Lindsey Wilson Race Recap - Louis

Post date: Mar 01, 2011 11:2:5 PM

Team Time Trial

The time trial started at a church a few miles from the hotel. Ian, Brian, Marc, and I were the group for today’s race. Bryce was more concerned with conserving his energy for the later road race, so he sat it out. The course was 6.5 miles long, mostly straight, with a few minor rolling hills. We had a little trouble staying together and spacing our pulls, and ended up dropping a Marc after he was held up by a close encounter with a farm dog. It was a near collision that brought him to a stop. The remaining three of us got it together for the last few miles and finished strong with a sprint.

Road Race

The race promoters described the weekend as a great time for beginners to start. I beg to differ. We arrived an hour or so before and set off the ride the course. We started at the end and rode towards the beginning. We immediately found ourselves on an ultra fast downhill. Before I realized it, I was going 40 mph on a curvy road. As I leveled my thinking and slowed down, we spotted three guys on the side of road near a guardrail in torn jerseys and road rash. One of them was lying on his stomach immobile. He was talking but looked really worried. They said they didn’t know what happened, and to be careful. It was a good warning.

We climbed back up the hill pretty shaken, and prepped. The D field was 87 riders, the roads were a little wet, and my heart rate monitor read 148 bpm at the staging area. Everyone else was similarly nervous. We set off, and I lost a few positions at the start because of the typical D clipping in clumsiness that took place on the front. The leaders pulled off in a small pack with Ian, and I was in a second pack, chasing. At an uphill that was immediately following a fast downhill, I jumped to the first pack, just as Ian was falling off the back of it with a couple other guys. I stuck with them and watched it string out. I could see the lead car and counted back 12 places to myself. I hung on as long I as I could, but ended up falling off with a few guys, who then fell off. I was fighting by myself for some time, somehow thinking I would finish in this position. I could see people ahead getting slowly further, but no one behind. I guess I got complacent, and slowed a bit and munched a shot blok. I was surprised when a speeding group passed me, instructing me to hop on. I clung on for a few miles, and a few guys pulled off the front. Everyone else strung out. This was how the rest of the race went. I would get passed by a group, hop on, and some of them would pull off, the rest would drop back.

In the last 5 miles, Ian passed me with a big fast group. I clung on for a while, and even took a pull, but was too fatigued by this point and dropped off the back. I knew the massive uphill was approaching and my stomach turned. I hit it and saw the guy in front of me get off and walk. Ashamedly, I did the same. I took about 10 clumsy steps, decided walking wasn’t gonna work, and hopped back on. I ground passed the guy, heartbeat roaring in my head, and climbed the rest of the insane hill. I passed the finish line alone, dizzy, nauseous, and clumsy enough to fall down. An orange and bottle of water later, I sat and waited for the rest of the team to finish. I came in 40 of 87.

Criterium

The crit was described in the race flyer as a challenging course with 2 climbs. The forecast was rain and we definitely got it early. The ground was wet but the air was dry. We set up quickly by the cars, with Marc’s awesome hype bassy music blasting. We cheered Sheena on by the sidelines, then rode a lap and hopped in for staging. I had a bad position, with my handlebars touching those of the two guys on either side of me. The course was short, and we were informed that they would pull anyone a minute and a half behind the leader. Thankfully the course wasn’t too technical, as it was wet as the field was 85+ (clumsy) again.

After the countdown, we took off. I was 4 rows back at the start, and a guy 2 riders in front of me had no idea how to get in his pedals. He pushed off, took a stabby kick at them, slipped, and bounced hard enough to drop his chain. We had a little speed by that time, and the guy in front of me locked up his rear wheel and almost crashed out 10 riders. I was forced to stop and just watched as waves of riders flew past me. I finally hopped in, sitting ¾ back from the lead. The curves were a little sharp and everyone was braking hard, so with careful handling, hands off brakes, I was able to quickly hop to the middle of the field. The next few laps I was riding on my own, slowly passing rider after rider until I found the group that Ian was riding with. Ian and I were swapping positions back and forth for some time. At 18 minutes, the officials table shouted “1 lap left, sprint for position!” I had the feeling we were getting pulled, so I went for it, passed a few guys, finished around 20, and rolled off the course. Ian didn’t catch what was happening, and stayed for one more lap.

Conclusion

It was a great weekend. Sheena participated in her first race and did a great job. We all felt pretty strong, and left the weekend feeling closer to our teammates both on and off the bike.