Well, they don't call it 'America's Toughest Stage Race' for nothing! The Tour of Utah is the real deal and so was this year's field. It was pretty awesome to be able to race against guys like Oscar Sevilla and Dave Zabriskie, considering that just this spring I was banging elbows with the local Cat 4's. I went into the race as prepared as I could be, given that I had never competed in an NRC race before and not totally knowing what I was in for.
The first race was a prologue, 2.8 miles long. It was a steady uphill drag to turnaround and a superfast return. I started hard, hoping to make some time on the way out and just hang on the way back. I felt like I had a decent race but finished mid-pack. I was about 25 seconds behind Zabriskie... Not terrible for a guy who doesn't own a TT bike but I was looking for more.
Day two was a tough one. I was looking for something big on the several long, steep climbs. From the start, my teammate Dave Clinger and I rode the front. It was no problem to hold position into the first climb. I felt awesome... and then I blew a tire. I got a new wheel quickly from the neutral support but the mechanic tweaked my brake pad when he pulled my flat off and it took an extra minute or so to readjust and get rolling again. Knowing the course, I realized that if I didn't get back on the pack by the top of the first climb my race was over. I'd have to ride 60 miles solo... So I killed myself to rejoin, which meant riding a 35 minute climb roughly 90 seconds faster than an NRC pack.... Not an ideal situation... But I did make it back to the group and settled in for the next hour of rolling terrain. I was pretty blown but still hoping my legs would come back around. They didn't. When we hit the final climb I was cooked, it was all I could do to just pedal up the hill. I lost 20 minutes on the peloton. Rough start but I knew I was riding well.
Day two was a 50 mile flat drag around Utah Lake and a 20 mile climb to the top of the Wasatch Range, 5300 feet later! Same story as day two. I rode near the front, held my position fairly well until we got close to the climb. The OUCH train came through and drilled it at the front before I could get the position I wanted and I struggled to get into the top 20. As we hit the base of the climb, the pack strung out immediately. I was too far back and didn't have a chance. I settled into a pace that I could hold for the next hour and a half of uphill and started picking people off. I rode my way up into the 60's (of 160 riders) by the finish. It wasn't bad but it could have been a lot better if I had moved up earlier... Lesson learned. No messing around in an NRC pack.
Day three was a flat 12 mile Time Trial. It was a blast. It was held on a race car track. The pavement was like marble flooring and the corners were smoother than anything I've ever ridden. I rode hard but generally felt flat. My legs didn't have it to get up to 30mph without really hurting and as I neared the finish, I couldn't speed up. I ended in 90th. Not a good TT for me but still one of the most fun I've ever ridden (I've only done 5 of them).
Day four was the queen stage. It was really hot, 100+ degrees and the course was brutal. 99 miles and over 10,000 ft of climbing. The first bit was pretty aggressive as there were a lot of attacks at the front. Eventually the pack sat up and a break went. I moved up early to get a shot at the lead pack over the first major climb (~1hr long @ 10% grade). I got there right where I wanted to be. I hammered but faded at a critical spot and lost about 20 feet to the lead group. When we got to where the road flattens out a bit, I was solo and the leaders left me in the dust. I crested the climb within a minute of the front and was eaten up by the second group. Over the next couple of minor climbs I just sat in and on the last major climb of the day (40 minutes @ 12% grade) I drilled it. I rode great and was putting out some good power for the tail end of a 4.5 hour race. I reeled in a lot of blown riders and dropped everyone in the second group. I finished up in 44th place and was fairly pleased with the day.
The last day was the crit. I underestimated it. I thought I would just ride it like I've ridden every other crit this summer. Not so. Not in an NRC race. The pace is so fast and the pack is so tight that positioning is everything... It was a long and brutal day and I found myself near the back of the pack more often than I would have liked. I ended in 101st. It wasn't a good race but I survived and learned more in that 90 minutes than I've learned in any race this year. I can't wait to get another crack at an NRC crit.
So I finished up dead center of the pack on GC, 80th place of 160 starters. I was looking for better and had I not flatted on the first stage, things would have been a bit different. Overall, it was an awesome experience. As August comes to an end, all I want to do is figure out how to ride my bike faster... but as a professional nordic skier, it is time to figure out where my upper body has gone. The snow will fall three months from now and I intend on being ready...
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Tour of Utah
Well the last couple weeks have been fairly straight forward, lots of riding. LOTS of riding. There is only one way to prepare for the 'hardest stage race in America' and that's by riding the hardest stages of the hardest stage race in America.
The Tour of Utah is a 6 day race. The first is a very short and fast prologue time trial. Day two is a road race with two major climbs and two minor climbs. Day three is a fairly flat start and a 20 mile uphill finish at the high point of the Wasatch Range on Mt Nebo. Day four is a flat time trial at the Miller Motorpark. Day 5 is an epic climb with 4 major climbs and two climbs that are beyond major, they are huge and very very steep. The last day is a 90 minute crit in downtown Salt Lake City.
When I returned from my last trip I decided to take a real rest week. I took 3 of the 7 days off and the rest of the week did no more than 2 hr long rides. It felt great and it was much needed after the last two months.
Recovered, it was time to get back to work. I threw down back to back 28 hour weeks with intensity every other day. I did nearly all of my hard work uphill. I think I've hit every major climb within 100 miles at least a couple of times now. Things have really been coming together and I feel like I am in the best riding shape I've been in all year, good timing.
Recovery has been extremely important these last couple weeks as I need to come back from this block very quickly. I've done my best to get my legs into some cold water after every workout. Its not my favorite thing in the world but it seems to be helping a lot. I've also been practically living in a pair of compression socks. I can't decide it they do anything or not, but hey, I'll give them a go.
These last couple of days have been a bit easier. I was pretty low on energy on Tuesday and Wednesday and I started to wonder if I had gone too deep but on Thursday it all started to come back together. I've been feeling better and better every day now. By Tuesday I should be ready to rock and that is the day of the prologue.
