I will readily admit, I was pretty excited about my chances of doing really well at TofW. I think a stage race format suits me fairly well especially since this race was going to be based on time and it included an individual time trial.
During the week leading up to the race, we had some interesting discussions within the team. Like most teams, we started the process of identifying our roles, laying out strategy and establishing a battle plan for the weekend.
I’m going to regress for a bit here, but one of the primary reasons I joined WWVC was that the underlying philosophy of our racing strategy generally always puts an emphasis on team over individual accomplishments. Plus, I really liked the guys I had met and enjoyed racing with them. There’s one interesting dynamic to racing as a team which I hadn’t really given much thought to before TofW. It involves putting ego and ambitions aside to view the big picture for what we want to accomplish. I tend to think that many people and teams place a big emphasis on personal results. Heck, the way things are setup for upgrading, it basically drives this home. No fault of anyone really, but the system doesn’t always reward those team members who day in and day sacrifice themselves so others get the glory. It takes a lot for someone to risk blowing up during a race in order to set the chess pieces in place for a possible victory for the team at the line. Quite honestly, I don’t see this all that much. But the teams that do well always appear to sacrifice. Similar to DC Velo at RSR where I think 3 or 4 guys came in DFL. Those guys gave it their all to keep the pace hot and heavy. Personal results didn’t matter. You won’t see that in the results, but if you are watching someone sacrifice like that in a race it’s so cool to see. It’s motivation to do well. It commands total respect. Maybe even more than actually watching the finishing sprint. You don’t see a lot of books or literature tailored to this unselfish attribute. It’s generally all about how “you” can win.
Well to make a long story short, I believe we grew as a team throughout our preparation and racing at TofW. Sure, it took us a bit to get there, but in the end, all of the discussion eventually led back to the interest of the team. It was healthy for us. Everyone laid out their expectations and what they were willing to sacrifice to put the team first. That’s all that mattered.
For the first time, I was designated as the “main effort” to win GC. I’ll admit, I was a little nervous going in. There’s a bit more weight to carry when you know everyone is sacrificing so you can do well. I knew I had the fitness to do well. I just needed to command the confidence within myself to do it.
Saturday’s Road Race:
I have to give General Gus a lot of credit. He called how this race was going to go down to a tee. He did an admirable job making sure it happened as well. We expected the field to whittle down with about 15-20 guys going to the line. We had a good idea BikeRack had similar ambitions. My only interest was making sure nobody got any time gaps other than finishing time bonuses. I was pretty confident I could take back any time bonuses plus some during the time trial. My main objective was to make sure I finished with the lead group and not spend any energy unnecessarily. With Gus, Chris and Ryan all contributing at the front, I really didn’t have anything to worry about. A break wasn’t going to get away. As planned, I rolled across the line 7th in the RR, losing a few seconds + some time bonuses to the top 3. No biggie. Race #1 over and we’re positioned right where we wanted to be. My legs felt really good afterward.
Sunday morning TT:
I slept like crap. I could not stop thinking about the TT. I’ll admit, knowing when it’s your time to shine puts a little more weight on the mind. I tried to stay positive and focus on what I know I can do versus worrying about the competition. I knew there were a couple guys who can ride a TT well, but I just needed to focus on what I could control.
When I started my warm-up, I knew it was a good day. My legs were fine. I worked on mentally pumping myself beforehand. No pressure. This was just another training day. Do what you know you can do. Heck, before I knew it, I was lined up and getting ready to go.
I knew going out was going to be faster with the wind so I dialed it back a bit, but still pushed pretty hard up the rollers. I wasn’t sure how bad the wind would be coming back and I didn’t want to risk a blow up since that would be more costly than trying to make early time with the wind.
