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2019 racing stories!

Old 03-12-19, 10:21 AM
  #101  
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Tour de Murrieta last weekend. I raced the 2/3, hoping for a better shot at a result. Unfortunately I was fighting off the start of a cold and felt feverish on Friday (though no respiratory symptoms oddly enough). Started the crit feeling alright, but after following a couple moves realized I that the legs were not turning over. Bridged up to a break with some strong guys, including teammate @TMonk (who was riding strong af all weekend, all those miles have been paying off!). Recovered for half a lap, took a pull into the headwind, took the two lefts back onto the start/finish stretch, and then got dropped on the tailwind section D: Note to self, don't get dropped from a break with a teammate! Even if it means getting yelled at and skipping pulls!

Anyway, that group ended up getting caught. Coming through 4 to go, there was a group of 2 off the front with a decent gap, so I got to the front and chased at a steady vo2max pace as aero as I could get and slowly reeled them back in. Then, as I'm slotting back into the pack, there's a big crash behind me. When we roll back through the line the officials stop us with 2 to go. We sat there for about 5 minutes and they restarted us at 3 to go. This kills the legs. I wasn't able to get back up to a good position, got caught behind a last lap crash, and our sprinter got 6th.

Felt a little better for the circuit race. Rode front 5 wheels for the first 10-15 minutes and then realized that I was not feeling good enough for that, so I fell back a bit to recover. @TMonk, along with a couple of other teammates, was covering moves really well and riding super aggressively with counter attacks. Got back up towards the front in the 2nd half and started countering some moves as much as my recovery would let me. Tried to counter once and the field stuck on my wheel, so I moved over to the right side of the road like I was giving up, waited a couple seconds, and went again with the sneaky self-counter. Got a gap and one strong junior bridged up to me. We worked together, but he was way stronger than me and I had to skip half my pulls, but still tried my best to make it work. We had about a 20 second gap at one point, coming into 2 laps to go, but got caught after half a lap off the front. Tried and failed to get in front of my sprinter for the finale, he was cramping a bit and ended up 15th.

I'm glad I was able to make some moves despite feeling pretty bad. My volume has been really low this past 5-6 weeks. I need to ramp it up now that the rain is over. Really really impressed with @TMonk's fitness right now. You should be a 2 really really soon at this rate. And a strong one at that.

Head down, chase mode, from a video one of the jr. dads took (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E48JVa1XWU):

The break I thought was going to work @ 1:40

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Old 03-12-19, 10:47 PM
  #102  
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I have NSG TTs coming up in June, a 5K and a 10K. So for this weekend’s 20K TT, the idea was to go out at a 10K pace and to wing it from there.

I had a choice of two TTs on Sunday- Fiesta Island or Piru. Fiesta, being a flat course, suited my purposes better. But I wound up sticking close to home and racing Piru instead.

That meant the game plan was to go out at 108% on the outbound downhill tailwind leg. Which I managed to do. I hoped to hang on to something in the 103-105% range on the return uphill headwind leg. Alas it was not to be. 99% was all I could manage. The return leg was no fun.

Pretty terrible time, riding the splits that way was definitely the completely wrong way to do it from an optimal 20K TT perspective. Nonetheless: mission accomplished and I was happy with it. Oh yeah and I managed to win by 15 seconds, which wasn’t the point but I’ll take it.

Also, I volunteered at the 40K the day prior and got to see two frequent racing rivals in action. Very interesting to see position and each’s discipline in staying in position and relating that to results/performance.
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Old 03-13-19, 05:35 AM
  #103  
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^^ Yeah, it will come back @wktmeow
^ Nice work @Heathpack!

More cat 5 crit action: I did the Randall's Island Cat 4/5 race Tuesday night. The start was neutral, and then strung out over the first lap. I missed a smallish break ~4 riders on the backside of the first lap with a racer I knew I had to mark. This exposed me to the wind, and I had to work solo for the middle of the race. That little break guys dropped a teammate. I worked to catch him. Eventually, we worked together and caught a few riders. That was a good outcome. I got lapped by the leader. He is an A-rider in Russia, but doesn't have a history here. I lapped a bunch of guys, which was sort of annoying because they stopped racing and started soft-pedalling to pick up their point. Boo!

Overall, a good race. I finished in the middle of 24 racers. I need to get my body to adapt. Between this and the other two crits, all are pretty close to a full-blown effort. I want the races to more relaxed, so the non-race efforts need to become more intense. I should probably join a team just to be able to ride with the faster riders.

