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April 27, 2005
Race Update - Opus II
Last night was the second Opus Criterium race. I chose to just do the Cat 4/5 as the weather was cold and wet at a chilly 44 degrees.
The race had it's usual suspects and the three guys who performed well last week were back. My goal for the race was to place in one of the sprints (sprints happen every 3 laps) and mark the favorites with a hope to finish strong.
I rode the course (5 laps) prior to the race to get a feel for the road conditions and the wind. The lane lines were slippery as were the tar patch work on the road. The wind also kicked up on the down hill portion of the course ensuring that speeds would be a bit lower. The conditions meant that most of the riders would be nervous and the inexperienced would have trouble holding their lines (both proved to be true).
The start of the race was uneventful and I ended up in the middle of the pack. Not exactly where I like to be. I had an idea (a stupid one it turned out) that coming into the up hill portion of the course I would switch to my small gear in the front and the 12/11 in the back. I thought I could keep a higher cadence and be able to transition into a sprint easier. As it turned out in the first sprint, I was in the wrong position and my gearing was wrong, I did not have the gears to match the speed of the other sprinters.
In the second sprint, things were different. I marked the guy who typically wins the sprints and sat right on his wheel. As he moved to the outside, I was just sitting there. He looked back at me, dropped his gears down and got ready to hammer. As soon as I saw his gears shift, I shifted mine and counter attacked. We ended up going at the same time. He quickly out sprinted me, but I held on for 3rd in the sprint, as there was one guy out front that I did not know was there. So goal one was accomplished and I got a placing in one of the sprints.
After the sprint, I slowed down and waited for the pack to catch me. They caught me but sat behind on my wheel intead of passing me. A 1/2 dozen guys eventually did pass, but the lead-out guy that I marked in the second sprint held back. As we came up to the final sprint, no one in front of me was going to lead out the sprint. So I decided to jump on my own. Just as I was shifting my gears, the lead-out guy blew by me with a few on his tail. I jumped and tried to get on the train, but missed it. I ended up sixth in the sprint which put me 7th overall for the points race.
I was psyched with my race today. I placed in a sprint and finished strong at the end. I realized three things today:
1. I need to be mindful of my efforts in the non-sprint laps.
2. I need to mark the right riders and use them to help lead me out.
3. I need to use the outside lane and just go for it on the sprint laps.
Finally, at all times I need to know that I can win this race.
Posted by kermisch at April 27, 2005 10:46 AM