Following the Tour of Utah I'm planning on taking a bit of a break from training. I will have done nearly 40 races this summer and I don't want to fade midway through the winter. My special ladyfriend, Crystal is headed to California next Thursday to begin a Masters program at UC-Berkeley and I may head out there for a few days to help her get set up and explore the East Bay a bit more.
After that its time to get on the rollerskis and relearn how to use my arms. Should be interesting given that my triceps have migrated south for the summer.
More after the ToU. You can follow results on tourofutah.com.
The Tour of Utah is a 6 day race. The first is a very short and fast prologue time trial. Day two is a road race with two major climbs and two minor climbs. Day three is a fairly flat start and a 20 mile uphill finish at the high point of the Wasatch Range on Mt Nebo. Day four is a flat time trial at the Miller Motorpark. Day 5 is an epic climb with 4 major climbs and two climbs that are beyond major, they are huge and very very steep. The last day is a 90 minute crit in downtown Salt Lake City.
When I returned from my last trip I decided to take a real rest week. I took 3 of the 7 days off and the rest of the week did no more than 2 hr long rides. It felt great and it was much needed after the last two months.
Recovered, it was time to get back to work. I threw down back to back 28 hour weeks with intensity every other day. I did nearly all of my hard work uphill. I think I've hit every major climb within 100 miles at least a couple of times now. Things have really been coming together and I feel like I am in the best riding shape I've been in all year, good timing.
Recovery has been extremely important these last couple weeks as I need to come back from this block very quickly. I've done my best to get my legs into some cold water after every workout. Its not my favorite thing in the world but it seems to be helping a lot. I've also been practically living in a pair of compression socks. I can't decide it they do anything or not, but hey, I'll give them a go.
These last couple of days have been a bit easier. I was pretty low on energy on Tuesday and Wednesday and I started to wonder if I had gone too deep but on Thursday it all started to come back together. I've been feeling better and better every day now. By Tuesday I should be ready to rock and that is the day of the prologue.
Following the Tour of Utah I'm planning on taking a bit of a break from training. I will have done nearly 40 races this summer and I don't want to fade midway through the winter. My special ladyfriend, Crystal is headed to California next Thursday to begin a Masters program at UC-Berkeley and I may head out there for a few days to help her get set up and explore the East Bay a bit more.
After that its time to get on the rollerskis and relearn how to use my arms. Should be interesting given that my triceps have migrated south for the summer.
More after the ToU. You can follow results on tourofutah.com.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Many more crits, one more cat and another crash.
I just returned from a good road trip and many successful races. I headed out mid-last month to Boise for a big NRC race called Boise Twilight Criterium. Its a downtown, late night kind of thing that thousands of people come to watch. Its a lot of fun to race in front of that many people... It was a hot weekend in Boise and when I hit the pavement for the start of my race, it was a balmy 108 degrees.
As with any crit, we went in circles a bunch of times. A lot of attacks went off but there was a strong team from Salt Lake in the mix that pulled everything back. I was keying off them, hoping to get in a move with one of their guys but they wanted to bring it down to a field sprint... and so we did... I lined it up as well as I could, fighting my way up to 4th wheel into the second to last corner. Into the last corner the guy right in front of my slowed up and I missed the jump ahead of him and lost the chance to win. I went fast down the finish and held on for 4th, which wasn't stellar but it was a deep field and it did get me a few more upgrade points.
The next day was the ID State Criterium Championship. It was in a far off neighborhood that looked like the set from The Truman Show, about 20 miles from Boise. It was another super flat course but this one didn't have squared off corners like the downtown crit. It was back and forth the whole way and somehow it made a circle. It was a nice change. There were a few pros in the field left over from the day before and when we started I was trying to time attacks to get into a move with a couple of them. Bingo. It worked. We split the field down to 7 off the front and lapped the rest of the field. From there it was a bit of a drag race. No one could get away until a crash near the end of the race and one rider split off the front to eventually win. I had another good sprint but ran out of real estate before I could pass 2nd place, I finished 3rd... More upgrade points, mission semi accomplished.
From Boise I headed back to Bellevue, ID, to hang with my special ladyfriend's parents for a few days. I did some training in the Sun Valley area and caught up with my coach who lives there as well. It was a nice couple of days. Crystal joined me mid-week and we drove out to Bend, Oregon for the Cascade Classic Stage Race.
It was nice to go back to Bend in the summer. I used to go to a ski camp there every June but have not for several years. Its a fun town.
The first race was a road race with a tough uphill finish. I liked my odds and wanted to get to the bottom of the climb at the front. Mid way through the race there were a lot of attacks going off and I was doing my best to cover everything I could. Unfortunately, one move I didn't make it into went away. That was that. The pack was lethargic and no one wanted to chase hard. I made a few efforts to bridge up to them solo but couldn't get away. I sat in near the front, out of the wind until the bottom of the hill and hit it hard. I got away from all but one guy right away and he and I pushed it up and over the top and I out sprinted him for 8th. First guy out of the pack, but 2:45 down to 1st place. Not an ideal start to a stage race.
The next day was a Time Trial. Not having my own bike I am always having to get used to different positions on different peoples bikes. The one I borrowed for Cascade was not my favorite. I didn't feel like I was pulling up with my legs very well and I'm not sure why. But that's why one should have his one TT bike. I rode pretty well on the way up but coming down I didn't feel like I was moving the way I should. It was really fast coming back down and I could have pushed a bigger front chainring. I chose a 55x11 but a 56x11 would have been ideal. I landed in 6th, 20 seconds out of 1st. That marked my first ever defeat in a TT. I wanted to keep that streak going.
