ID3: East Coasters Criterium (Race #3)

Posted by Dan on 6. July 2009 06:56

The final day of the ID3 races was cold, wet and downright inhospitable. It was drizzling rain when I woke up and continued throughout the day. Temperatures hovered in the low 60s. Winds were predicted to be 5-10 mph from the west, but I'm fairly sure they were from the east providing a headwind on the back straight.

I arrived early enough to catch the two races prior to the 3/4 race. Corners were being handled very gingerly and the security of the course seemed to be questionable as a black pick-up truck slowly made its way backwards down the course towards the oncoming riders in the Masters race. Warming up under an awning, it occurred to me that if the drive had been 100 miles shorter, I probably would have bailed. Alas, it wasn't and I didn't.

19 Cat 3s and 4s lined up about 15 minutes past our start time. We got the standard briefing and took off. Immediately, I was caught behind a rider in the front row unable to clip in. He came to a complete stop while looking at his pedal which caused me to employ my masterful bike handling skills a bit earlier than anticipated. We both quickly caught the pack, but it didn't last long. The first and second turns were spaced about 40 feet apart and required a great deal of braking to navigate safely. My understanding was most crashes happened in turn 2. Eventually, the accordion effect created a gap a few wheels in front of me and just like that we were on our own.

In the span of 30 laps, a lot of those riders disappeared. I didn't witness a single crash, so they may have pulled off or were yanked. When the dust settled, there were three groups: a lead group of 6, the remnants of the main field consisting of 3 riders and finally me and one other rider. We spent the better part of the race working to catch the 3 and did so with three laps to go. It was a fairly spectacular catch - I blew by the lead rider milliseconds after he won a jersey prime, providing a little drama to the spectators. With only a few laps left and no danger of being lapped, the pace slowed a tad until the final sprint. In the interest of providing a good show for the crowd, we gave it our best Cat 4 dropped riders sprint, which I won. Had there not been an Omnium point on the line, who knows?

Overall, I finished 7th - redeemable for 1 Omnium Point. With my 1 point from the previous day's 8th place finish, I earned a total of 2 Omnium Points. Not quite what I had in mind, but I had a great time in that race, which surprised me. I wasn't looking forward to a 45 minute cold shower, but the thrill of the chase was overwhelming. Maybe I need a phantom break to keep me motivated enough to go off the front and stay away.

Many thanks to Ron Glowczynski and Roanoake Cycling Organziation and all of the officials and volunteers that made this a fantastic weekend of racing.