Burnham Super Spring Criterium, South Beloit, IL, March 27, 2010

Today’s Cat 4 race was a sketchy crash-fest. Considering that it was on an auto/motorcycle speedway with perfect pavement and wide-open turns, this was completely unnecessary. It was almost like racing in a field of new Cat 5s.

One good thing was that the weather was much better than last year. In 2009, my 8:15 am start-time in the Cat 4/5 race was met with high winds and temps in the mid to high 20s. The Cat 4 start-time this year was 1:55, and we enjoyed temps in the high 40s/low 50s. There was enough of a crosswind along the start/finish stretch to make the flags flap around, but it wasn’t terrible.

Kev, Hammer and I carpooled over to South Beloit, and after getting our numbers we set up the trainers out of the wind. I start overheating during the warm-up, so I ditch the wind vest and opt to ride with just a jersey, a long-sleeve jersey, shorts, and knee warmers. After about 30 minutes of warm up we tear down the trainers and head over to the start/finish.

Once we were allowed onto the court, Kev rolls off to do a full warm-up lap, while Hammer and I opted to take a ½ lap. We then rolled to the line with 68 other riders. I had good position in the 2^nd line. When the whistle blew we took off at a pretty brisk, but manageable, pace.

I could tell from the very first lap that this field was going to be trouble. Too many guys would make moves without looking, there was a lot of bumping, and there was way too much braking and slowing. As I mentioned, there are no tight turns and the roadway is wide open. Every corner could be pedaled through and taken at speed, so why we kept hitting the brakes was a mystery. This race was also a bit odd in that there were never really any attacks. There were plenty of surges, but no breakaways.

Sketchiness aside, the first few laps passed relatively uneventfully. At one point I heard Hammer announce that he was on my wheel. At about 8 minutes in, I heard metal hitting pavement somewhere behind me and to my left. Considering how the field had been riding, I knew that it was just a matter of time. I don’t know how many riders went down. When a crash happens behind you, you treat it like it never happened...you don’t look back; you just hope that none of your mates were involved and keep going. More often than not, those riders not involved in the crash take this opportunity to hit the gas and you don’t want to miss the surge.

At 12 minutes in, I was still feeling really good but was farther back in the field than I wanted to be. Hoping that the front would be safer, I decided to expose myself to the wind, and moved up the outside of the left side of the field to get away from all the squirrelyness. I inserted myself back into the field somewhere within the top 20, and stayed there for pretty much the rest of the race.

Throughout the race, my legs and lungs felt really good, and my heart rate was well under control. As mentioned, there were a lot of surges, especially going into the start/finish. We would top out at over 30 mph on that stretch, while averaging around 25 or so on the rest of the course. I was easily able to hang with these surges, and never once feared that I was going to blow up.

With about 5 laps to go, I started hearing calls of “lapped riders up.” I looked down the road and saw Kev working together with a xXx rider. Nuts. As we moved past them I shouted out some encouragement for him to keep going. As we came around to the start/finish, the lap cards again showed 5 laps to go. Was this an error, or did we still have 5 laps? I was feeling good enough that I shrugged this off. When we came around for the next lap, the cards showed only 3 to go.

On the backstretch with 3 laps to go, there was a huge crash right in the middle of the field. It happened in front of me, but fortunately I was far enough to the left that I could get by without slowing down very much. I hit the gas and bridged up to the 20 or so other riders who had avoided the crash. At this point, I was mentally out of the race. All I wanted to do was to stay upright and finish. I knew that this wouldn’t be as easy. With 2 laps to go, a xXx rider made some really bizarre moves. He twitched to the right, all the way to the edge of the road, cutting across 3 riders. Then he twitched right again, out into the grass, and then twitched back onto the road…for no apparent reason whatsoever.

The paced turned blistering as we zipped past the start/finish for the bell lap. I was still feeling good, and still sitting in the top 20. I fought my way up the left side to gain some more position. Shortly after turn 2, however, there was yet another crash. Again, I stayed out of the way of the carnage, but unfortunately this crash sent Hammer out into the grass, and he had to come to a dead stop before rolling again. I fought to maintain whatever position I could, but was still eclipsed by some riders.

As we came around the final turn, I started to think that I was home free. I knew that there were too many riders in front of me, and that I would end up with a mediocre finish. Still, I started to mash on the pedals just to take whatever I could. And just as I was getting up to full speed, there is another crash. I see a rider sliding on the pavement right in front of me. I dived to the right, but now there was a most curious sight in front of me…a rider who was still upright and still had enough momentum to be moving forward, but whose rear wheel was completely tacoed. I could even smell the burning rubber as I dived right around him and fought my way to the line. Guys were sitting up all around me, but I kept sprinting the whole way and ended up taking 25^th out of 58 finishers.