That evening was a crit, another downtown one, lots of people, 4 corners and one really weird sketchy corner. I rode at the front of the 120 man field, staying out of trouble and monitoring what was going on. I didn't want to miss another break. Right away there were some attacks that were slow to be brought back and when a group of 7 went up the road, I sensed that it was a good move to be part of. I hit the field hard and bridged up with one rider on my wheel. When we got to the break, the guy who I brought up with me slipped in in front of me and proceeded to take the next two corners as hard as possible for no apparent reason. I couldn't believe he made it out of the first corner and then he went down on the second. I was 2 inches off of his wheel at 35 mph, bad place to be. I locked up my rear wheel and skidded out. I landed hard on my hip and hand, same side I crashed on a month ago. OUCH. But my bike was fine and I was mostly fine, just bleeding, and hardly clothed as my skin suit had a huge hole in the side.
I took my free lap in the pit and jumped back into the break. We held on to a 26 second lead an I just got nipped at the line for the win, 2nd was ok - all things considered.
The last day was a circuit race. 4 laps of the Elite Nationals Road Course. It was really tough and lots of up and down but nothing very sustained. I just rode at the front, staying out of trouble and making the split anytime the field fell apart. The finish was very fast and I just kept myself around 8th. Out of the wind and close enough to attack. As we rounded the last corner i moved a few places up and launched my sprint, passing another handful of riders and made it on the last step of the podium in 3rd. Two days in a row on the podium in a 120 man field, I was pretty happy about that. I picked up another spot on GC to finish 7th - the race was more or less over after the breakaway succeeded that first day.
I did some math on my upgrade points and I had my 30 upgrade points, +/-2. It was up to how they decided to score the circuit race (long story). So I submitted and a few hours later I got word that I was a CAT 1! 4 months and 4 upgrades. And now I am clear to race the Tour of Utah later this month.
So now I am back in Utah, via a few more days in Bellevue, ID on our return from Oregon. I took the majority of the last week off and today is the first day of my last cycling training block. Lots of uphills to be ridden in the next 10 days and not a lot of eating. I need to cut back a couple more lbs and get ready to fly. The Tour of Utah is a Pro/1 only NRC race, and the first of its kind for me. I'm not planning on being unprepared.
More to come soon.
As with any crit, we went in circles a bunch of times. A lot of attacks went off but there was a strong team from Salt Lake in the mix that pulled everything back. I was keying off them, hoping to get in a move with one of their guys but they wanted to bring it down to a field sprint... and so we did... I lined it up as well as I could, fighting my way up to 4th wheel into the second to last corner. Into the last corner the guy right in front of my slowed up and I missed the jump ahead of him and lost the chance to win. I went fast down the finish and held on for 4th, which wasn't stellar but it was a deep field and it did get me a few more upgrade points.
The next day was the ID State Criterium Championship. It was in a far off neighborhood that looked like the set from The Truman Show, about 20 miles from Boise. It was another super flat course but this one didn't have squared off corners like the downtown crit. It was back and forth the whole way and somehow it made a circle. It was a nice change. There were a few pros in the field left over from the day before and when we started I was trying to time attacks to get into a move with a couple of them. Bingo. It worked. We split the field down to 7 off the front and lapped the rest of the field. From there it was a bit of a drag race. No one could get away until a crash near the end of the race and one rider split off the front to eventually win. I had another good sprint but ran out of real estate before I could pass 2nd place, I finished 3rd... More upgrade points, mission semi accomplished.
From Boise I headed back to Bellevue, ID, to hang with my special ladyfriend's parents for a few days. I did some training in the Sun Valley area and caught up with my coach who lives there as well. It was a nice couple of days. Crystal joined me mid-week and we drove out to Bend, Oregon for the Cascade Classic Stage Race.
It was nice to go back to Bend in the summer. I used to go to a ski camp there every June but have not for several years. Its a fun town.
The first race was a road race with a tough uphill finish. I liked my odds and wanted to get to the bottom of the climb at the front. Mid way through the race there were a lot of attacks going off and I was doing my best to cover everything I could. Unfortunately, one move I didn't make it into went away. That was that. The pack was lethargic and no one wanted to chase hard. I made a few efforts to bridge up to them solo but couldn't get away. I sat in near the front, out of the wind until the bottom of the hill and hit it hard. I got away from all but one guy right away and he and I pushed it up and over the top and I out sprinted him for 8th. First guy out of the pack, but 2:45 down to 1st place. Not an ideal start to a stage race.
The next day was a Time Trial. Not having my own bike I am always having to get used to different positions on different peoples bikes. The one I borrowed for Cascade was not my favorite. I didn't feel like I was pulling up with my legs very well and I'm not sure why. But that's why one should have his one TT bike. I rode pretty well on the way up but coming down I didn't feel like I was moving the way I should. It was really fast coming back down and I could have pushed a bigger front chainring. I chose a 55x11 but a 56x11 would have been ideal. I landed in 6th, 20 seconds out of 1st. That marked my first ever defeat in a TT. I wanted to keep that streak going.
That evening was a crit, another downtown one, lots of people, 4 corners and one really weird sketchy corner. I rode at the front of the 120 man field, staying out of trouble and monitoring what was going on. I didn't want to miss another break. Right away there were some attacks that were slow to be brought back and when a group of 7 went up the road, I sensed that it was a good move to be part of. I hit the field hard and bridged up with one rider on my wheel. When we got to the break, the guy who I brought up with me slipped in in front of me and proceeded to take the next two corners as hard as possible for no apparent reason. I couldn't believe he made it out of the first corner and then he went down on the second. I was 2 inches off of his wheel at 35 mph, bad place to be. I locked up my rear wheel and skidded out. I landed hard on my hip and hand, same side I crashed on a month ago. OUCH. But my bike was fine and I was mostly fine, just bleeding, and hardly clothed as my skin suit had a huge hole in the side.
I took my free lap in the pit and jumped back into the break. We held on to a 26 second lead an I just got nipped at the line for the win, 2nd was ok - all things considered.
The last day was a circuit race. 4 laps of the Elite Nationals Road Course. It was really tough and lots of up and down but nothing very sustained. I just rode at the front, staying out of trouble and making the split anytime the field fell apart. The finish was very fast and I just kept myself around 8th. Out of the wind and close enough to attack. As we rounded the last corner i moved a few places up and launched my sprint, passing another handful of riders and made it on the last step of the podium in 3rd. Two days in a row on the podium in a 120 man field, I was pretty happy about that. I picked up another spot on GC to finish 7th - the race was more or less over after the breakaway succeeded that first day.
