2009 Patriots Criterium (NC State Championship)

Posted by Dan on 27. May 2009 07:04

Memorial Day's racing action proved to be more action packed than the previous day's time trial. The Patriots Criterium (NC State Championship) was held in historic downtown Fayetteville. Cross Creek Cycling Club laid out a nice 0.7 mile course and the forecast called for sunny and warm with a 20%+ chance of rain in the afternoon. I planned to be packed up and halfway home before any rain hit so we were good.

The day began at 6:00 AM when we woke up at the hotel and got Benny ready for his first Juniors 10-12 race. He was completely stoked to be doing a real race even though he brought only open-toe sandals and a mountain bike. We threw the essentials (including children) into the van and headed off to the race which began at 7:00 AM. We got him registered, pinned and ready to rock. He took a few practice laps while they focused the camera and got ready for a long day. They ran two Juniors races simulataneously, so the starting lineup was full of kids ages 9 to 15, Benny being in the 9 y/o group. At the start, the main field broke into a dozen fragments, Benny being one. He rode the whole 20 minutes and finished two laps down with a flat rear tire. I think the thrill of being in his first Juniors race outweighed the frustration of his finish or the flat. Let his training begin.

After the Junior's race, we sprinted for the hotel to pack up, check out and get breakfast before getting back for the Masters 35+ Cat 4/5 race. We got back in time for me to begin warming up an hour or so befor the 10:10 start. The previous race was still going at 10:10 with only a lap or two to go. On the bell lap while the field was in turn 3, 4 fire trucks broke through the caution tap at the far end of the front stretch and headed up the road, right toward the sprinting riders. They stopped outside a (former?) department store to investigate a fire alarm. The race finished, avoiding the fire trucks, and we took to the course to warm up and find our lines. For an hour. The firetrucks finally pulled off the course and we could start.

There were 27 of us on the line. At go, it started to drizzle. By the end of the third lap, it was raining. The crashes started shortly after. The first one happened in turn 3. Two guys went down right in front of me, leaving a nice little chicane for me to navigate before sprinting like mad to close the gap that just opened before me. A few laps later, two or three went down in turn 4, leaving me and another rider to head off the course, onto the sidewalk and into the spectators. A daring sprint for the course and duck under the caution tape brought me back in contact with the group, ready to do it again. This was getting fun. The rain continued. We lost a few more riders with each lap. Most took advantage of the free lap so there were always new riders showing up when you thought you had a handle on the remaining group. Finally, the bell lap came and we all lined up for the sprint. We ran the last turn as a bunch and... wait for it... the main field went down. A handful of us took the corner a little tighter and were able to get our sprint on. I finished 3rd. There were only 14 finishers, many of those having gone down at least once.


Note the position of the PowerTap.

Next up for Team Fitness Together was Kyle's Cat 1/2/3 race. 75 minutes, 40 starters and no rain. The roads were drying nicely and it looked like it'd be a great race. The pace shot up from the word go and stayed high throughout. The time was eventually shortened to 65 minutes, which probably didn't help the pace slow down any. Kyle worked like a champ, staying off the front and out of trouble. We watched him slowly begin his move to the front with each lap. There was a break of 5 that lapped the field, so the bunch sprint would be for 1st and 6th. Kyle was definitely going for that 6th place spot. With less than 5 to go, the call for an EMT to corner 3 goes out and Kyle's missing from the field as they go by. Kyle was crashed out by another rider making a dumb move for position in the worst possible place. So Kyle's day ended with an incident report and a ride to the hospital. He was cleaned up and sent home with fresh bandages.



Wick and I were last to go with the Cat 4 race. By this time, it was warm and dry. There were rain clouds looming to the west, but we were only racing for 45 minutes and weren't too concerned. The race was a bit slower than my first one and I made the decision to work for absolutely no one no how. I sat at the back and watched for wrecks. Wick and I sat in in a big way and did nothing. There may have been a few attempts at a break but they were quickly reeled in. With 11 to go, I somehow found myself on the front because when I say I refuse to work, that means I refuse to brake too. The field slowed and bam! there I was on the front. So I hit it. I got myself a little gap and reached down to straighten my PowerTap which had rolled forward on the handlebar. The mounting harness broke off as I righted it, so the computer went in my pocket (So there may be a very good reason why PowerTaps are mounted on the stem... who knew?). I was left with nothing more than old fashioned perceived effort to gauge my performance. Eventually, one of the guys that made an earlier attempt at a break rolled up to help. The two of us had managed to get a 6 second gap or so, but I mistakingly heard it reported by a corner work as TWENTY-six seconds. I don't think either of us slowed down, but I do know that our cornering was sufficiently fast enough that we didn't need to speed up - not with 26 seconds. Wick moved to the front and chilled, providing a nice false tempo, but the field wasn't buying it. They left us out there for about 5 laps before closing the 6 second lead within one lap. I stayed between 5th and 8th wheel, waiting for the sprint with Wick right behind me. The final turn was a bit hairy with a large group squeezing through a small space at high speed. Somehow I found myself about 12th wheel coming through the turn. My sprint got me two more positions, but not enough. I finished 10th and Wick was got 13th. All things considered, it was a great race.



That was the end of our race weekend in Fayetteville, NC. We loaded up the vehicles and headed back to Norfolk where we could go back to work and get some peace and quiet. Next up is the Haley Pontiac - Chipotle Bryan Park Circuit Race in Richmond.

More pictures can be found here.