My biggest problem during the race was getting position. Had the field been riding safely, I would have taken a lot more chances to move up into open gaps. There were so many times when I would see a gap, but right next to that gap would be a rider who I had seen twitching around. I simply didn’t want to take the risk of moving forward only to have the squirrel decide to twitch over into that space that I had hoped to occupy. Perhaps I just need to be more fearless. There is still a long season ahead of me to work on that.

Kenosha Velosport Spring Training Criterium #1, March 14, 2010

Wind, wind, and more wind was the order of the day. Fortunately, there was a fair amount of sun, and temps were in the mid-to-high 40s. To refresh your recollection from last year, this course is 0.70 mile loop around a business park. The course is roughly in the shape of a capital “D” that we race counter-clockwise. There are two 90-degree left turns and two sweeping left turns. The start/finish is along the backside of the “D,” heading south with a slight uphill coming out of the turn at the top.

Four representatives of Wheel Fast Racing rolled to the line for the spring opener of racing in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Chris Hammer, John Mahr, and I lined up with about 40 other Cat 4 riders. Kev was absent, choosing to soak up the sun in Mexico rather than soaking up some pain in chilly Wisconsin. Right behind us was Jason Roggenbauer, lined up with about 20 Cat 5 riders. A dedicated cross and MTB racer, Jason was about to experience his first-ever criterium.

No one team had a strong presence, and xXx and South Chicago Wheelmen appeared to be completely absent from our races. After one warm-up lap on the course, I take my place in the 3^rd line of riders. Instructions are given, and the whistle blows! We take off at a relatively mellow pace. My Garmin computer had crapped out on me toward the end of last season, so I’m flying blind, with no idea of how fast we are going.

As we round turn two into the wind, it is like getting hit in the face. If you weren’t relatively protected in the pack, it felt like someone had grabbed your bars and given them a shake. I think this accounted for some of the squirrely riding…people were simply getting knocked around by Mother Nature.

The mellow pace doesn’t last long, and by the time a few riders started to make a big effort, I was right at the front and in perfect position to grab onto their train. Bad idea. For one, there was no chance that the effort would stay away. I don’t even know if we gained any distance on the field. I should have just stayed in the safety of the field, which soon swallowed us up. As we came around to the Start/Finish, the lap cards showed that only six minutes had elapsed. I felt completely gassed and had to hope that I could recover back in the peloton.

As the pace slows on the backstretch, I see Hammer for the first time. As he moves past me I hear “come on, Stephen.” OK, time to hit the gas. I move myself up near the front of the field, but am careful to avoid being at the front.

Minor attacks are launched here and there, but nothing can stay away in that wind. The field never strings out, which is both a good and a bad thing. Strung-out fields mean high speeds, and I didn’t know whether my legs could handle that. Compact fields can result in some squirrely riding, though, and taking corners at speed riding 4 or 5 riders abreast can be dicey. For the most part, however, the riding was relatively clean. About halfway through the race, I took a nice jolt from someone’s bars on my backside right as I was replacing my water bottle in the cage. Not a pleasant surprise, but nothing hard enough to cause a crash. I didn’t even swear! I just said “easy, now…”

With a few laps to go, we catch up to the 5s field. The fields were allowed to merge, but in a compact field this causes a confusing situation where you can’t quite tell whether the riders around you are 4s or 5s, and you can lose sight of those 4s whose wheels you were just trying to stay on. I’m not a fan of allowing fields to merge.

With two laps to go, Hammer moves up the right side of the field. He announces his presence, but I’m a) too far back, and b) boxed in and can’t get over to his wheel. This is unfortunate, because Jason, who was near the front of the field, grabs his wheel, and the two of them gain some seconds on the field. It is a strong effort, and one that I would have liked to be a part of. Perhaps with 3 of us working together we could have stayed away. Sadly, they got swallowed up by the field with about one lap to go.

Going into the final lap, I’m further back than I want to be, so I use the wide backstretch to gain some position. Still, I can feel that I’ve got nothing for a sprint, and as we negotiate the final few turns, I just have to hold on as best as I can and settle for a finish with the field.

We take two cool down laps, and then it is back to the car for some warm clothes. We watch a bit of the 3s race as we await results. Hammer took 14^th, and I took 19^th. Jason nabbed 6^th in the 5s race…not a bad showing for his first road race. We’ll see if we can improve on those results next week…and hope for less wind!