I did some math on my upgrade points and I had my 30 upgrade points, +/-2. It was up to how they decided to score the circuit race (long story). So I submitted and a few hours later I got word that I was a CAT 1! 4 months and 4 upgrades. And now I am clear to race the Tour of Utah later this month.
So now I am back in Utah, via a few more days in Bellevue, ID on our return from Oregon. I took the majority of the last week off and today is the first day of my last cycling training block. Lots of uphills to be ridden in the next 10 days and not a lot of eating. I need to cut back a couple more lbs and get ready to fly. The Tour of Utah is a Pro/1 only NRC race, and the first of its kind for me. I'm not planning on being unprepared.
More to come soon.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Ups and Downs of Crit Racing.
It didn't take too long to recover from the cold that held me up at the High Uintas Classic. I was able to get a fair amount of super easy distance training in while I was recovering in the days after getting sick and surprisingly came out of it quickly enough to race the following weekend in Pocatello, ID.
The race in Pocatello was a circuit race with 4 miles of gradual climbing and about 1 mile of fairly steep climbing, then back down. We did it 9 times. I felt a little off the first couple laps but the pace was quite high. I settled in and the field settled down a bit. As the laps went on I got stronger and stronger. Late in the race I felt like there weren't many people climbing faster then me, though I didn't really feel like I was firing on all cylinders after such an easy training week. A small break got off the front with 3 or so laps to go. Knowing that I had to remain in the top 7 to get any upgrade points, I pushed it hard at the front to chase down any further attacks and had to burn up my legs a bit towards the end of the race. On the final climb I came out 3rd of the field sprint which was a little disappointing. 7th place was not exactly what I was looking for, but i did get a couple points.
This past week I trained quite hard to get back some of the fitness I lost being sick. I did a couple 5-6 hour rides with some steady tempo (sub threshold) riding uphill and this last Tuesday I went down to our Tuesday night world championships in Salt Lake, a 55 minute criterium in Salt Lake City.
My goal at the Tues Night Worlds was to bury my legs early and hang on, then bury them some more. I rode from my house in Park City, three hours down to the race to begin with. Then in the race I attacked often and early. My legs were hurting pretty bad after 20 minutes, so I sat in until they recovered just enough to attack again and I did. Over and over. It was a good effort until two laps to go. I went into a fast chicane at 30+ mph and flatted my front tire. The tire rolled and before I had any indication of what was going on, I was sliding across the pavement on my right leg. OUCH. Luckily I was fine, save for some major road rash on my hip and shin... However, my rear derailleur was not shifting anymore.
I still felt ok and had planned on riding another 1.5 hours up the hill towards Park City after the race, so I stayed with the plan after cleaning my leg out a bit. With my derailleur not shifting, I had to grind it out in my smallest chain ring. Probably not the worst thing for my power but I would have rather my bike still worked.
The next day I took my bike into Colesport, a local shop who sponsors my cycling team. As I took my bike off my rack, I noticed a crack in the top tube of my bike. After a little more investigation I realized that my frame was toast, totally broken. Bummer. As of today I still don't know what the status of that frame is or what I'll be riding in a week. Not exactly ideal but I know it will get sorted out.
Luckily one of my teammates was headed out of town for the July 4th weekend and I borrowed his bike under the premise that I keep it off the pavement. My girlfriend, Crystal, and I made the trip to her hometown of Hailey, ID (near Sun Valley) for a criterium. Another teammate joined me.
The start of the race was really aggressive and I noticed right away that the field was lethargic in pulling back one of the stronger riders in the field. After maybe 5 minutes we finally pulled him back (him: Reid Pletcher from California Giant) as soon as he was back in the field I attacked hard off the front. I was out on my own pushing 30 mph to stay out front for almost 2 laps until another known strongman (Kai Applequist from Bob's Cycling) bridged up to me. He and I worked very well together, alternating laps for the next 15-20 minutes until we lapped the field. Once we caught back to the field we sat back in. My teammate Tanner did an awesome job of helping chase down attacks and keep the pace high at the front towards the end. With a few laps to go Kai attacked me and spent a lap alone off the front. I didn't panic and Tanner managed to keep him within just a few seconds. At 1 lap to go, a few people surged and I countered off of their move right as we caught up to Kai. I held on for 3/4 of a lap to take the win by 3 bike lengths over second. Tanner rode great to finish 3rd after helping me out.
It was a good day. My first Pro/1/2 win only a few months after upgrading from a Cat 5. I'm still on the hunt for more points to get my Cat 1 upgrade and ride in the Tour of Utah. The next weekend is likely going to be an off weekend from racing, so I'm planning to put in some serious miles. I'd like to take another jump in fitness before tackling the next block of races.
The race in Pocatello was a circuit race with 4 miles of gradual climbing and about 1 mile of fairly steep climbing, then back down. We did it 9 times. I felt a little off the first couple laps but the pace was quite high. I settled in and the field settled down a bit. As the laps went on I got stronger and stronger. Late in the race I felt like there weren't many people climbing faster then me, though I didn't really feel like I was firing on all cylinders after such an easy training week. A small break got off the front with 3 or so laps to go. Knowing that I had to remain in the top 7 to get any upgrade points, I pushed it hard at the front to chase down any further attacks and had to burn up my legs a bit towards the end of the race. On the final climb I came out 3rd of the field sprint which was a little disappointing. 7th place was not exactly what I was looking for, but i did get a couple points.
This past week I trained quite hard to get back some of the fitness I lost being sick. I did a couple 5-6 hour rides with some steady tempo (sub threshold) riding uphill and this last Tuesday I went down to our Tuesday night world championships in Salt Lake, a 55 minute criterium in Salt Lake City.
