cadence high (95-105). Start to pick up to the 340w (Hard) range when the climbing starts and carry as much speed as possible through the rollers until I get to the climb. Once at the climb, let it rip and keep the pedals turning. Well, that’s essentially what I did. The only thing I think I would have done a bit different is not hit that first climb quite so hard. For almost 2 minutes I averaged 441w, but for the following 1.75 minute gradual uphill section I was around 325w before a good solid push to the end. Finish time: 24:29. Good enough to win my category. Power wasn’t super great for that duration, but I think there’s something really deceptive about that course. It’s not a course you’re going to set power records on. I think the residual fatigue from the RR really catches up to you when you hit that last mile and half climb.

















Photos courtesy of Linc BrookesOn the flat before the real climb started (immediately before the intersection of Forest and Cocalico roads)

















I also was pleasantly surprised to see how my time stacked up to the 3’s and 4’s. I think it would have been good enough for 7th in ¾ race and 3rd in the 4 race. Since I’m a little on the bigger side, I think that bodes well for me in future courses which won’t have crazy climbs at the end.

I would also add that this TT course is probably the only course where I actually felt like I didn’t leave anything out there. That last mile and half really hurts. I can’t imagine what it would feel like if you went out too hard in the first 4 miles and had to suffer up that beast.

Pain Mt TT:
Duration: 24:24
Work: 492 kJ
TSS: 41.5 (intensity factor 1.01)
Norm Power: 348
VI: 1.04
Distance: 8.007 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 686 336 watts
Cadence: 38 124 97 rpm
Speed: 2.9 36 19.7 mph

1st 4miles to turn up climb:
Duration: 9:09
Work: 180 kJ
TSS: 14.3 (intensity factor 0.968)
Norm Power: 334
VI: 1.02
Distance: 4.015 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 686 328 watts
Cadence: 38 118 104 rpm
Speed: 2.9 33.8 26.3 mph

Middle Section (Interestingly, I was able to sneak in a little bit of recovery here and there on this section at the backside of a few of the rollers):
Duration: 7:01
Work: 135 kJ
TSS: 10.9 (intensity factor 0.964)
Norm Power: 333
VI: 1.04
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 2.446 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 605 321 watts
Cadence: 68 124 102 rpm
Speed: 11.4 36 20.9 mph

Final Climb to Finish:
Duration: 8:04
Work: 175 kJ
TSS: 16 (intensity factor 1.092)
Norm Power: 377
VI: 1.04
Distance: 1.482 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 147 661 362 watts
Cadence: 58 118 84 rpm
Speed: 6.2 21.3 11.0 mph


Crit Race (Sunday, 11:15 a.m.):

I managed to get in a 25-30 minute warm-up prior to the race and the legs felt pretty good. I caught up with Calvin during warm-up and we chatted a bit. TT results hadn’t been posted, but I had a strong feeling I was first. Calvin said he was around 25:40 in the TT. Somehow, he got some information that he was second at the TT so that meant this crit was for all the marbles between him and me.

I decided to stick to my plan by being active, stay at the front and make the race as hard as possible for guys wanting to sit in. I really didn’t want to win by sitting in. Plus, I think overall that I race better when I’m pushing it. I don’t know. I think it gets my adrenaline flowing. I loved this course. You could fly through the corners as long as you were on the front. After a couple of laps in, I just started hitting it. Without too much effort, I was off the front for 4-5 laps solo. After that, I just stayed within the top 3 or 4 coming to the front to punch it hard through some of the technical sections where I knew the accordion effect would be the greatest. About 2/3 through the race, I noticed Calvin was just sitting on my wheel with the field well strung out.























Here's the shot with 1 to go:









My thought process was this. With two to go, I was going to up the pace again and see if Calvin would stick on my wheel. If he did, I was hoping the two of us could rotate a few pulls and have the finish come down to just us two with the field well behind. Coming down the stretch with one to go, we had a good enough gap on the field to go mano-e-mano, but he wasn’t about to pull through and do any work. For some reason, I just kept stomping on it. I thought he was going to try and jump after turn two, but he didn’t. I hit it pretty hard to come barreling through turn 3. He jumped right before turn 4 and gapped me. I should have known better. I couldn’t close it down that fast finish stretch and ended up second.

