Fast Crits and not so fast (because steep) Climbs

I finished up my last week of preparation with two races this weekend before taking a week off and rejoining the team later this week for the Mississippi Grand Prix. I’m happy that I finally get a break from the hard training and I am really looking forward to getting to travel with the guys and girls again.

Anyways, yesterday we had the Arizona State Crit Championships here in Phoenix. I rode my bike out to the event, as it was only some 15 miles from my place. The crit was right downtown Phoenix, on super smooth pavement and wide roads; unfortunately, that meant that the race was pretty fast, as you didn’t really have to hit the breaks at all and had to pedal through the turns… There were two strong teams that kept the whole affair under control and made it really hard for guys like myself who were in it for themselves. I nevertheless got my 5 minutes of fame when I was off the front (in the process of which I also got a prime, yeah!) but there was no way to stay away with all the horse power in the pack. At the end I messed up a little, as I was way too far back with 5 laps to go and everybody was suddenly riding like crazy (I got shoved around pretty good and ended up jumping curbs twice…) with at least one crash. So I ended up 14^th, which was ok, but not great. After a little chat with the guys I packed my stuff and rode back to my apartment where the traditional chocolate milk awaited.

Today, Sunday, I drove out to Superior, which is a small “town” in the middle of nowhere, some 60 miles east of Phoenix. The race featured a pretty hilly course with two extended (and that is NOT Texas-extended, i.e. longer than 2 miles) climbs. There was again a strong team that dictated the pace and gave us a hard time in the crosswind sections (try to get some people to open up a second echelon when the whole lane is taken up by a bunch of green jerseys…) and they finally managed to launch one their guys off the front. The whole thing fell apart with 15 miles to go, as we approached the final long climb(s). I managed to get in the chase group of five and after setting a hard tempo up the climbs, got the group down to three. Unfortunately, I was dragging a team mate of the guy in front around with me and the third guy was hanging on for dear life, so I ended up pulling most of the way in. That was ok, as I could drop the others and we also had a tail wind, so it didn’t hurt too much. I pretty much just made sure we didn’t get caught from anyone behind. As it turned out, I was the freshest anyhow and won the sprint of our group, finishing second of the day. Finally! I was really happy with the race and the way I felt. It was a relief to see the hard work finally pays off after all the mishaps earlier this season.

Now, it only remains to hope that it all caries over into the “real” racing period with the team; but I’m pretty optimistic. Not just did everybody work really hard over the break, Cory should also be back from his collarbone injury. It’ll be nice to have him back for the upcoming races!