My goal at the Tues Night Worlds was to bury my legs early and hang on, then bury them some more. I rode from my house in Park City, three hours down to the race to begin with. Then in the race I attacked often and early. My legs were hurting pretty bad after 20 minutes, so I sat in until they recovered just enough to attack again and I did. Over and over. It was a good effort until two laps to go. I went into a fast chicane at 30+ mph and flatted my front tire. The tire rolled and before I had any indication of what was going on, I was sliding across the pavement on my right leg. OUCH. Luckily I was fine, save for some major road rash on my hip and shin... However, my rear derailleur was not shifting anymore.
I still felt ok and had planned on riding another 1.5 hours up the hill towards Park City after the race, so I stayed with the plan after cleaning my leg out a bit. With my derailleur not shifting, I had to grind it out in my smallest chain ring. Probably not the worst thing for my power but I would have rather my bike still worked.
The next day I took my bike into Colesport, a local shop who sponsors my cycling team. As I took my bike off my rack, I noticed a crack in the top tube of my bike. After a little more investigation I realized that my frame was toast, totally broken. Bummer. As of today I still don't know what the status of that frame is or what I'll be riding in a week. Not exactly ideal but I know it will get sorted out.
Luckily one of my teammates was headed out of town for the July 4th weekend and I borrowed his bike under the premise that I keep it off the pavement. My girlfriend, Crystal, and I made the trip to her hometown of Hailey, ID (near Sun Valley) for a criterium. Another teammate joined me.
The start of the race was really aggressive and I noticed right away that the field was lethargic in pulling back one of the stronger riders in the field. After maybe 5 minutes we finally pulled him back (him: Reid Pletcher from California Giant) as soon as he was back in the field I attacked hard off the front. I was out on my own pushing 30 mph to stay out front for almost 2 laps until another known strongman (Kai Applequist from Bob's Cycling) bridged up to me. He and I worked very well together, alternating laps for the next 15-20 minutes until we lapped the field. Once we caught back to the field we sat back in. My teammate Tanner did an awesome job of helping chase down attacks and keep the pace high at the front towards the end. With a few laps to go Kai attacked me and spent a lap alone off the front. I didn't panic and Tanner managed to keep him within just a few seconds. At 1 lap to go, a few people surged and I countered off of their move right as we caught up to Kai. I held on for 3/4 of a lap to take the win by 3 bike lengths over second. Tanner rode great to finish 3rd after helping me out.
It was a good day. My first Pro/1/2 win only a few months after upgrading from a Cat 5. I'm still on the hunt for more points to get my Cat 1 upgrade and ride in the Tour of Utah. The next weekend is likely going to be an off weekend from racing, so I'm planning to put in some serious miles. I'd like to take another jump in fitness before tackling the next block of races.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Upgrade.
Its been a few weeks since my last update. A lot has happened since then...
So I did go up to Oregon for the Mt Hood Classic. It was pretty cool, I have never been there before. I was fired up to race and grab some points to upgrade to a Cat 2 ASAP. The first race was a 60 mile circuit race. 2.5 laps, a steady but progressively steeper climb for 9 miles or so, and a 6 mile decent. The race did two complete laps and then finished at the top of the climb...
I sat in for the first two laps, watching other racers. I didn't know anyone in the field so I was paying attention and trying to figure out who was strong. Somewhere one guy got off the front, no one seemed to see him go away. The race official told us he had 3:45 on us with 10 miles to go. At 5k to go he had 1:35. With 3k left I attacked hard off the front and went alone trying to catch that guy. I almost did but wound up 3 seconds short, but did finish in 2nd place. I didn't make a lot of time on any of the 'fast' guys but it certainly didn't hurt my confidence.
Next day was the TT. I pushed hard on my pedals and went harder and harder through the race. Pretty simple plan really. It worked and I won by a large margin. I went into the 3rd day with a 50 second time bonus... Not bad for a guy racing on borrowed TT equipment and almost no practice.
The 3rd day was the road race with a hard uphill finish, 90 miles long. Wearing yellow with no teammates, in an Oregon race. I'm from Utah. I knew it was going to be hard... I covered attacks alone for the first 50 miles or so. It seemed like no problem to control but I was looking forward to the hills at the end. Many attacks tried but none got away but one, and that one happened to have the 4th place guy in it. They were 4 minutes up the road when we found out... I had to decide to try to catch him or not, no one would help and my legs were too tired to put out a good attack of my own. I put my head down and drove the main field of 60 down to a crew of 8 for 10 miles uphill. When we caught the break, the race started. I hung for 2 miles but with 3mi to go, I died in the worst way. I lost a ton of time to the winners (4 min) but was proud of what I did. Sometimes you have to go for it. It generally feels really good when you do, regardless of the outcome.
Going into day 4 I was burning. I wanted to make sure to leave my mark on the race. But I was not about to go do a bunch of work for all the guys who didn't do anything for me the day before. So I sat in the whole way, right around 5th wheel. With one lap to go, there was a solo break off the front 20 seconds up. I waited for a lull and when it came I jumped. I crushed it for half a lap and put a good 5 seconds on the field and brought back all but a few seconds on the eventual winner. It felt good to succeed tactically after the day before.
So I got PLENTY of points to upgrade and finally (it has only been 2 months i guess) race with my team in the Pro/1/2 field.
So back to Utah and the State Road Championships. 88 miles. My job was to cover every move possible and do zero work when in a break. So thats what I did all day. All day. It sucks to be the guy in a good move who doesn't want to work, but that was the name of the game that day. With a lap to go, 16 miles, the whole race was together. We wanted to keep our guy, Dave Clinger, at the front when we got to the one steep climb on the course. My teammate and I drilled it at the front for a few miles to try to keep any attacks from happening. When we approached the hill I thought I was toast but that wasnt the case at all. I managed to make the first group over the hill without any problem. I pulled my guys back up to the front and led Dave out in the sprint, which means I was winning the race with 200 meters to go... I ended up finishing 11th, Dave got 2nd... Not a bad showing for my first go with that field.
