TMonk

San Dimas Stage Race Report: meh

TT - 32/49 riders on a 19:24 climb. I took a minute off my time last year and PR'd my power for the duration which is great, so I'm super happy with my ride. I paced it conservatively keeping it around 305 for the first half and just pushed up from there. Wasn't suffering til the final few minutes so I could have started harder!

The start list was smaller this year with much less 20+ minute rides, so they quite literally trimmed the fat off the field. The same time last year would have been top ~45th percentile. To give an idea of the relative level of talent in the race - My 32/49 place in the all uphill TT was from a 316 w ~20 min effort at 145 lbs! At any rate I've never been a big threshold engine and my talents are VO2 power, over/under recovery efforts and a decent sprint.

RR - 20/49. I lament not being more aggressive in the race. I never felt super comfortable in the field but I was admittedly playing it conservative as in past years it's been difficult to just finish with the field, but this year I finished with plenty of gas in the tank. I was focused and ready to surf wheels to the front for a sprint but I was too far back when a rider launched from ~1k out (a teammate) and he gapped the field with another rider almost immediately. There was already two up the road from a break so I mostly coasted in.

People were getting dropped after heckler's hill every lap and the finishing group was less than half of the field, but I was never in any real difficulty. I guess I need to be more confident!

Crit - near last/49 - Never felt comfortable in the race and I had awful RD problems the whole time. Skipping, clicking, late shifts etc. Maybe I put the wheel in the dropout incorrectly? That's what I get for not checking the shifting after my trainer warmup (used a different rear wheel). A teammate (who got fourth the day before) went "full send" a lap out which worked for him last year in the 3's but not this time. He got like 10th.

Overall it was a bit of a dissapointing weekend, and between the last 5 races I've done I'm in a bit of a slump results-wise. My fitness is there though. Also, much of my results so far were from smaller fields (or breakaways) where I didn't need to be as tenacious in the final lap.

For the next three weeks I will be hyper focused on training, nutrition and recovery so I can be super prepared for my last 4 (planned) races. Still need 6 points. I don't need any more fitness, but I still want to be as sharp as possible and ready for anything the next few times I line up!