February 22, 2015, Avondale Crit #2, 45+
Avondale AZ
Report from Lionel Space, Phoenix AZ

My second race of the day on this flat, half mile circuit. 12 of us lined up, with 4 riders from the team Ride-Faster lined up on the front line, a sure sign that they'd use their team strength during the race. James Woodburne had just finished the previous race (Category 2/3) and had worked very hard chasing after a lone break of the amazing 17 year old Brandon McNulty. James Kramer is more of a sprinter and generally won't last long out on a solo break. Jim Holbrook has mixed results and I didn't consider him a major threat based on his own abilities. The fourth Ride-Faster rider, Robert Francis, although ranked as a Category 1 rider, has not had favorable result lately.

My hope was that my team mate, Wayne Lewis could control Kramer and I'd keep Woodburne in check. On the first lap, Holbrook went off the front and all of his team mates sat at the front to slow things down and he quickly gained about 20 seconds on us. He would not likely succeed unless the pack was completely apathetic or the his team mates were extreme in their attempts to ensure his success. However, the first 3 laps we averaged only about 22 mph and he was soon vanishing up the road.

I was sitting by Woodburne when Eugene Boronow and Kramer went diving off on the inside as we began the long curve. Some riders accelerated, but Woodburne got in the mix and quickly disrupted the chase. Brett Van De Sande (who I had raced with on Saturday) was the most determined to continue the chase and would continue on with long, strong pulls. A few other riders would also occasionally contribute, but it was mostly Brett and I that did the work to keep the 3 up the road within a reasonable distance. I was hoping that they would eventually wear out and we'd reel them back in, however 2 factors kept them at bay: one was Woodburne mixing it up in the chase and slowing down the pace and the other was the unexpected strength of Eugene. Although Brett would take the longer pulls, we'd usually only close down some of the gap when I gave a pull. I was working much harder than I had planned, but it was the only way to avoid the break from just walking away.

We had the break within 10 seconds for a long time and eventually Holbrook fell out of the break. But Eugene just got stronger. I had reviewed his previous results prior to the race, and he had quite a mixture of some good results and middle of the pack results, so this strength was not anticipated by me. Apparently Kramer was more aware of his abilities and was why he went with him when he did his attack.

With 10 minutes remaining in the race and having been working hard for the last 23 minutes, the break had gotten too far away and I decided to concede the top 2 places and play a different hand. I dropped back and tagged behind Woodburne, the most likely strongest sprinter of the group. Our average speed dropped from the previous 25 to 26, down to about 20. For a few laps, everything was smooth, but then Woodburne would drop off the back, taking me with him; before the pack got too far away I'd jump up to them (not hard with them at 20 mph) and then Woodburne would sit behind me. I'd watch him constantly to make sure he didn't try a solo attack by flying from the back. It didn't take long for the breakaway to catch up to us, coming into our pack with 3.25 laps to go. Then things got a little crazy.

The rules of the game are that when a lead group catches up to the pack, the pack is then given the same laps to go as the leaders. You would think that the officials would have seen the gap closing and anticipate the combining of the two groups. The 2 leaders decided to mix it in with us and Kramer was going to use some team tactics to assist Woodburne in the finish. As we came to the finish line the first time after our merge, the lap board showed 3 laps to go, but then the officials yelled 2 to go (which should have been the correct number). The speed pick up dramatically, with the next lap averaging 28.2 mph. As we crossed the line on the next lap, I was paying more attention to my position in the pack and didn't look at the lap board, but the officials did not ring the bell or yell out how many laps remained. I asked out loud to the other riders if this was our final lap. Woodburne said that it was and one or two others confirmed this. The next lap averaged 27.9 mph and these two fast laps were taking a toll on me and as we came to the finish line I saw that I was not going to have a good finishing sprint. However, as we neared the line, we could hear the bell, announcing that we had an additional lap to go. I kept up my speed as everyone else eased up and was in front of a splintered group around the 3rd and final sharp turn. I didn't want to just hammer it from there as Woodburne was sitting right with me. Eugene came by me and said "let's go" and picked up speed (he had already won the race, so this was weird). I got on his wheel and Woodburne slipped behind me. I could only muster 30.0 mph in the sprint and Woodburne easily came around me on the outside to take 3rd, putting me in 4th.

So 3 tough races in 2 days that hammered me in each, not letting me utilize my best skills and making it an exhausting weekend. But good racing and hopefully it will make me stronger, though not faster.

Results    
Summary
Start
Time		 Distance
(Miles)		 Starters Duration Weather
(Deg F, mph)		 Speed avg
(MPH)		 Speed Max
(MPH)
3:40 pm 14.7 12 35:42 70, SW@8 24.7 33.8

Racing page     Bike page