My estimate to the turnaround:
Duration: 14:09
Work: 271 kJ
TSS: 21.7 (intensity factor 0.959)
Norm Power: 331
VI: 1.04
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 6.241 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 833 319 watts
Cadence: 36 118 101 rpm
Speed: 10.3 39.5 26.4 mph
Turnaround to finish:
Duration: 13:26
Work: 267 kJ
TSS: 21.4 (intensity factor 0.978)
Norm Power: 337
VI: 1.02
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 5.825 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 716 331 watts
Cadence: 62 116 97 rpm
Speed: 11.4 36.7 26.0 mph
My last minute and a half was right at 400w avg, so I think I may have left a little out there, but all in all it was a good effort and I was pleased with it. The finish came a little quicker than I expected. I forgot the finish line was before the start. Finishing time: 27:34. Good enough for first, and more importantly, I took some big time on the primary GC threats. After a little warm down, I was happy to feel like my legs were in good shape. Race #2 over and I’m exactly where I planned to be.
Sunday Noon Crit:
ONE WORD – “DRAMA”!!! And it was all totally self-induced!
I had a pretty good idea after speaking with the other top GC guys that I was most likely in the lead. By exactly how much was a little unknown until about ~10-15 minutes before the start of the crit. When I finally had a chance to sneak a peek, I saw that Stu (ABRT) was in second and he was going to have to get every time bonus and win the crit to beat me. It was a pretty good feeling but I knew I still needed to be attentive throughout the race.
Maybe it was a sign of foreshadowing, but as I was setting up at the WWVC tent, the older gentleman living at the house came out and we chatted. He told me about 5 times as he pointed to the last corner, “There were a lot of wrecks last year at the corner.” Yeah, Yeah, I get it. Gus also repeated *warnings* about that damn corner and recounted the Bracken finish last year. Little did I know then that the WWVC curse was waiting to rear its ugly head.
The plan was pretty simple as Gus and I chatted. Stay near the front the entire race. Stay out of trouble! Cool. No problem. I didn’t need to contest any of the bonus points throughout so I bowed out of the BikeRack rampage for those. I was happy to see them gobbling them up. Kudos to Tim Brown for his aggressive racing and win. I could see Stu was working hard to grab those as well, so props to you to Stu.
Gus did a great job of keeping me on the ledge as we rolled by each other during the race. “Stay cool. You’re right where you need to be, etc.” He even chastised me for even thinking about bridging up to a small group. All in all, I pretty much made the race as boring for myself as possible. At least that’s what it felt like. I never really got too concerned since the pace was fairly tame. Gus and Chris did a great job at the beginning to help set the tempo of the race.
Great, the final lap. All I need to do is cross the line. I believe I was sitting around 5th wheel or so going into the last corner. And then the unthinkable happened. I slid out. As you’d expect, it all happened so fast that I don’t remember exactly how it played out. I’d been pretty happy taking that corner a little wide and on the outside for 27 times. I remember feeling like I was ready to push down on the pedal to accelerate and then whamo. I’m on the ground. It actually felt like my rear wheel slid out. One NCVC guy behind me pretty much fell on top of me. I spoke to him afterward and naturally apologized. He came through unscathed which was good. The thoughts and emotions running through my mind at that point were pretty much indescribable. It was a mix of “this isn’t really happening” and “F—k, get on your bike and get across that line!” Unbelievable. I tried jumping on the bike but the chain was all twisted so I had to get that back on. The rear wheel was out of true, but it finally started rolling. Those final last yards felt like an eternity. I was embarrassed, sad and absolutely ripping myself up for the stupidity. I let the team down. I let myself down. It was about the worst I’d ever felt in a sporting competition.
At first I thought I’d blown the GC lead. The ever level headed Gus began talking me off the ledge. Once he spoke to the officials, they said that under the Stage Race rules I was scored as the “same time” as the pack. Holy crap. Talk about running the gauntlet of emotions!
In the end, I held on to win the GC over Stu (13 seconds back). Damn, what a day. I never want to go through that again.
Gus, Chris & Ryan – Thank you all for your hard work and towing the line! Gus, you were a phenomenal DS and congrats on your 8th GC place. Chris, you were a rock out there and I enjoyed our time together. Ryan, it meant a lot to me that you braved through the Saturday race and didn’t give up. Having you there for support is what counted. Forgive me for the dramatic ending, but I wouldn’t be at the top without you guys. Thanks again!