Tactical error: I was talking to Tom after the race wondering what I could have done different. He brought up a good point. I should have let the field catch back on and tried to get someone between my wheel and his. If we could have got mixed up in the front of the pack, I think I could have gotten away. Either mark Calvin if he goes, or go when/if he was boxed in. Oh well, good learning experience overall. I’m actually glad Calvin was there to make it exciting. We exchanged pleasantries afterward. Good guy and I hope to see him do well in the future.

Power #’s:
Ephrata Crit:
Duration: 25:37
Work: 485 kJ
TSS: 46.3 (intensity factor 1.041)
Norm Power: 359
VI: 1.14
Distance: 10.683 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1143 316 watts
Cadence: 53 141 99 rpm
Speed: 6.5 33.1 25.1 mph


So, that’s a wrap. I finished 2nd in the GC. I got some great racing in. Gained some valuable experience and had a great time traveling with Tom. I definitely look forward to doing this race again next year. Fun weekend!

Syn-Fit & Dolan races

Wow. Crazy weekend. It was great to meet more of the crew at the races. Obviously, I don't really have a lot to add about the SynFit M35 4/5 race, other than one little story. An ABRT guy parked next to me at Dolan and I had just finished putting the WWVC kit on. He got out of the car and said, "So, how many of you guys are racing the 4/5?" I laughed and said, "Just two." We got to talking and he said he was 4th at Synfit 35 4/5. He thought our team tactics were played out extremely well to get our guy the win.

As far as my other races went, I was fairly pleased. My final positioning for the Synfit 5 and Dolan 4/5 were pretty crappy. I guess I'm a little lucky I can make up for my inferior tactical skills with some decent legs, but I can't get away with that forever. The other interesting thing I learned this weekend is that my perception of what I think happened can be far different from someone else. For instance, at SynFit, I thought I came through the final turn top 6-10. Nope, Chris G told me I was like 15+. I thought I crossed line in 2nd. Nope, result said 3rd. I thought I managed to squeak all the way up to around 4 or 5th at Dolan. Nope, Dave broke the news, 6th. I guess recounting cycling races is fair game for a little embellishment from time to time. Sort of like the 14 pound Bass I caught fishing when I was Fifteen. I think it was really 8 at the time, but it has grown throughout the years.

Although I was bummed not to have my 808 PT for the SynFit 35 4/5 due to Zipp rim strip tape puncturing through at several spoke holes, I'm really happy to find this landmine now versus during the Ephrata race next weekend. I went to Conte's on the way home and they said they had never seen that happen and warrantied the rim tape. I don't know. I'm going to keep a close eye on that. May switch to a cloth based rim tape.


I seriously can't wait to upgrade, but from the sounds of it the 4's aren't much better. I witnessed some unbelievably crappy bike handling skills this weekend. Dan took some of the brunt from one of the events. And what's up with all of the stupid f-ing morons who shout from the back all sorts of crap like, "Why are you slowing? Come on, Let's go". "Hold your line! (as they know what a line is)" Please tell me this isn't as pervasive in the 3 or 4's?

Really the highlight of the weekend was working a race as a team. So few teams really get it, but those that do, can really wreck havoc on a race. It was very enjoyable. Since I don't have time to tell you myself how it went down, I'm pasting up a report from Rich on the team who won the race. Way to close, Rich!

Rich's Rpt (Syn-Fit 35+ 4/5):

Today was one great day to be a Whole Wheeler. Gus, Peter, Tom and I did more than win this race, Whole Wheel dominated every aspect of it.

The four of us talked before the race, I think Gus, Tom and Peter had been talking cause all I heard was "Rich, how's your sprint?". I said "good", so Gus told me "your job is to do no work, when the time comes, Tom will come and get you and you will sprint." OK ? Tom was more specific, he said to look for him with 8 laps to go.

