Monday, July 17, 2006
Unionvale RR
It was Arlen, Matt, Wade, and I. Sorry if I'm a little light on details here, but i'll do my best. A pretty small field of about 50 riders (even though it was pre-reg only, it looked like a few were able to register day of - Lee Sorrels?? and probably others). Last years winner Fernando was there and he had a pretty strong team to support him. I didn't realize he had such a strong accent until I tried to talk to him during the race. Big mistake, I'm still trying to figure out what he was saying. Seems like a nice guy though, then again, he could have been swearing at me for all I know. Verge Sports Test Pilot (orange jerseys) also had a really strong team. The Stage 1 guys were also there in full force. I think we were the first field to start which was good because it was getting really hot. I made a big mistake and only brought 2 water bottles (the small ones). Also took two gels that they gave out for free at the start. Definetely not good to take without adequate fluids. Money bags Domnarski took more than his share of the free gels. That was his big pay-off for racing today.
The first lap was pretty hard. The verge guys were pushing the pace, and I wasn't sure whether to stay in the big ring or shift to the small ring. It finally settled down, but it was still really hot on the climbs. Shade good but no shade no good. I pretty much held my position close to the front for most of the race. That strategy seemed to work well for me lately, so I stuck with that. We were communicating well during this race. I can't remember all the little details of each lap, but I did know that I had finished a bottle and there was a lot of racing left. Today was not the day to be conservative with the fluids, but that's what I ended up doing. Our guys looked good and the miles were ticking away. All breaks were allowed a little distance then reeled in usually on the climbs. As most of you already know, even though the climbs weren't really long and that steep they come at you pretty fast making the race difficult. If your feeling weak, you're pretty much done. There's no coming back to the pack. Even if you do, you'll get dropped on the next climbs. You've gotta have the basic fitness for this kind of race, hang in there, and stay focused. Of course, staying focused is my strength, yeah right!! I struggled but did o.k. with that part. I'm finding that when I start to lose focus, the best thing to do is ride even harder.
At the top of one of the steepest climbs on like lap three, I pushed it a little and find myself off the front with Xavier Melendez (won the FSR Crit.) and a strong Verge guy - I think the guy who eventually won the race today). We are organized and working hard and get a good gap on the field. I'm not feeling great, but doing my share of the work. The field eventually closes the gap and we let up. I'm pretty sure if we had a target training guy with us we had a good chance to make it. Wade mentioned that Fernando was at the back when we got away so they ended up leading the chase. I recovery pretty well and stay at the front.
As the race continued it was only Arlen and I left. It was kind of funny, but good, that everytime i would look back to see who was left, Arlen would wave to me. He rode a great race for sure. He attacked at one point but no-one responded and followed. I wasn't in a good positon at the time so couldn't do much to help him. He was quickly brought back, but a good move and he obviously had some snap in the legs. As Matt already mentioned in his report, he fell off the pace.. The field came up to Matt on one of the smaller climbs and I was thinking how could we be lapping Matt. I didn't realize he had taken a wrong turn and cut the course short. Probably a good thing given the heat and all. Wade looked good and then he was gone. I'm sure little Nate was the culprit. I wish I had thought of asking Matt for his water, then again it probably would have left him dead. In retrospect, better off i didn't.
As we approached the long final 1.5 mile climb to the finish, the pace picked up significantly. I had been out of water for about the last 15 - 20 miles or so, but I was still o.k. I mistakingly took a gel without water and had a major cramp on my side before the last climb and hoped it wouldn't come back. It didn't. Xavier Malendez attacked before the final climb and hung out there at about 5 seconds all the way to the base of the climb. Lee Sorrels was working really hard up front to chase him down. Not sure why since Lee had no team-mates. Maybe he was feeling great and said why not work. It was good for the rest of the field since we just sat on the train. When we hit the base of the climb, it was strung out and all together. I was in the front 10 and praying for it not to hurt too much. This year no-one really attacked the hill (i.e., last year John McKone did and it worked for him). It was a steady grind from the bottom. It hurt for sure!! O.K., I'll stay positive here. The hurting was good because it created a split and i was in the front group of 6 or so. The others behind were not coming back and i think Arlen was in that group. Arlen said there really wasn't a group behind, it was just staggered riders. I dug in as deep and stayed in the front group tyring to get into a rythym. The hill kept going and going and I was at my max. I eventually had to let up and let 5 guys go. I kept it steady and passed one rider toward the top. The finish never seemed to come. The last 1 km seemed to take forever, but I had 5th clinched for sure. There was a huge gap behind to the next rider. I almost collapsed at the finish line and was really glad it was over. I must have drank about a gallon of water after the race. I never knew water could taste soo good. Arlen finished a solid 12th and was happy with his result and fitness. Matt looked like death and was definetely dehydrated. I picked up $45 for 5th place. It was a hard race for sure. Simply finishing is an accomplishment. Glad I was able to put in a decent effort for the team.
