Originally Posted by jmikami

As for me, I nabbed a 2nd at our weekend crit in the master 1/2/3 (28 riders) and 3rd in our weekday master 1/2/3 circuit race (43 riders) last week. For those that prefer TLDR posts ... keep reading.

... second race was much more fun and ended slightly better. The course was tight at the top, then had a fast easy corner into a 3 block downhill headwind, then a 2 block slight rise followed by 3 corners to the finish, just under 1k with 6 corners. Basically get to the front in the headwind, sprint up the hill and then hold on through the corners to the finish.

I again started at the back to feel out the group and ensure I had plenty of space incase of any mishaps. After spending 50% of the race at the back and watching attack after attack come back I broke free of my mental block to move through the group and made my effort. Unlucky for me I was not able to get all the way to the front on the first go and had to sit just inside the top 10 going through the corners, but the group kept it safe.

I was at the front and assisting with the chase efforts by my second lap of effort, but I was not able to launch a counter move as I did the year before at the same point in the race. It seemed like a small break would work, but I just could not find enough in the tank to get a winning effort going. So after a number of laps at/near the front I finally needed a recharge and went to the back to let them sort it out. Just my luck a number of laps latter a strong break of two went up the road. As they were dangling just a few seconds off the front and I finally found my nerve to move back up with 5 to go.

Again it took two laps to get to the front, but as soon as I hit the front it looked scattered. I was not really sure what was going on but it seemed like while I was at the front of the group for the final 3 laps riders kept going and coming back all around me. So while I was pushing a lot of wind, I was also chasing down someone in front of me pretty much for 3 straight laps, so the constant carrot made life much easier and I wasn't really at the front the whole time. Also being at the front I could race my own race and keep things safe on the corners. I caught one rider on the bell, and another into the headwind on the final lap, getting max draft off each one. Then as we went up the hill one of the two lead riders fell off pace and we caught him as well. We were unable to catch the final rider, and since I made it to the top of the hill first, I was able to control it through the corners and take the pack sprint for 2nd.

As I looked at my power meter after the race, I hit (actually smashed) my max power numbers for the year and overall for every time span between 2 minutes and 40 minutes. Wow, I guess I was going harder than I thought the whole time, it seemed like an easy race and I felt like I was under control the whole time, but at least for my power meter I have never raced that hard ever. So while I missed out on the win, it feels even better that my training is putting me exactly where I hoped, and actually a little in front of where I wanted to be at this time of year. Onto the next race.

Originally Posted by mattm

thx man. not sure how the bike is doing, but i broke my collarbone, 5 ribs, and some bones in my spine.. worst part was it took 40 mins for the ambulance to get called!

not a fun day no doubt. coulda been worse, but coulda been a lot better too!

Originally Posted by Racer Ex

Rub some dirt in it. Trainer right away. Back on the road in 7-10 days. Podium in 4 weeks.

Simple

Originally Posted by mattm

ha thx.

if it was just the collarbone, this would be the plan.

but the ribs/bruising around them make anything that employs core muscles (which is everything in life!) quite painful. I'll be back on those podiums this season tho!

Originally Posted by mattm

Davis crit.. went down hard.

luck has run out!!

Originally Posted by MDcatV

I cant keep up. one thread i'm congratulating mattm on an upgrade, in another, i'm telling him to feel better (mattm, sorry you fell down, hope you feel better).

Originally Posted by cmh

Nice job on the 2nd place jmikami. That was a fast race on a tight course.

I was in the same race, and it was my first crit in 5 years so I was a bit nervous going in. jmikami described the course, but I'll add that it also had a fair number of potholes and a big crack across one corner where there was a crash in the final lap.

I spent the first 15 minutes or so at the back getting comfortable and watching constant attacks go and come back up front. With only 30ish riders in the field there wasn't a bad accordion effect at the back and the group was riding smoothly. After that I worked my way up front over the course of a few laps, then seeing a group of 2 up the road both from big teams, I attacked to try and bridge, but ended up bringing back the break with the pack in tow. I fell back a few spots to rest a couple laps, then went again with another attack that didn't get anywhere. After that I dropped to the back again to recover.

With about 6 laps to go I went back to the front and just before I got there the winning break of 2 went up the road - they had a known strong break rider, and represented the two biggest teams in the race. Over the next few laps they never got more than 8 or 10 seconds on the pack and with 4 to go and 3 to go riders attacked and I slotted on to the 3rd or 4th wheel for a couple laps. The attacks brought the break back a bit and deciding that I didn't like my chances in a finishing sprint (but also knowing I would not likely survive to the finish), I attacked with 2 to go hoping I could bridge. I glanced back 1/2 a lap later to make sure I had separation and had a pretty good gap so I gave it all I had but couldn't quite make it to the pair off the front. I was the last guy jmikami caught into the headwind on the last lap and safely drifted to the back of the pack and rolled in spent. I felt great and had a fun race.

Originally Posted by save10

ugh. everyone one i talked to said their particular field was a fiasco. heal up man.

Originally Posted by MDcatV

well done chappy!

Originally Posted by aaronmcd

And now I'm ok with skipping that race.

Mattm, sorry about the crash, but congrats on cat 1!

Originally Posted by mattm

thx dudes!

sounds like I'm off the bike 4-6 weeks, not too bad really.

cascade is out but so it goes. I'm glad i try not to take my uninjured moments for granted, makes this phase easier.

Originally Posted by echappist

I was not feeling so fresh anymore from the earlier efforts, while the other two who bridged up were smarter and probably burned fewer matches (don't think they were in many moves before this one). The goal for me became contribute when possible, and hang on otherwise. I skipped a few turns, and cornering skills came in quite handy as I was able to use it to close small gaps that opened while rotating. The lap cards ticked down, and we were told that we had about 5-6 seconds with about 3 laps to go. With one to go, the gap remained steady, and i knew that the break was likely to stay away. I put in some sort of an effort on the back stretch. Didn't have much left in the sprint, but it was enough to hold off 5th place.


Overall very happy with how things turned out given the very rough build up i had this season

Originally Posted by aaronmcd

Red Kite, E4 and 3/4
Two pack finishes and a prime. In the first race I was following one guy with 2 to go, switched wheels, and the guy I had been following won. Dammit. I felt good coming around the final lap but as usual I had a horrible position near the back. Managed to follow a guy cutting through the inside of turn 3 as everyone else took it wide and passed a bunch leading into the sprint but not enough and got 16th out of 40ish.

Second race position was also bad but couldn't find a good wheel to follow at all. Should have followed the same guy.. he won again.

Got solicited to join a team. Again. I should probably take one of these offers, but I'm bad with decisions like that!

Originally Posted by echappist

what kit were you in? I'm on a Scott Foil with pink bar tapes

Originally Posted by MDcatV

good to see you racing and posting again cmh!