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 3rd 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 14th, and I took 19th. Jason nabbed 6th 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!
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