April 4, 2014, Mesa El Tour Criterium
Mesa, AZ   20 minutes
Report from Lionel Space, Phoenix AZ

This was an afternoon race over a 0.84 mi course with 8 corners, only about a 15 minute drive from home. Most of the corners were fairly safe, but turn 7 was a critical corner and also had dips in it for drains and also narrowed as you went down the stretch to turn 8. The weather was wonderful and we had some winds that seemed to change direction throughout the day.

This was two races in one and I had entered the 60+ category which would be going for it's own prize list while riding amongst the 50+ race for 35 minutes. The main contenders in my race were once again, David Bixby and Greg Barrett. The 50+ race had some strong riders with Keith Brodhagen and Mark Fosenburg in attendance.

We started at a controlled pace for the first lap, where a car was used to make sure we got familiar with the course before going full speed. After the car pulled off, a prime was announced, so I kept somewhat near the front as we went down the back stretch. After turn 6 I was in about fourth position and the speed was only 26 mph. So I did a jump to 33.7 mph, took the 7th and 8th corners with little room to spare and came down the home stretch with about 15 lengths on the next rider. This was good practice to know what speeds were possible through those two critical turns. Since we were still early in the race, I made sure to ease up right away and it didn't seem to tax me very much and the next lap only averaged 24.1 mph, so I had plenty of time to rest up.

But at the end of that lap, another prime was called and the pace picked up dramatically. Keith was pushing the pace, with Mark and David close behind. We averaged 26.3 mph on that lap and hit 31.9 mph as we hit the prime finish, but the pace did not let up. Keith was on a mission and the next lap averaged 27.4 mph, which was pretty intense when you consider the coasting through the corners. Gaps would sometimes open up as we navigated the turns and I needed to make sure I kept in contact with the lead riders, which included David Bixby. The next lap averaged 26.8 mph and I was wondering if I should have not expended that energy on the prime earlier.

Fortunately, lap 7 saw the pace relent since the previous effort did not break apart the pack and it was a leisurely 22.7 mph. But the officials called another prime to liven things up and we went back up to 26.7 mph for that lap. I had recovered from the previous 3 lap push and these one lap increases were easy for me to handle. Tactically, I had the luxury of only really needing to watch David, since if the other riders in the 50+ race got away, it would not really affect my placing in my race.

The following laps were at a more typical pace and I basically stuck close to David or one rider behind. There were a couple of other riders that wanted to fight for David's wheel and it wasn't worth fighting over as long as I was close enough to catch up to him if he started to go with some faster 50+ riders. Lap 14 had our last prime, with that lap going at 26.4 mph, but we were only at 25 mph as we exited turn 8 and I was near the front, so I gave a little kick and picked up a restaurant gift certificate. I immediately settled back into the pack and we then had 3 laps to go in the race.

The pack stayed together without any attacks to change the pace or bring up the overall speed. There were enough riders in our race that I knew I did not want to be trapped in the middle of the pack with half a lap to go and preferred to be on the left side. With one to go, I was in about 7th place and after the first 3 turns I found myself stuck on the right side, which was still better than being in the middle. My plan A was to try to repeat my first prime sprint, taking off in the stretch between turn 6 and 7, but most likely much of the pack wanted the same. Plan B was to take off real early before turn 5, but that would be a long grind as turns 5 and 6 are not tight enough to disrupt an attack. After turn 4 of the final lap I made sure I was on the side, which happened to be the right side and moved up to about 6th position and changed into my sprint gear of 50 x 15. Then one of the 50+ racers did a jump from a bit farther back on the far left side. From my vantage point I could easily see this coming and I accelerated to 31 mph to be ahead of the pack before turn 5 and then swung over to be behind the lone attacker. This put my right at the pointy end of the field without having to be breaking the wind and we took turn 5 and 6 in line and I was then poised for the final move. The lead rider had slowed down to 30 mph, which could be tactically dangerous as other riders could come from behind and beat us to turn 7. I looked down between my arms and saw Mark Fosenburg on my wheel, but my main concern was that I could not know if David was in a position to attack on the inside which could create congestion going into turn 7. If he tried that, I'd need to brake and worry about getting momentum back up to pass him after turn 8 to take the win. So rather than take that gamble, I went early, jumping to 34 mph on the left side of the lone attacker while in the middle of turns 6 and 7 and took the lead through turns 7 and 8. This would not only prevent an unwanted attack, but ensure that David would have to be at least one length further back because Mark would be in the way. This made for a somewhat longer sprint, hitting 34.7 mph just before turn 7, then eased up just a bit going into the turn, a bit for safety, but also knowing the result should be in the bag at this point. This gave Mark a great leadout and he was able to pass me on the finishing stretch and Jay Silvestri on his wheel also came by me. However, they weren't in my race, so I was not concerned as I was third across the line which gave me the win for the 60+ race.

A win for cash and two primes with no accidents; another successful day.
Summary
Start
Time		 Distance
(Miles)		 Starters Duration Weather
(Deg F, mph)		 Speed avg
(MPH)		 Speed Max
(MPH)
1:55 pm 14.3 15 34:41 85, Variable 24.7 34.7

Results

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