Inquisitor.

+1

aaronmcd

Cherry Pie Crit
Cat 4
4/39
No crashes today!

One place shy of a cherry pie.

30 minutes, 1 mile loop. Start and finish at the top of a short hill (u turn), loop out to two 90 degree turns at back side, and chicane on the straight before the hill to change lanes. Rainy again today, and a bit of a headwind at the last straight & hill.

54 pre-registered, but only 39 started. A bunch of juniors in the race as well. No chance to pre ride the course, and we were "advised" to take the first lap slow. Yeah. Riiight. I was lined up at the front and accelerated as usual, but half the field decided to blow out like a cannon past me and fly around the first laps, slowing WAAY too much at all the corners. This caused me much pain yoyoing in the middle. The field broke up a lot - I'm sure a bunch of guys got dropped but I couldn't look back very well in the conditions. I moved up a few places per lap and finally got sick of the yoyo effect and rode to the front. Ah... much easier! As I relaxed at the front I looked back and the field was a few seconds behind me. Wtf? A few guys came up blew by on the hill racing for a prime. Go for it dudes.

I stayed top 5 to 10 for the rest of the race. I realized the best way to take the corners was wide and around the others who slowed down and then accelerated. Didn't gain places, but saved a bunch of energy. Last lap I was more careful to not waste energy through the corners, and was sitting in 6th (I think?) through the chicane. Everyone started sprinting at the hill (and the guy in front just dropped all the way back). I didn't think I made up any places, but the results showed me in 4th. Either I can't count or couldn't see/think very well. 4th is good, but I wanted a pie haha!

This was the most intense race I've done so far at NP=FTP

ovoleg

Roger Miliken Memorial Crit - Cat 4 - 25/100

TLDR: Terrible.

I feel like I had the fitness, but made a few bad moves and got some good and bad luck to go with the race...

Pre Race: Actually showed up 1.5hrs early so I casually dressed, warmed up and then lined up.

Race: First few laps were bad because I lined up mid-pack and was getting yoyo-d pretty good for about 5 laps until I moved up. Got toward the front and just hung out the rest of the race. The back side of the course felt like a sprint session over and over. I was hurting a bit but had no problem staying up and not getting overly cooked. Guys are going for primes and doing wild attacks but I just sit in patiently waiting for glory.

With 2 laps to go into the final corner some guy in front of me decides to start touching wheels and he goes down right in front. It was like Matrix slow motion cause as soon as he did that I tapped on the brakes just a tad and moved right and avoided him. He took about 5 guys with him. I am now sitting about 10-15th going into the final lap. I hammer pretty good to stay up there and move up to 10th going into turn 3. I'm going wide because I'm going to go all out out of turn 3(turn 4 is very close and its a short sprint). As I am going through turn 3, some guy plows right into me and I have to nudge him off, we both stayed upright but now the train is going FULL gas. I put in a massive effort to regain contact but now I'm like 40th into the last corner.

I refuse to give up and I had a clear line for the finish so I sprinted like mad for the line. I was feeling pretty great and pulled off some good sprint #'s at the end of the race. Finished 25th.

I aint going to lie I'm kinda bleh right now...The only positive thing that happened is that I didn't crash and I was pretty damn close!

caloso

Nice job aaron! I've won a few primes and had a few top tens at Cherry Pie but never a pie so I know how you feel.

valygrl

hack, heal up fast. sorry about the broken bike, that sucks.

Inquisitor.

Nice job Aaron.

At least you didn't crash out Ovoleg.

furiousferret

Good Job Aaron.

That sucks Ovoleg; but at least the Russians won gold today so that has to help the pain. Are you doing the UCLA RR next week?

bmcphx

Avondale Criterium

Cat 4 - 7/43?

I am feeling good so I tried going off the front a few times, and it worked a few times, but never for too long, maybe two laps? We had a break going that I was certain was going to stick but then the other two guys started sitting up, wtf. Got back in the pack and stayed for a while, then attacked hard again toward the end of the race, didn't get anything going then either, so I stayed in and waited for the sprint. Got 7th. A teammate got 5th and another teammate finished right behind me for the second straight crit. Three from the team in the top 10 is a good consolation if we weren't going to get a podium. I love the HR data from this race, it's incredibly high! Also set lots of power records.

https://www.strava.com/activities/112315741/overview

Cat 3/4 - 15/35?

This race for the first couple laps was really, really, really slow. I'm talking <20mph. Some guy went off the front and I kind of laughed, then while we were doing 23 or so, a teammate tapped my hip and said go, and blocking for me, so I went... methodically... and before I knew it I had caught the other guy and we had about 20 seconds after 3 laps or so. unfortunately it was very apparent that I was far stronger than this guy and that we were going to get caught, but I kept pressing anyway. The gap kept shrinking everytime this guy got on the front so I started taking longer pulls, some almost a lap, until I noticed he had dropped off and I didn't want to try to do something stupid like solo break for 40 minutes, so I sat up and waited for the group. Kept less than optimal position on the final five laps. This race was stupid easy when it was easy, and stupid hard when it was hard.

https://www.strava.com/activities/112315739

nosignature

Sounds like you actually did pretty well! I must have been right next to you, the crash happened just behind me on my left. The guy who went down was really shaky in every corner, so I was pretty diligent about keeping away from him. He did take out one of my teammates however, but he managed to actually remount and try to chase back on. Didn't make it, but it was pretty much full gas at that point.