So I spent most of the race stretching even Chris Hall's definition of "no work", Tom went off the front with 11 laps to go and stayed there for four laps, winning the Prime in the process. I got a little nervous since I had "8 laps" warning in my head. I talked to Peter who started moving us up to the front. The peleton brought Tom back with 7 to go, but he was on the wrong side, so I stuck to Pete. With 5 to go I saw Tom again, up front, but again on the wrong side. Finally with four to go, I found Tom's wheel and let Pete know we were back on plan.

With four laps to go we were lined up. Gus, Pete, Tom then me. With three to go, Gus pulled the train out of the station right on the front. Tucked in behind Peter and Tom, I wasn't feeling it, but I noticed fewer and fewer guys around me. Gus nailed it for 3/4 of a lap and dropped off, Pete took over with one to go and really started turning the screws. A Colavita racer had snuck into our train behind Peter, in front of Tom, but once Peter started dishing out the hurt, he could not hang, but Pete kept going. Tom and I had to call out to get him to let up a bit. Tom pulled around and got on Peter's wheel screaming "go, go!".

I had serious doubts about my ability to hold onto these two guys, but it was clear we could win if we could hold it together. Peter drilled it from the start/finish line for half a lap and Tom took over to continue to hard pace. Just before the last turn I looked back, and we had a 10 meter gap on the peleton. We rounded the last corner and Tom gave it a last couple turns and shouted "go, go" right as I kicked it. It was all adrenalin and anaerobic pain from there until the finish. I was terrified of blowing the great leadout and set new :03 -
:15 wattage records (I didn't really have to jump, since no one was on my wheel)

I am proud of our team, in awe of the abilities of my teammates and feeling very guilty about being the guy who actually won, since I think I did the least amount of work. Tom and Peter probably could have gone top ten all on there own, but sacrificed their own results to guarantee a Whole Wheel result. that is what is so great about being a Whole Wheeler. It really was a thing of beauty to have a set strategy and execute better than we could have expected. I'm psyched to get Peter upgraded to CAT 4 so we can start working it on a regular basis.

If we are doing race results and "domestique" points this year, I nominate Gus, Peter and Tom for this one.

Found my Team

I’m pretty excited about joining up with the Whole Wheel Velo Club cycling team.   It’s a smaller team with a lot of strong riders and great team camaraderie, which suits me well.  Everyone I’ve met so far has been great.  I’m looking forward to expanding my knowledge about bike racing and helping the team be successful this year.  Although it’s great to do well yourself, I’m pretty sure I’ll get a lot of satisfaction doing my part whether it be going for a win or helping a teammate win a bike race.  It’s been awhile since I’ve played a team sport, so that in and of itself is pretty exciting for me.   I’ve got my first races this weekend wearing the team kit.  Pretty stoked.

 

Flanders and misc thoughts

I parked myself in front of the TV to watch Tour of Flanders on VS yesterday along with a six pack to compliment the fun weekend.   I love watching those one day races where everyone is putting it on the line.  It was also cool to see the team tactics of Quickstep.  I’m starting to gain a little more appreciation of tactics as I watch these races - now that I’m doing some racing myself.   Devolder’s final attack was brilliant.  Quickstep owned that race.

 

As I was driving home from Walkersville, I was randomly throwing out thoughts to Igda.  Something hit me and it had to do with racing triathlons (and I guess Duathlon as well) vs bike racing.   I’m not sure I’ll be able to describe precisely my meaning here, but I’ll give it shot.  Essentially, why I’m drawn to both sports right now.

