April 27, 2013, Bike Haus Crit, Masters 45+
Chandler AZ
Report from Lionel Space, Phoenix AZ
Many thanks to Julie Morgan for the photography.
(Images can be clicked on for a larger version)
The course is the Southernmost race car course at the Firebird raceway complex in Chandler, AZ.
It is 1.02 miles per lap, completely flat, and a bunch of twisty turns, making it very narrow in those sections.
The surface was a little rough, especially in the final turns, so I had let my tire pressure down to the minimum to avoid bouncing.
The temperature was about 100 and no wind; weather I like.
We were expected to race for 35 minutes, starting at 1 pm.
One aspect of this race that would complicate things is that the 12 35+ racers would be in the same pack as our 15 45+ racers, but going for separate prizes.
There was no identifying markers as to who was in what race, so I'd have no idea what the threat would be if someone escaped.
Several of the 35 (and some of the 45) racers are category 1 (top level) racers and had also contested the Cat 1 State Championships earlier in the morning.
So there were some pretty strong riders in the field; too strong for me to try to control everything.
Keith Brodhagen, Mark Fosenburg, Brian Lemke, David Bixby, and Greg Barrett were present in addition to some in the 45-49 age group that I'm not so familiar with.
Waiting for the start.
We started off rather briskly as the 35+ Cat 1 racers are pretty aggressive.
It was fairly apparent that the Landis team and the Pactimo team were trying to get riders in a breakaway.
After 5 laps a group of 4 got away and their teammates slowed the pack down and everything got easier.
Any attempts to chase were quickly nullified, so the pack was never going to be able to chase down the break.
I also noticed that several of the 35+ racers did not give an inch in consideration of safety, as I've become accustomed to in the older masters races.
They will intentionally inch just ahead of you and then purposefully move over within inches of the edge of the road during a turn knowing that you'll have to jam on the brakes or ride off the course, even if I give a short yell to confirm that I'm there.
It must be customary for Cat 1 racers these days to take every advantage and try to make it as difficult as possible on their fellow racers, even if it's dangerous to do so.
It certainly wasn't like that when I was a Cat 1 in the 1970s.
So this meant adjusting my riding to keep just ahead of those riders as we approached the sharper turns so that they couldn't elbow me back.
Lap 1 (I'm buried in the middle).
Lap 2, things getting more strung out.
I had been riding about mid-pack for the first half of the race, not really feeling like superman.
As we were concluding lap 9, Keith and Mark put in a strong bid to get away and close the gap to the breakaway group.
I made sure I was with them and this seemed to influence their decision to abort.
Half a lap later on the back stretch, a Pactimo rider that looked pretty strong took off and I tried to chase him down.
He started with about 5 lengths on me and I closed it up a bit, but I could not close the gap and had to give it up just after turn 11 after exhausting myself.
The rider was Craig Streit, who eventually caught the four leaders and then won the 35+ race.
So close, but I didn't notice his attack quickly enough.
I averaged 26.8 mph on that lap.
Lap 9, Keith and Mark, making an effort.
Lap 10, can't catch Craig, retiring to the pack.
I had to take the next two laps to recuperate from that maximum effort.
During that time, another 4 riders slipped off the front and the pack pretty much just let them go.
The next 3 laps after my chase averaged about 24 mph and then dropped to 22.1 mph with 2 laps to go.
So we could have easily picked up the pace to catch the stragglers, but everyone was conceding and waiting for the finish.
I certainly didn't feel strong enough to go solo (not my strength) and taking a pull at the front would also hurt my chances for the sprint.
As it turned out, one of the 5 leaders was a 45+ racer (4th overall, a Cat 1 rider for Landis (green & white jersey)),
finishing 1:09 ahead of our pack, but I didn't know that until after the race.
Top 5 finishers.
4th overall finishing (1st in 45+).
6th and 7th only 9 seconds behind.
6th and 7th finishing
(2nd in 45+ for 7th).
8th and 9th finishing (both 35+).
With two laps to go, I planted myself onto Mark Fosenburg's wheel.
He was sitting a bit far back and in the middle of the field, but I hoped that the position would improve over the next lap.
With one to go, he was still not in an ideal position and I was hoping that someone would attack, he would respond, and put us both into a more ideal position.
As we went down the back stretch, no attacks happened.
David Bixby was on the right side of the pack and ahead of Mark, a better position for the final sprint.
As we rounded turn 10, the positions remained the same and I was not content.
As soon as I could after getting room coming out of turn 10, I had to accelerate on the right side, hitting 33 mph.
I didn't have the lead going into turn 11, so I had to keep it a bit wide to avoid cutting off the other riders, taking the bumpy turn at 29 mph.
I picked up the speed again to 34 mph heading for turn 12 and kept that to the line to take 3rd in the 45+ race,
but at the time I didn't know and I thought I was probably 6th as I had no idea who was ahead.
Coming out of turn 12 for 10th overall.
Leading the pack.
Taking 3rd in the 45+.
So I was surprised to get 3rd after so many riders got away.
I was pleased with my sprint.
I had the right idea to follow Craig in the middle of the race, I just took the initiative a bit too late to get the win.
Summary
Start
Time |
Distance
(Miles) |
Starters |
Duration |
Speed avg
(MPH) |
Speed Max
(MPH) |
HR avg
(BPM) |
HR max
(BPM) |
| 1:00 pm |
15.4 |
15 |
36:54 |
25.1 |
34.3 |
172 |
194 |
Results
Racing page Bike page