For unfathomable reasons (IE race brain), I wound up getting off the front on the back side of the course with about 4 laps to go and subsequently pulling for an entire lap. I was able to recover fine, but completely biffed the finish.

I placed somewhere between 30-35. I had moved up to about 15th on the final straight before the last corner, but got brake-checked while turning and had to completely sit up. It was my fault for moving up on the wrong side of the field and being forced into a lousy line in the turn, but it was a waste of good legs. Looked at my power file and I was doing 900 watts into the turn...and then zero, as I watched 20 some guys fly past me on the outside . Whoops. I guess the education process doesn't stop just because I made it out of 5's intact. 100+ guys on a 4-corner, .7 mile course was a little ridiculous, but I guess only 77 actually finished.

ovoleg

I hear UCLA RR is a climbers race, but I will be there! I'm either going to get creamed or I'm going to put some serious hurt down. Either way it's going to be a blast. You going?

I'm also doing the NOW EnergyBar Crit on Sunday which I'm excited for. Going? I think that one is local to you too!

ovoleg

Yeah, the race was pretty good in the beginning when the gas was on, no one doing anything too sketchy. I guess I wouldn't feel so bad if I was completely fried at the end but I was pulling good numbers in the sprint and when I crossed the line I still felt good.

Whenever I find myself at the front of a crit, I just start pedaling at Z2 until someone goes around. I don't pull unless I'm in a break. After a few corners, guys will either get bored with my pace and go around or attack and then I'm in a good spot to latch on. If no one attacks and they just start to swarm me, I'll pick up the pace and find a new wheel.

Good job either way for staying upright! I definitely learned a couple of things this race!

furiousferret

I'll be at UCLA, racing either the 4/5 35+ or the 5's. I have to set up my wheels with a 12-27 tomorrow, which may be overkill, but I'd rather have more gears than be undergeared. I really don't know how I'll do for it, actually I'll probably get crushed. Not going to the EnergyBar Crit, its about 70 miles away which is driveable, but I'm guessing I'll be too wiped out for it. The week after I'm doing Ontario.

zitter

Roger Millikan crit cat 3 - 2nd place

wide roads/corners, rectangular crit meant a sketchy cat 3 race. last 3 laps were madness and i was very surprised there weren't any crashes. came out of the last corner about 10th wheel and knew i was too far back, but still made up a lot of ground in the sprint and got 2nd on the line. also got the last of my upgrade points for my cat 2, but am staying in the 3's for a couple more races to help some of my other teammates upgrade

Creatre

Nice, grats!

mattm

Cherry Pie crit p/1/2's. 17th, meh.

Another wet one!

It was supposed to be my team's first race, but everyone (all six of them!) bailed due to the weather. Unfortunately none of the other local teams bailed.. so I was again solo up against 40+ other racers, what else is new.

Tried to cover early attacks, knowing a break would win it, but didn't get in the right ones. Same old story: by the time I was tired, the right break went.

Field splintered, was in a chase group of six or so, wasn't sure if we were racing for 5th or 15th..

No crashes, and I actually found it fun to race in ****ty weather - but maybe that has to do with learning how to race in Seattle.

edit: this was a really hard race, and the power data confirms this.. 260w AP and 301w NP, pretty high for me!

Ygduf

Good race. Sucks that your team is a bunch of knobs.

billh92109

Roger MIllikan, Decided to 'pay for leg destruction' and entered the 35+ 4/5 race (eh I wasn't feeling the whole early trip in the cold thing)... Turned into a really nice day by the time I raced, seemed like 75 or so and sunny. Basically got wore out all to heck just trying to finish but made sure to give it everything through the finish, managed to get 36/51.. Legs done pretty hard (also at 40 min its 15 min longer than anything I've done yet)- hung around before and after a bit, talked to a few guys. Congrats to my teammate Zitter for getting his points - I didn't stay long enough to see that race as my wife wanted to go hang out somewhere near LA before returning home.

I had intended to try to stay up close to the front this time, to avoid getting worn out by the accordion but after a few laps in the beginning near the front it was clear to me this was going to be a 'survival race' and I lost position. The rest of the time I focused on finding good wheels and staying smooth through the turns - 4th race for me and I'm doing much better at keeping a good line and staying out of the wind. Just need a horse-bag of fitness to stay up there.. Good to have a challenge to work for.

furiousferret

Awesome job zitter!

furiousferret

Nice job! Would you say the 35+ 4/5 is significantly harder than the 5's?

billh92109

Well its hard to say for sure. It felt to me like it was harder - some of that was due to the length of the race though. I put a lot more into that race than my last 5 race, so either way it was worth it

ovoleg

My teammate crashed pretty bad in the Milikan cat3 race with 2 to go

zitter

oh dang, i didn't hear/see any so i thought it was a clean finish. that's too bad =/

StopDiegoStop

Roger Millikan Crit
Cat 5 - 37/~60
First race

Had a blast doing my first crit. Was worried about getting dropped and crashing but good thing that didn't happen.
Positioning in the last final laps is crucial. Was near the front in the final laps but lost my position.
Still felt strong at the end of the race but didn't push it. Oh well, lesson learned.
Excited to do my next race and hopefully do better.

Learned a lot from the stickies and posts here so just want to thank you guys.

Btw, the full vid is in here in case you want to take a look at it:

ovoleg

Right at min 47:00 someone swerves right into him and he hits the deck pretty bad.

#t=2813

rkwaki

Great video B U T get the **** away from that part of the field, looking at the data it was well within your reach/fitness and there was lots of room to move around. That's a great place to get caught up in something. Don't stay there...