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Old 03-13-19, 07:35 AM
  #104  
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Originally Posted by TimmyT
Overall, a good race. I finished in the middle of 24 racers. I need to get my body to adapt. Between this and the other two crits, all are pretty close to a full-blown effort. I want the races to more relaxed, so the non-race efforts need to become more intense. I should probably join a team just to be able to ride with the faster riders.
I think most all of my crits up until I was a decent cat 1 were full-blown efforts. Non-local crits pretty much still are.

It never gets easier...

But yes, riding with faster riders can help a lot with being efficient, which is a huge plus. Once you start getting comfortable while hurting, you can start thinking even more about being efficient and saving energy as much as possible.
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Old 03-13-19, 09:27 AM
  #105  
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Originally Posted by rubiksoval
I think most all of my crits up until I was a decent cat 1 were full-blown efforts. Non-local crits pretty much still are.

... you can start thinking even more about being efficient and saving energy as much as possible.
Thanks, that's good to hear. I did notice that I was able to think a lot better while suffering last night as opposed to Saturday ... easier to find shelter, hold a line along the edge, corner etc.
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Old 03-13-19, 01:20 PM
  #106  
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Uneventful Tour de Murrieta for me. Cat 2/3 combined both days.

Short Version: I attacked and it didn't work (neither did anything else)
Long version: (see below)

Saturday - Criterium
Went OTF a couple laps in and stayed there for a couple. A group of three including a pro triathlete bridged up, sweet. But it didn't last. With some confusion on the front a couple laps later a bigger group of 7-8 formed including teammate @wktmeow, two strong SC Velo dudes and me. Theoretically it had the right mix to stick but it just didn't. The break was a little too big for it's own good and things were disjointed, surgey and just not consistently fast and smooth. Plus the field was hungry. I think it lasted maybe 5 laps.

I had legs for more but I nearly missed no less than THREE crashes in subsequent laps. WTF! The last one happened near my left after corner one and I thought it was gonna take me out. That's when I checked out and decided to save it for another day, "screw this" I thought. Plus it was 4 to go and they had to stop the field for 5 min to clear injured riders. I chose to tailgun the rest of the race. There was a moment where I thought about going again if I could get a free ride up towards the front on the long S/F straight, but it was a no-go.

Sunday - Circuit
Also went OTF a few times. Mainly covered moves for the first half and then tried to go myself the second half. On one of my attempts local TT stud Greg reeled me in - we laughed about it after the race but hey no hard feelings, that's racing! Plus his sprinter teammate won.

I had weird feelings about this race. My teammates set up some good attacks too that I was planning on countering, but it just wasn't hard enough when we caught up to them! Like I wanted it to stay hard until we got there, then launch, but it would ease up. I want to go when it's already hard to weed things out. Maybe next time I just need to go sooner, and motor straight passed my teammate when it becomes apparent the move is doomed. Plus, it would make things interesting for them and potentially benefit me! Lesson learned.

It got all slow, swarmy and bunchy in the last few corners so I dipped out. I think with two to go they went through like 4 riders wide, WTF is that! This is supposed to be fast! I shy away from those scenarios a bit even though I have a good enough sprint. I just want things to be faster and I tend to do better when the pace or course is more selective.

All in all it was a good weekend of hard racing. Bummer that I didn't get any points, but I didn't go into it with pressure to do well, I just wanted to race in the faster field and set up some teammates. I'm not used to having this level of fitness and so I think I need to learn to attack a little more strategically and effectively. I think I did a great job of covering and responding to attacks - I just need to get used to attacking myself some more! Definitely ready for a higher level of speed. Finished both days with gas in the tank so next time I will go harder and smarter.
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Old 03-13-19, 07:28 PM
  #107  
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I just registered Daniel for the open (P123 whatever) ITT, the Collegiate A crit, the Collegiate A RR. I think he has about 100 road miles on him since Nov. He has been doing all weight training. He is up 20lbs from last year, mostly due the weights. Same height he raced at 130lbs in 2015, now he is 165lbs.
I was going to go, I can't watch, I expect him to get dropped like a rock in the RR. Front Range Classic is among the best courses in the country for a RR. It was the 1988 Worlds on the USAFA.
This is a travel worthy course, but so few show up. Maybe it is too hard. Maybe if someone put up real money.

Next year, I want you to all come out, stay at our place (got a 1,500sq ft room you can stay in) and race.
Let me know if you are up for that.
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Old 03-14-19, 07:31 PM
  #108  
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https://www.facebook.com/Front-Range...-262901331767/
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Old 03-16-19, 10:50 PM
  #109  
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Winchester Circuit Race p1/2 - we won.