This weekend was the High Uintas Classic. A good one for me, since it has a huge climb that peaks at 10,500 ft. On Friday I felt a little rough but thought it might be allergies, so I brushed it off. I started on Saturday hoping that I'd feel ready to go but not long into the race, I got myself into a good break and immediately felt my body was off. I knew I was getting sick right away. I pulled the plug and sailed back to the main field for a few minutes before rolling off the back and just spinning it out until I found a ride home.
Today, Sunday, I woke up a sick kid. Just an upper respiratory thing but that is a problem considering that respiration is a big part of how I make a living. Its a bummer but thats how it goes. Just a little bad luck. So I'll be taking a few days off and hoping it comes back around later this week. I want to race again soon. I'm having way to much fun to sit on the sideline.
So I did go up to Oregon for the Mt Hood Classic. It was pretty cool, I have never been there before. I was fired up to race and grab some points to upgrade to a Cat 2 ASAP. The first race was a 60 mile circuit race. 2.5 laps, a steady but progressively steeper climb for 9 miles or so, and a 6 mile decent. The race did two complete laps and then finished at the top of the climb...
I sat in for the first two laps, watching other racers. I didn't know anyone in the field so I was paying attention and trying to figure out who was strong. Somewhere one guy got off the front, no one seemed to see him go away. The race official told us he had 3:45 on us with 10 miles to go. At 5k to go he had 1:35. With 3k left I attacked hard off the front and went alone trying to catch that guy. I almost did but wound up 3 seconds short, but did finish in 2nd place. I didn't make a lot of time on any of the 'fast' guys but it certainly didn't hurt my confidence.
Next day was the TT. I pushed hard on my pedals and went harder and harder through the race. Pretty simple plan really. It worked and I won by a large margin. I went into the 3rd day with a 50 second time bonus... Not bad for a guy racing on borrowed TT equipment and almost no practice.
The 3rd day was the road race with a hard uphill finish, 90 miles long. Wearing yellow with no teammates, in an Oregon race. I'm from Utah. I knew it was going to be hard... I covered attacks alone for the first 50 miles or so. It seemed like no problem to control but I was looking forward to the hills at the end. Many attacks tried but none got away but one, and that one happened to have the 4th place guy in it. They were 4 minutes up the road when we found out... I had to decide to try to catch him or not, no one would help and my legs were too tired to put out a good attack of my own. I put my head down and drove the main field of 60 down to a crew of 8 for 10 miles uphill. When we caught the break, the race started. I hung for 2 miles but with 3mi to go, I died in the worst way. I lost a ton of time to the winners (4 min) but was proud of what I did. Sometimes you have to go for it. It generally feels really good when you do, regardless of the outcome.
Going into day 4 I was burning. I wanted to make sure to leave my mark on the race. But I was not about to go do a bunch of work for all the guys who didn't do anything for me the day before. So I sat in the whole way, right around 5th wheel. With one lap to go, there was a solo break off the front 20 seconds up. I waited for a lull and when it came I jumped. I crushed it for half a lap and put a good 5 seconds on the field and brought back all but a few seconds on the eventual winner. It felt good to succeed tactically after the day before.
So I got PLENTY of points to upgrade and finally (it has only been 2 months i guess) race with my team in the Pro/1/2 field.
So back to Utah and the State Road Championships. 88 miles. My job was to cover every move possible and do zero work when in a break. So thats what I did all day. All day. It sucks to be the guy in a good move who doesn't want to work, but that was the name of the game that day. With a lap to go, 16 miles, the whole race was together. We wanted to keep our guy, Dave Clinger, at the front when we got to the one steep climb on the course. My teammate and I drilled it at the front for a few miles to try to keep any attacks from happening. When we approached the hill I thought I was toast but that wasnt the case at all. I managed to make the first group over the hill without any problem. I pulled my guys back up to the front and led Dave out in the sprint, which means I was winning the race with 200 meters to go... I ended up finishing 11th, Dave got 2nd... Not a bad showing for my first go with that field.
This weekend was the High Uintas Classic. A good one for me, since it has a huge climb that peaks at 10,500 ft. On Friday I felt a little rough but thought it might be allergies, so I brushed it off. I started on Saturday hoping that I'd feel ready to go but not long into the race, I got myself into a good break and immediately felt my body was off. I knew I was getting sick right away. I pulled the plug and sailed back to the main field for a few minutes before rolling off the back and just spinning it out until I found a ride home.
Today, Sunday, I woke up a sick kid. Just an upper respiratory thing but that is a problem considering that respiration is a big part of how I make a living. Its a bummer but thats how it goes. Just a little bad luck. So I'll be taking a few days off and hoping it comes back around later this week. I want to race again soon. I'm having way to much fun to sit on the sideline.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
two weekends. two races each.
So last weekend was the Bear Lake Classic in Northern Utah. It was a race I've never done before, in fact I had never even been to Bear Lake. I traveled up on Friday in my dad's Eurovan, which happens to be the best road trip car ever. It is also as comfortable to sleep in as most hotel rooms which makes it pretty convenient. On Friday I did a fairly typical pre-race routine, which is 3x3 min of very controlled intensity and another 3-5 accelerations. I felt good all around and was really starting to feel comfortable sprinting on a bike.