 

In triathlon, it’s really a race against yourself.  What I mean by that is this.  It begins with your training.  You swim, bike and run a lot.  After countless laps in the pool, you have a pretty good idea within a few minutes of what you’ll be to do at a given distance/race.  If you train with power on the bike, you also build a pretty firm idea of the effort level/pacing strategy for a given distance and still be able to throw in a solid run afterward.  The run becomes sort of a mystery during the race because if you have screwed up on the other two or nutrition becomes an issue, the run can either be miserable or totally dialed in.  Again, pacing and knowing your abilities is key.  In every event, there’s a target to shoot for which results in the overall time.   Everyone gets to it in a variety ways, i.e. everyone has their strong event.  Some are lucky enough to really excel in all three, but most have their one or two go to plays during a race which can make the race unfold in variety of ways.   Setting skill aside (especially the swim), the winner is generally the one with highest Lactate Threshold.  They can simply go harder and faster than everyone else for an extended period of time without blowing up.  I know I’ve put this in pretty simplistic terms which doesn’t really give the time needed to excel in triathlon justice, but that’s not my real point.  Stepping away from triathlon for a bit has enabled me to see more clearly why I do like the sport and got hooked on it in the first place.   

 

I can’t count the times I’ve studied the previous results for a race.  You build a very firm idea of what you’ll need to achieve in each leg to put yourself in contention, whether it be Age Group or Overall.   Goals are set during training and before the race.  It’s mano-e-mano.  When you toe the line, there’s nowhere to hide.  Just good old fashioned hard work and the will to push yourself extremely hard.  It’s very Darwinian.  The weak are left behind and the strong survive.   I like this about the sport.   Of course, this can also be said of cycling.  It just takes longer for the weeding out process to work its way out.

 

In cycling, one sport to focus one.  And honestly, it’s really not that complicated to train for especially when you don’t have to make 5:30 a.m. swims and log a bunch of running in throughout the week.   The main reason I put tris on the backburner this year was to free up some of my time, both at home and work.  I’m hoping to make things as simple as possible.  Plus, I really like riding and it’s probably my best event out of the three.   In my limited time racing bikes, it has become evident that personal tactics and team tactics play a huge role in the outcome of race.  I like that.  It’s been a long time since I’ve played a team sport.  Although I’m not on a team, yet, I can imagine that the drive to push yourself to support a team member or just flat out punishing yourself to your job for the team can be extremely fulfilling whether you win or lose.  Again, I like that added dimension.  Right now, I’m really just focused on building bike fitness.  I enjoy seeing how hard I can push myself.  Plus, I think I realized early on that in a cat 5 race, you’re not really helping yourself become a stronger cyclist by sitting in the pack.   Granted, when I do upgrade, I’m sure there will be races where sitting in will be a struggle at times.   But to me, I think I’d rather save the money and go noodle around on my own.  Bottom line, it’s just fun to be on the bike a lot right now.  I also enjoy lining up at the starting line wondering, “ok, how’s this race going to go down?”  It’s always evolving and fluid somewhat unlike a triathlon unless some unknown shows up.  I will admit, I’m looking forward to doing some TT’s this year.  That will be a new experience since I don’t have to throw a swim in front of it or worry about running afterward!

 

 

 

 

 

Tysons Crit Cat 5

The plan today was to get in a hard 30 minute above threshold workout. I wanted to see how the legs would respond after yesterday. So, that means attacking...attacking, until I can't anymore. The temperature was perfect. I love that course. NCVC puts on a solid race.

It was good to finally meet Grayson (Bikerack) at the end of the first loop. I just started doing work the second time up the finish climb. Not much really to report. I spent about 14 minutes total off the front in two different stretches (28min race). I tried to save a little bit for the end, but just didn't have any pop left in the legs for the sprint. I took 5th.

I was pleased with the effort. I'm looking forward to getting on the TT bike a few times this week.

Race:
Duration: 28:11
Work: 519 kJ
TSS: 61.7 (intensity factor 1.146)
Norm Power: 384
VI: 1.25
Distance: 11.158 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 928 307 watts
Cadence: 44 141 92 rpm
Speed: 6.5 37.4 23.8 mph
Pace 1:36 9:12 2:32 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 392 94 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 958 288 lb-in

Igda made me an awesome brunch when I got home. I think I need to pick up the mileage. She's getting to be a pretty darn good chef.





Almost forgot. I stayed and watched the 3 race and some of the 4. That guy who soloed for the win in the 3 race was a freakin beast. Impressive display.

Tour of Walkersville 2009… Never underestimate the laziness of the Pack

Before I forget about all of the pain and excitement of the day, I thought I would do a quick brain dump before dinner. Lots of stuff rattling around in my head after today.