New-ish local race, way out past Sacramento. Hilly circuit course around a fancy neighborhood. Hadn't done it before, but a teammate was going and I didn't have anything better to do (even though it was a ~3 hour drive each way..)

Field of 30 dropped a bunch of guys pretty early, narrowed down to 20 or so. At the end of the 3rd (of 6) laps, a little move went up the finish hill, my teammate went with it along with a few others, and I played anchor behind (which I regret now, only in the sense of not making the front group, even though the was a perfect course for him and he's stronger than me anyway).

A group of six or so bridged up to my chase group of four, and we didn't really go hard for a few laps - everyone was tired. I animated it a bit on the last lap, trying to drop people. There was a sprinter in the group that has beat me, but his form hasn't been great and I wasn't sure how his climbing was. After a big downhill leading to an uphill where Sprinter was on the front, I attacked hard and got a big gap and held it to the line for 8th. Was surprised when I looked back a few times and the group behind me were barely visible. It was a one mile attack, a lot longer than my usual solo efforts that last one minute at most.

Teammate "man-handled" the front group, as one rider put it, and rode away from them for the win. Love it.

Driving back out there tomorrow for a crit!
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Old 03-17-19, 11:44 AM
  #110  
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Originally Posted by mattm

Driving back out there tomorrow for a crit!
With a three hr drive each way??? Yikes. You guys didn't want to just slum it in a motel somewhere?

Also good luck!!
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Old 03-17-19, 10:39 PM
  #111  
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Originally Posted by TMonk
With a three hr drive each way??? Yikes. You guys didn't want to just slum it in a motel somewhere?
With better traffic this morning it was only two hours on the way out.. but I have a kitty to feed at home, and it wasn't worth it to get our cat sitter to come over, so yeah I just drove both days. Life of an amateur bike racer..

Today was good, same teammate won again. He's unstoppable! (he slummed it in a fancy sprinter van overnight, maybe that's the secret??)

The crit course today was different than most - started on a short ~6% climb, a few turns (including some busted-up pavement on a bridge), then a STEEP downhill in to a tight corner.. exciting! Actually I didn't like the corner.. of course in a warmup lap you hit it with ease, but in the race it was hard (for me anyway) to find the right line and not feel like I was gonna die and/or hit the hay bails/exposed concrete wall on the outside. Maybe I'm just getting old and scared.

Out of a field of ~30 there was a break of five, my chase group of four, and scattered groups behind us. Finished 7th on the day.
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Old 03-17-19, 11:30 PM
  #112  
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Originally Posted by mattm
With better traffic this morning it was only two hours on the way out.. but I have a kitty to feed at home, and it wasn't worth it to get our cat sitter to come over, so yeah I just drove both days. Life of an amateur bike racer..

Today was good, same teammate won again. He's unstoppable! (he slummed it in a fancy sprinter van overnight, maybe that's the secret??)

The crit course today was different than most - started on a short ~6% climb, a few turns (including some busted-up pavement on a bridge), then a STEEP downhill in to a tight corner.. exciting! Actually I didn't like the corner.. of course in a warmup lap you hit it with ease, but in the race it was hard (for me anyway) to find the right line and not feel like I was gonna die and/or hit the hay bails/exposed concrete wall on the outside. Maybe I'm just getting old and scared.

Out of a field of ~30 there was a break of five, my chase group of four, and scattered groups behind us. Finished 7th on the day.
Is the kitty's name cattm?

Good racing this weekend.
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Old 03-18-19, 12:18 AM
  #113  
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Originally Posted by furiousferret
Is the kitty's name cattm?
lololol it is now!
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Old 03-25-19, 07:55 AM
  #114  
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Santa Cruz Crit yesterday - so much fun! A NorCal classic - it's been run since 1970.

I hadn't done this race in two years, forgot how awesome it is. Especially when it's dry, considering the race has a downhill-ish hairpin turn and some manhole covers in the last turn.

48 riders in our Pro1/2 field, my team had six guys. One of our dudes can go otf and win solo, one can win the field sprint, and I could maybe win from a break. The rest are strong and can get in breaks to shut them down and/or lead out.

Our breakaway guy got away in the first 20 mins as planned, but 15 mins later he's on the side of the road holding his bike and looking bloody.. damn. One of his breakmates took him out somehow - the case is being litigated on Instagram as we speak.

So that put us in a position to chase, which sucks but at least we knew what to do. The break was brought back and a reshuffle happened - I went with a few late breaks, sitting on hoping that they either tow me to the line and I win, or we get brought back and our sprinter wins.