The road race was a pretty long one, 104 miles, which equated to two laps around the lake. It was fairly flat, save for some punchy, rolling hills on the backside. The first lap was more or less a parade. A break went off the front early all of the bigger teams in our field were represented. Somewhere near the end of the lap one of the riders from one of the teams shot out the back of the break. Once we caught him, the race was on. With three guys up the road still myself and a handful of the stronger riders in the field organized up front and drove the pace at close to 30 mph for 45 minutes. It didn't take long to reel the break in. Immediately the attacks started flying. I was feeling super aggressive that day and had attacked a number of times while the pace was high but never was able to get much of a separation. I settled in for another half an hour while we rode through the rolling section of the course. People seemed to ready for attacks there, but as soon as it was over, i was ready. i pounced another bunch of times with limited success before finally another rider got away and i bridged up to him. he was on one of the big teams so his crew did a good job of squandering any big pushes to catch us. The next 15 miles were super tough, into the wind and just a couple of guys hammering it out to stay away from the masses. It was close but we did stay away. I drove the break a little too much and got outsprinted by the passengers for 3rd. In hindsight I should have attacked them at the end but it didn't occur to me at the time. i've only been doing this a few months but the learning curve is steep.
the second day i was asked to be part of our pro/1/2 team time trial. my other teammates included a former pro who raced for US postal and festina not long ago, another National caliber time trialist and two other super talented young guns. and me racing on a borrowed time trial bike. I didn't know what to expect of a TTT but it didn't take long to figure out that pure agony was the name of the game. everyone took short turns at the front killing themselves and tucked back in to almost recover and do it again.... for 50 miles. i think it was the hardest race i've ever done, skis or bike, whatever. it was HARD. i was going so hard that i couldn't take a drink from my waterbottle or eat any of the gels that i brought. in the end it was worth it because we won, only by 9 seconds after an hour and forty minutes of crushing ourselves. i think it worked out to be a 31.25 mph average. HARD. REALLY HARD.
This weekend was a classic SLC criterium called the Sugarhouse Crit. Its super fast and easy to sit in, which is not good for me. I like to hammer at the front and drop everyone i can. that is just not possible at sugarhouse without a team, and i am without team for atleast a couple more weeks until i get another upgrade. So it was a 50 minute race. i spent the first 25 minutes chasing down attacks on my own. it wasn't long before i was getting tired, the average pace was 28 mph, so chasing off the front of that took its toll. I tried a few moves on my own but couldn't get anyone to pull through to keep it rolling. for the last 10 minutes i sat in and tried to set myself up for a sprint. on the last lap i found myself on the front, which was bad. I soft pedaled for half of the lap hoping someone would pass me but it didn't happen until the last mile. I tried to stay in around 5th wheel but got swarmed and had to sprint from close to 20th (~60 person field) i found an open lane and was coming up hot but the door closed before i could ride through it, finishing somewhere between 5-10. i was a little disappointed to let an opportunity like that slip by but thats how it goes on a fast flat course with no teammates. i did what i could. next time i will sit in until the last possible second.
Yesterday was the a different kind of crit. one with hills and a fast technical downhill. the field was a bit smaller, being memorial day weekend and a sunday in utah, but many of the top riders did show up. another 50 minute race, i attacked early and often. it wasn't long before it was a 4 man group. i felt comfortable attacking on the climb as everyone had to work to stay on. I didn't want anyone getting a jump on me at the end with fresh legs. Earlier in the week I dialed the downhill in and found a way down that i didn't have to brake. I didn't ride that line until the last lap. I attacked going up the hill and got a few feet of separation but sent it on the downhill and pulled out a good sized gap that no one could follow. that was that and i won. i was psyched. our team managed a win in the men's 4s, mens 3s, men 1/2 and men masters 45+. it was a good one for us.
i'm not sure whether or not i'll race next weekend. i'm going to go up to a big national level race in Oregon called the Mt Hood Classic. It will be a 4 day stage race: 90 mile road race, 40k time trial, 90 mile road race, criterium. If things go well it will be my last race before joining my team in the pro/1/2 field. i'm pretty excited about that.
The road race was a pretty long one, 104 miles, which equated to two laps around the lake. It was fairly flat, save for some punchy, rolling hills on the backside. The first lap was more or less a parade. A break went off the front early all of the bigger teams in our field were represented. Somewhere near the end of the lap one of the riders from one of the teams shot out the back of the break. Once we caught him, the race was on. With three guys up the road still myself and a handful of the stronger riders in the field organized up front and drove the pace at close to 30 mph for 45 minutes. It didn't take long to reel the break in. Immediately the attacks started flying. I was feeling super aggressive that day and had attacked a number of times while the pace was high but never was able to get much of a separation. I settled in for another half an hour while we rode through the rolling section of the course. People seemed to ready for attacks there, but as soon as it was over, i was ready. i pounced another bunch of times with limited success before finally another rider got away and i bridged up to him. he was on one of the big teams so his crew did a good job of squandering any big pushes to catch us. The next 15 miles were super tough, into the wind and just a couple of guys hammering it out to stay away from the masses. It was close but we did stay away. I drove the break a little too much and got outsprinted by the passengers for 3rd. In hindsight I should have attacked them at the end but it didn't occur to me at the time. i've only been doing this a few months but the learning curve is steep.
the second day i was asked to be part of our pro/1/2 team time trial. my other teammates included a former pro who raced for US postal and festina not long ago, another National caliber time trialist and two other super talented young guns. and me racing on a borrowed time trial bike. I didn't know what to expect of a TTT but it didn't take long to figure out that pure agony was the name of the game. everyone took short turns at the front killing themselves and tucked back in to almost recover and do it again.... for 50 miles. i think it was the hardest race i've ever done, skis or bike, whatever. it was HARD. i was going so hard that i couldn't take a drink from my waterbottle or eat any of the gels that i brought. in the end it was worth it because we won, only by 9 seconds after an hour and forty minutes of crushing ourselves. i think it worked out to be a 31.25 mph average. HARD. REALLY HARD.
This weekend was a classic SLC criterium called the Sugarhouse Crit. Its super fast and easy to sit in, which is not good for me. I like to hammer at the front and drop everyone i can. that is just not possible at sugarhouse without a team, and i am without team for atleast a couple more weeks until i get another upgrade. So it was a 50 minute race. i spent the first 25 minutes chasing down attacks on my own. it wasn't long before i was getting tired, the average pace was 28 mph, so chasing off the front of that took its toll. I tried a few moves on my own but couldn't get anyone to pull through to keep it rolling. for the last 10 minutes i sat in and tried to set myself up for a sprint. on the last lap i found myself on the front, which was bad. I soft pedaled for half of the lap hoping someone would pass me but it didn't happen until the last mile. I tried to stay in around 5th wheel but got swarmed and had to sprint from close to 20th (~60 person field) i found an open lane and was coming up hot but the door closed before i could ride through it, finishing somewhere between 5-10. i was a little disappointed to let an opportunity like that slip by but thats how it goes on a fast flat course with no teammates. i did what i could. next time i will sit in until the last possible second.