Igda and Leo joined me today on the Walkersville trip. It’s just too bad the race course is so far from the school parking lot and registration. Igda and Leo just ended up goofing around and they witnessed zero of the race. Leo did make a new girlfriend, Zoe, today. He wouldn’t stop talking about her the whole way home.







Nice Pic of a Huge USA Flag at Full Mast (yep, it was windy and the gusts were certainly a kick in the pants from time to time).

Me in my horrific looking kit. Igda made fun of me the whole way home.










On to the race (4 loops - 10 miles per loops/ rolling terrain). M35+ 4/5 – ABRT had things very well organized. Goal: 2nd bike race. Work my ass off and build some fitness.

Lap 1: A yawner. Warm-up lap.

Lap 2: WTF…I decide to attack into the wind on DeVilbiss just before the rollers. Nobody’s playing. Very shortly after drifting back I go off the front again. One guy comes (Coppi). Better, but I was hoping for 5-6 guys wanting to work a break. Begin the drift back. A little foggy here, but I remember just sort of hanging off the front when Tom (WWVC) comes up pretty hard. He’s got some juice. I decide to try and reel him in since I was still slightly off the front. I wasn’t totally committed to catch up to Tom until I saw Coppi and a DCVelo (??) on my wheel.

Photos courtesy of Amy Jones Ok, 4 is better than 2. Decent representation, but honestly, I didn’t really look to see who all the big teams in the race were. Game on.

We were working pretty well together at first. Everyone was working hard. I could see Tom was very strong. Coppi was pulling hard. DCVelo eventually had to start missing pulls, but in his defense, he was the smallest rider in the bunch and the wind was punishing. I think Moto Ref said 40 second lead going into Lap 3. It sounded like the field was splitting up since he said a chase group was ~35 seconds.

Lap 3: Toward the end of lap 2, our break’s rhythm started getting really screwed up. Pulls started being missed by Coppi & DCVelo. Ok, I’m new and all to bike racing but this started making it really difficult to maintain rhythm when you have to keep looking back wondering if someone is pulling through or not. A lot of wasted energy closing down gaps. About halfway through lap 3, Tom and I dropped Coppi & DCVelo. We slowed and had time to chat about what next? Tom had the perfect plan (especially now in hindsight!), but I was just too stupid to follow it. We had to slow. We needed Coppi & DcVelo as long as they could hold on. At the end of the Devilbiss stair steps, we would hit it hard and go by ourselves. We just kept rolling. Not sure about time split, but it had come down to ~20 seconds.


Lap 4: We grind away into the wind on Devilbiss. The Chase is about 7-10 seconds behind us as we approach the point where Tom mentioned to drop the hammer. I remember saying to Tom, “Well, it looks like we’ll be caught.” Stupid me, I rationalize that there’s no way we are going to hold off the pack until the end, so I decide to sit up and join the chase group. HUGE MISTAKE! Little did I know, but Tom had two WWVC teammates doing a brilliant job riding tempo and blocking ALL THE WAY TO THE FINISH. I would estimate that the group that caught us consisted of about 20-25 riders at the most. One rider bridged up to Tom, but I was stuck mid-pack when he went. I’m kicking myself for not at least attempting to bridge back up to Tom. I'm not sure I would have made it, but I regret not trying. Live and Learn. As for my finish, I just decided to launch off the front at about 400m and just grind it to the line. Yep, I was rolled by the pack, putting me at 16th on the day. Heck of a fun day! I’m very happy with the power #’s as the building continues. Everything is on track.

Winners in front of the chase at about ~8-10 seconds I think (Tom held on for 2nd and I witnessed lesson on how to attack the break at the right moment):













Pack finish:













Gus (WWVC) said the best line afterward when I was talking to their team after the race, “Never underestimate the laziness of the pack.” Hat’s off to the WWVC team and Tom for a stellar performance and actually racing with a strategy. They definitely peaked my interest if/when I make the commitment to bike racing in the next few months.

I just ran across this news video coverage: Tour of Walkersville