Three guys did get away in the last few laps without one of us, our sprinter took the field sprint for 4th. I sat up last lap since I was toasted, came in 28th. All in all a good day on the bike.

Looking forward to the Chico stage race on Friday!
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Old 03-27-19, 10:06 AM
  #115  
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First races of the year yesterday. In the B crit, I was in great position, but got blocked by a guy dropping anchor and ended up in the grass. In the A race, it came to sprint finish, and I had neither the nerves or the guts. 15th of 41. Last lap starts at 38:39. I was in great position at that point, but the key moment was when I couldn't get on a wheel (didn't fight, couldn't fight?) and I was in the wind. And then I didn't have the legs to move up. Pitiful sprint.

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Old 03-27-19, 08:22 PM
  #116  
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Looks like you were boxed in a bit and slowly went to the back instead of muscling to the front. TBF, the dudes around you weren't exactly smooth. Admittedly, I probably would have done the same.
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Old 03-28-19, 10:39 AM
  #117  
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Originally Posted by furiousferret
Looks like you were boxed in a bit and slowly went to the back instead of muscling to the front. TBF, the dudes around you weren't exactly smooth. Admittedly, I probably would have done the same.
Surrounded by various heavy hitters. There near the beginning of last lap, I was for a second on the wheel of former Dirty Kanzaa winner, but muscled out by current masters track World champion. I'm just a measly masters Cat 3 with little experience. That was my first time to be involved in a sprint of that caliber (even though just a weeknight crit).

Here's the B race from right before where I go into the grass before the sprint.

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Old 03-30-19, 05:43 AM
  #118  
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Did my first race of the year last week. It was also my first masters 35+ race. It was also the first road race I've completed in almost two years! Lots of firsts, here.

They combined all the masters together, so about 50 guys. First hour was super boring. A few attacks, but never hard for more than a minute or two so everyone chasing back. Think I was averaging 188w and 22 mph. Finally after a climb, a false flat section, and a few efforts, guys started gapping a bit and were hesitant to respond. I attacked, got brought back, did a sitting sneak attack, got brought back, got countered, countered again, and then when a little gap opened to the guys that countered I jumped across and a group of four of us rode away. It was only a two hour race, but also about my 7th ride over 1 hour this year and it caught up to me surprisingly quickly. Had no snap for the final 200m uphill drag to the line and got third.

Did the p/1/2 crit and promptly missed both the initial break and the counter. Not because I couldn't tell immediately that those moves were the moves, but because I was totally gassed. and just couldn't go any faster at those two moments. Very frustrating (though not surprising given my lack of proper training hours). Aerobically I'm sorely lacking in regards to making big efforts over and over again. This race was probably a good boost to the system, but I've only got two weeks to really bolster some aerobic fitness before Sunny King where steady state isn't needed but the ability to do 100+ big surges is.

In the masters crit I broke my chain coming out of a 180 in a crit so flipped over the bars and made a mess of myself. Fortunately I was only going about 10 mph and there was no massive pile up or anything. I've never broken a chain, and that chain had about 2k miles on it, but this bike was on the trainer all winter and whatnot. I don't know. I usually swap out chains after 3k miles (Ultegra). Should have just done a new chain to start the season I guess. Most likely a fluke thing. Don't want to think about it happening again.
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Old 03-30-19, 05:58 AM
  #119  
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Originally Posted by Radish_legs
First races of the year yesterday. In the B crit, I was in great position, but got blocked by a guy dropping anchor and ended up in the grass. In the A race, it came to sprint finish, and I had neither the nerves or the guts. 15th of 41. Last lap starts at 38:39. I was in great position at that point, but the key moment was when I couldn't get on a wheel (didn't fight, couldn't fight?) and I was in the wind.
Yeah, being in 4th wheel was perfect. If you could have pushed hard when the two guys came up on your left and gotten on that wheel, you'd have been in prime position. It was open as well at that point, so no need to even fight for it.

Last lap I do everything in my power to jump on any passing wheel. My eyes are constantly looking for movement on both sides (shadows help, too) and I'm ready to push right in. It's the only way I've found to avoid being swamped. You simply can't move up when you're in the middle of a pack, so you've got to constantly be looking to the sides to go. I've also found it helps to get "bigger" with wider elbows and knees.

It takes a few times of doing it, but once other riders see you there, you're likely to get a bit more respect (though this probably varies with locale and competition). Speaking as a more aggressive finisher, if I see a cat 3 on a wheel I want I usually just try and take it from them knowing they're very unlikely to hold their ground. Most cat 2s as well unless it's one I know can finish. But once you establish yourself a few times and maintain that position (and you'll probably lose it a few times, too, that happens), the other guys will be less likely to muscle you out, especially in local series where you race the same people a lot. In any case, it's a matter of the more you doing it, the more comfortable you get doing it and the better you become at it.

