March 14, 2009, San Tan Criterium
Scottsdale, AZ 16.0 miles
This was a 40 minute criterium on very smooth roads around a bar bell shaped course.
The length from the final turn is short, such that whoever gets through the final corner on the last lap will likely win the race.
The weather was great, 63 degrees, sunny, but with a bit of wind from the North West for a tail wind finish.
Category Masters 50+
I had won this race on it's inaugural event last year and was looking forward to a repeat.
I had not raced since early February due to catching a cold and missing training; during this period included i only one sprint practice session.
We had a fair sized number of participants and half a dozen 60+ riders would be mixed with us.
I had a poor start at the line, missing my pedal and falling behind into the middle of the pack.
Not a big problem. We took the first sharp right turn, which I coasted through and heard a clunk on my back wheel.
Hmm, something was a little amiss.
We took the next turn, a left, and while coasting through it my chain threw itself off the front chainring.
Apparently the freehub on the back was malfunctioning and I could not coast.
I tried putting the chain back on while still moving as everyone else was yelling at me for slowing down in their way,
but with the rear cogs continuing to turn while the chainring was still, I could not get the chain to stay on.
I stopped, put the chain on the front chainring and started off in pursuit.
Just short of a lap later I was almost back with the group, but that first left turn was sharp enough that I instinctively coasted again.
The chain immediately popped off and commenced to tangle itself in a knot around the rear derailleur.
I stopped again, put it on, and rode on, but it would be futile to try to continue the whole race like this.
I continued up to the start/finish line and asked if I could change out my back wheel.
The rule for the race was "Wheels In"/"Wheels Out", meaning that if you had a mechanical and needed a new wheel, you had to supply your own wheel in the pit beforehand, which I had done.
When exchanging a wheel, you'd be given a free lap to join the race where you left off without penalty, up until 4 laps to go.
At first the official said I could, but then asked what the problem was and I told him that the freehub was not free any longer.
He then said that since my problem was not due to a flat or an accident, that I could not get a free lap, but that I could rejoin the race 2 laps down.
No thanks, I said.
It turned out that there is an outside spring in the freehub that holds the three pawls in place and it had broken and the broken piece had jammed the internals.
So although it worked fine during my warm up, it decided to disintegrate during the race and there was no consolation from the officials (much to everyone's surprise that I later told).
Interesting that later in the 3/4 category race, a rider was going for a prime and just missed it due to a flat;
although he had no personal wheels in the pit, the officials dug one up for him and allowed him to join the race on the next lap, a clear violation of the rules.
Category 4/5
So since I was already there and had not been able to race yet, I had the opportunity to enter another category race.
Since I had a race also coming up the next day, I didn't want to pick a really hard one (like the 40+), so I entered the 4/5 category race which my teammate Jeff was also riding.
This was also a 40 minute race, but with more participants and a bit warmer weather approaching 70.
It started at 10:35, so I had almost two hours to get ready for it, using my spare rear wheel this time.
This cost an extra 10 bucks, but the first prime after about 5 laps was $10 cash, so I handily took it to get my money back.
Most of the race was uneventful.
There seemed to be no dominant riders and no concerted attacks.
I let the other primes go to conserve my energy for the final.
With 5 laps to go, they started holding out the lap card and the "Bicycle Ranch" team adorned in bright red moved en masse to the front of the pack.
A few other rider got antsy and also picked up the pace, but within half a lap the pace settled back down.
So it looked like it would come down to a bunch sprint.
Since the final corner is so close to the finish line, the winner would likely be the first rider through that corner, making it the virtual finish goal.
To achieve this position, the best option was to attack at the next to last corner, taking it fast on the inside ahead of the other riders.
To be in position for this, one would need to be able to take the second to last corner on the inside and move up on the East side of the course.
Thus, it was important to be on the left side of the pack on the final lap.
On the final lap, just past the first right, I saw Jeff move up to about fifth position, however he was on the right side of the pack.
I was in about eighth on the other side.
Later he would comment that he got boxed out and had to brake, putting him in poor position for contesting the finish.
One of the nuances of riding with 4/5 riders is that one is never sure as to the abilities and skills of the other riders around you.
We had a bit of a jam on the North leg past the team area, which put me a little further back than I would have preferred, taking the next right turn in about ninth.
As we went up Jasmine, I could not move up easily.
The "Bicycle Ranch" guys in red had taken over the front of the pack, putting several of their riders at the very front and using the others to create an obstacle course.
While my plan was to be first though the next to last turn onto Julep, I could only get up to about fifth
and rather than accelerating and diving through the turn, I was braking to avoid having a rider close in on me.
So immediately after the turn I had to give it everything I had and the other "Bicycle Ranch" riders were yelling to their compatriots at the front that I was coming and they had to get moving.
I was able to get by all but one of the red riders as we approached the final turn and I had to make a decision.
Since he was a wheel ahead of me and on the outside of the upcoming turn, he could shut down on me if I held my position, which would either force me to brake hard or end up in a collision.
Or I could let him take the turn first and hope I could find the extra speed to beat him to the line.
I chose the latter, but since I was not moving faster than he as we went through the corner, he was able to hold me off and I had to settle for second.
I had lost a bit of my sprint ability during my time battling with the cold.
Summary
Start
Time |
Distance
(Miles) |
Starters |
Duration |
Weather
(Deg F, mph) |
Climbing
(Feet) |
Speed avg
(MPH) |
Speed Max
(MPH) |
HR avg
(BPM) |
HR max
(BPM) |
| 10:35 am |
16.0 |
44 |
37:57 |
76, NW@5 |
80 |
25.3 |
33.1 |
175 |
195 |
Results
Racing page Bike page