Ed
The first lap was pretty hard. The verge guys were pushing the pace, and I wasn't sure whether to stay in the big ring or shift to the small ring. It finally settled down, but it was still really hot on the climbs. Shade good but no shade no good. I pretty much held my position close to the front for most of the race. That strategy seemed to work well for me lately, so I stuck with that. We were communicating well during this race. I can't remember all the little details of each lap, but I did know that I had finished a bottle and there was a lot of racing left. Today was not the day to be conservative with the fluids, but that's what I ended up doing. Our guys looked good and the miles were ticking away. All breaks were allowed a little distance then reeled in usually on the climbs. As most of you already know, even though the climbs weren't really long and that steep they come at you pretty fast making the race difficult. If your feeling weak, you're pretty much done. There's no coming back to the pack. Even if you do, you'll get dropped on the next climbs. You've gotta have the basic fitness for this kind of race, hang in there, and stay focused. Of course, staying focused is my strength, yeah right!! I struggled but did o.k. with that part. I'm finding that when I start to lose focus, the best thing to do is ride even harder.
At the top of one of the steepest climbs on like lap three, I pushed it a little and find myself off the front with Xavier Melendez (won the FSR Crit.) and a strong Verge guy - I think the guy who eventually won the race today). We are organized and working hard and get a good gap on the field. I'm not feeling great, but doing my share of the work. The field eventually closes the gap and we let up. I'm pretty sure if we had a target training guy with us we had a good chance to make it. Wade mentioned that Fernando was at the back when we got away so they ended up leading the chase. I recovery pretty well and stay at the front.
As the race continued it was only Arlen and I left. It was kind of funny, but good, that everytime i would look back to see who was left, Arlen would wave to me. He rode a great race for sure. He attacked at one point but no-one responded and followed. I wasn't in a good positon at the time so couldn't do much to help him. He was quickly brought back, but a good move and he obviously had some snap in the legs. As Matt already mentioned in his report, he fell off the pace.. The field came up to Matt on one of the smaller climbs and I was thinking how could we be lapping Matt. I didn't realize he had taken a wrong turn and cut the course short. Probably a good thing given the heat and all. Wade looked good and then he was gone. I'm sure little Nate was the culprit. I wish I had thought of asking Matt for his water, then again it probably would have left him dead. In retrospect, better off i didn't.
As we approached the long final 1.5 mile climb to the finish, the pace picked up significantly. I had been out of water for about the last 15 - 20 miles or so, but I was still o.k. I mistakingly took a gel without water and had a major cramp on my side before the last climb and hoped it wouldn't come back. It didn't. Xavier Malendez attacked before the final climb and hung out there at about 5 seconds all the way to the base of the climb. Lee Sorrels was working really hard up front to chase him down. Not sure why since Lee had no team-mates. Maybe he was feeling great and said why not work. It was good for the rest of the field since we just sat on the train. When we hit the base of the climb, it was strung out and all together. I was in the front 10 and praying for it not to hurt too much. This year no-one really attacked the hill (i.e., last year John McKone did and it worked for him). It was a steady grind from the bottom. It hurt for sure!! O.K., I'll stay positive here. The hurting was good because it created a split and i was in the front group of 6 or so. The others behind were not coming back and i think Arlen was in that group. Arlen said there really wasn't a group behind, it was just staggered riders. I dug in as deep and stayed in the front group tyring to get into a rythym. The hill kept going and going and I was at my max. I eventually had to let up and let 5 guys go. I kept it steady and passed one rider toward the top. The finish never seemed to come. The last 1 km seemed to take forever, but I had 5th clinched for sure. There was a huge gap behind to the next rider. I almost collapsed at the finish line and was really glad it was over. I must have drank about a gallon of water after the race. I never knew water could taste soo good. Arlen finished a solid 12th and was happy with his result and fitness. Matt looked like death and was definetely dehydrated. I picked up $45 for 5th place. It was a hard race for sure. Simply finishing is an accomplishment. Glad I was able to put in a decent effort for the team.
Ed
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