You already clearly have a nose for the finish and can get into a good position. Now it's holding that position and recognizing that advancing it = holding it in the last k to be in the position to sprint for a podium.
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Old 04-01-19, 02:00 PM
  #120  
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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!
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Old 04-01-19, 02:08 PM
  #121  
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@TMonk @rubiksoval @Radish_legs @mattm Glad to see some are racing and getting results. Props to all.
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Old 04-01-19, 08:38 PM
  #122  
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First year in a few that I'm okay on the bike. Did a few Frozen Four races (I helped with them but someone else promoted them, flat D shaped crit, 1 km), was able to hang and contest some sprints with the 3-4s. I went to the Chris Hinds crit for the first time in forever (normally conflicted with my Bethel races), a course where I finished my first race 36 years ago. I had a ton of fun mixing it up in the field, intentionally riding in the middle of the field to surround myself with riders. Did a mediocre sprint but still managed 4th; I hope that if I can do a good sprint I have a chance at a win.

I've never won a summer race ever (May-August) so if I could pull it off that would be amazing.

Long report:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.c...-march-30.html
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Old 04-02-19, 10:40 AM
  #123  
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Originally Posted by rubiksoval
Yeah, being in 4th wheel was perfect. If you could have pushed hard when the two guys came up on your left and gotten on that wheel, you'd have been in prime position. It was open as well at that point, so no need to even fight for it.

Last lap I do everything in my power to jump on any passing wheel. My eyes are constantly looking for movement on both sides (shadows help, too) and I'm ready to push right in. It's the only way I've found to avoid being swamped. You simply can't move up when you're in the middle of a pack, so you've got to constantly be looking to the sides to go. I've also found it helps to get "bigger" with wider elbows and knees.

It takes a few times of doing it, but once other riders see you there, you're likely to get a bit more respect (though this probably varies with locale and competition). Speaking as a more aggressive finisher, if I see a cat 3 on a wheel I want I usually just try and take it from them knowing they're very unlikely to hold their ground. Most cat 2s as well unless it's one I know can finish. But once you establish yourself a few times and maintain that position (and you'll probably lose it a few times, too, that happens), the other guys will be less likely to muscle you out, especially in local series where you race the same people a lot. In any case, it's a matter of the more you doing it, the more comfortable you get doing it and the better you become at it.

You already clearly have a nose for the finish and can get into a good position. Now it's holding that position and recognizing that advancing it = holding it in the last k to be in the position to sprint for a podium.
Thanks for taking the time to give me feedback. I think you are exactly right. That was my first last-lap sprint finish of that caliber. The caliber will likely decrease over the course of the season as it gets hotter, giving better opportunity for people at my level. But time will tell if I can develop, get faster, get smarter.
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Old 04-10-19, 09:49 AM
  #124  
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B race crit last night. I was dumb and just hanging in the pack and missed the break. Biggest rival was in the break, but we had teammate in the break. He was dropped from the break. I tried to solo bridge to the break, but failed miserably. I don't know if I went too fast, but after 1 mile I was cooked and the gap was still something like 15 seconds. So I gave up and went back to the pack. And then recovered, and despite feeling cooked, won the meager field sprint. Video starts where I try to bridge. Any suggestions on best strategy for bridging effort to break? They had 6 guys or so working together, and it was reasonably windy, about 12mph. Then I had to worry that I was bridging rival to the break. I really did dig to the very bottom in bridging, but it wasn't close to being enough. If I had tried to pace it better, I'm not sure it would have been any better. Could I have done a 2-3 mile bridge attempt at lower watts??? I don't know. Try something and learn.

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Old 04-10-19, 04:16 PM
  #125  
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Originally Posted by Radish_legs
. Any suggestions on best strategy for bridging effort to break? They had 6 guys or so working together, and it was reasonably windy, about 12mph.
For me, as fast as I can. If you did all that and the break was still at 15 secs, the gap was too big.

I know that a 10-15 second gap is bridgeable (most of the time) within 45-75 secs if I'm on form. If it's anymore than that, or I can't bridge in less than 90 secs, I know I'm not going to bridge. Last year I did 600 watts for over a minute to bridge a 15 or so second gap to the winning break and that was for sure about my absolute maximum. Took a good 15 minutes dying in the break before I recovered.

If you're actually good at time trials and stuff, you may have better luck doing it another way. For me, it's got to be completely explosive and near-immediate or I'll never get across.
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