Yesterday was the a different kind of crit. one with hills and a fast technical downhill. the field was a bit smaller, being memorial day weekend and a sunday in utah, but many of the top riders did show up. another 50 minute race, i attacked early and often. it wasn't long before it was a 4 man group. i felt comfortable attacking on the climb as everyone had to work to stay on. I didn't want anyone getting a jump on me at the end with fresh legs. Earlier in the week I dialed the downhill in and found a way down that i didn't have to brake. I didn't ride that line until the last lap. I attacked going up the hill and got a few feet of separation but sent it on the downhill and pulled out a good sized gap that no one could follow. that was that and i won. i was psyched. our team managed a win in the men's 4s, mens 3s, men 1/2 and men masters 45+. it was a good one for us.
i'm not sure whether or not i'll race next weekend. i'm going to go up to a big national level race in Oregon called the Mt Hood Classic. It will be a 4 day stage race: 90 mile road race, 40k time trial, 90 mile road race, criterium. If things go well it will be my last race before joining my team in the pro/1/2 field. i'm pretty excited about that.
Monday, May 11, 2009
More Racing and Some Not Racing.
Well not too much has been going on the past two weeks. Lots of riding and one race in pouring rain, but other than that not much happening.
Two weekends ago was the Antelope Island Classic Road Race. Antelope Island is an island on the Great Salt Lake. We started on the causeway and rode out across the long landbridge to the island and completed 6 or 7 laps on a 6 mile circuit and finished on a 9 mile out and back (18 total). The weather was not ideal. It was raining as hard as I've ever seen it rain in Salt Lake and the wind never stops on Antelope Island.
The first race in a new category for me, I didn't really know who the strong guys were. I just rode at the front and watched for moves. I chased down a lot of breaks that were a little unnecessary but thats how it is when you don't know anyone. The course was very punchy and so the pace was also. I had no problem pushing the pace on the uphills but with an 18 mile, ultra flat finish stretch there was no incentive to try to leave the group. I sat tight and kept my nose out of the wind. As we approached the finish 5 of us broke of the front by a small margin. The last 500m was a steep uphill and I sat back hoping to pounce right before the line. I wound up on the back of what I thought was a good wheel to follow but he faded just as another rider jumped. I missed the move by a second or two and ended up 5th several inches out of 1st. Sprints on a bike are still a little hit and miss for me, but it gets better every week.
That day and also the week before I felt a little flat. I wasn't recovering as well as usual and I didn't have my normal edge during the race, especially at the end. Looking back on what I had done for the four weeks prior, there had been no rest. Four weekends of racing, 7 individual events and weekly hours hovering around 20. I just needed a rest.
On that note I decided to skip this weekends Salt Lake Downtown Criterium. I just wanted a low pressure recovery week to unwind a bit. I took a few days off last week and a couple more days easy. This past weekend I put some big rides in, 4.5 hrs on Saturday and 5.5 hrs yesterday, in preparation for next weekend's Bear Lake Classic, a 102 Mile Road Race on Saturday. Sunday is a team time trial, 5 man team, 50 miles long. It should be a hard weekend and I want to be ready. The week after next, Memorial Day weekend, is a criterium at a popular park in Salt Lake City on Saturday and a very tough circuit race in Park City on Sunday.
Lots of riding to come and so much more racing as well.
My community service has been delayed a bit in PC right now by a Swine Flu outbreak. The schools closed down for a week but are supposed to open anyday. The sooner the better, I've got some kids to hang out with before school ends in June.
Two weekends ago was the Antelope Island Classic Road Race. Antelope Island is an island on the Great Salt Lake. We started on the causeway and rode out across the long landbridge to the island and completed 6 or 7 laps on a 6 mile circuit and finished on a 9 mile out and back (18 total). The weather was not ideal. It was raining as hard as I've ever seen it rain in Salt Lake and the wind never stops on Antelope Island.
The first race in a new category for me, I didn't really know who the strong guys were. I just rode at the front and watched for moves. I chased down a lot of breaks that were a little unnecessary but thats how it is when you don't know anyone. The course was very punchy and so the pace was also. I had no problem pushing the pace on the uphills but with an 18 mile, ultra flat finish stretch there was no incentive to try to leave the group. I sat tight and kept my nose out of the wind. As we approached the finish 5 of us broke of the front by a small margin. The last 500m was a steep uphill and I sat back hoping to pounce right before the line. I wound up on the back of what I thought was a good wheel to follow but he faded just as another rider jumped. I missed the move by a second or two and ended up 5th several inches out of 1st. Sprints on a bike are still a little hit and miss for me, but it gets better every week.
That day and also the week before I felt a little flat. I wasn't recovering as well as usual and I didn't have my normal edge during the race, especially at the end. Looking back on what I had done for the four weeks prior, there had been no rest. Four weekends of racing, 7 individual events and weekly hours hovering around 20. I just needed a rest.
On that note I decided to skip this weekends Salt Lake Downtown Criterium. I just wanted a low pressure recovery week to unwind a bit. I took a few days off last week and a couple more days easy. This past weekend I put some big rides in, 4.5 hrs on Saturday and 5.5 hrs yesterday, in preparation for next weekend's Bear Lake Classic, a 102 Mile Road Race on Saturday. Sunday is a team time trial, 5 man team, 50 miles long. It should be a hard weekend and I want to be ready. The week after next, Memorial Day weekend, is a criterium at a popular park in Salt Lake City on Saturday and a very tough circuit race in Park City on Sunday.
Lots of riding to come and so much more racing as well.
My community service has been delayed a bit in PC right now by a Swine Flu outbreak. The schools closed down for a week but are supposed to open anyday. The sooner the better, I've got some kids to hang out with before school ends in June.
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