January 30, 2016, BioPark Blast Crit, 55+
Tucson, AZ 30 minutes
Report from Lionel Space, Phoenix AZ
This race was in Tucson, over an hour and a half from home, but started very reasonably in the middle of the afternoon.
The 55+ race was run with the 65+ race at the same time, where those 4 riders started 15 seconds behind us and the races were not allowed to mix.
The weather was sunny, around 80, with a gentle breeze that gradually increased from the West.
I took the lead through the first 2 corners to avoid any crashes or early attacks.
Although I pulled over on the back stretch and eased up for the pack to come through, they all just sat on my wheel until after the third corner where I pulled over and slowed down to get someone else ahead of me.
The first 4 laps only averaged 23 mph and we just hung out as a group.
On the next lap, Andrew Hosterman did an attack on the back stretch and the pack just watched him ride away.
He didn't gain ground quickly, but as we approached the finish line, we were given the bell for the first and only prime.
Great.
He was still close enough to close the gap and I highly considered it as we went around the second corner, but then everyone really slowed down and the gap looked too big to close in half a lap.
So Andrew got the prime and he didn't ease up.
The pack also did not gain any enthusiasm, so on the back stretch I took off in pursuit and caught him 3/4 of a lap later, with an unfamiliar rider tagging along behind me.
He was wearing a Carolina Cycling Team jersey, so I figured he was not an Arizona rider.
It turned out his name was Chris Steel from Charlotte, NC (the state road champion as it later turned out) and he seemed somewhat strong as the three of us tried to make a successful breakaway.
For the next 5 laps we worked together in harmony, but our lead on the pack only remained a few seconds ahead, never gaining enough for them to lose interest in chasing us.
Then Chris skipped a turn, so I took an extra turn.
Then Andrew skipped a turn and I took an extra turn.
With the lack of cooperation in our break, we soon lost our advantage and the pack absorbed us.
Half a lap later, we were given the 7 laps to go signal (out of our eventual 19).
After the break away effort, I would need to recover as much as possible to try to make a win of the event in the sprint.
One rider took off, but only gained a little ground and we reeled him back in a lap later.
I knew Steve Cullinan would be the biggest threat in our group as a sprinter, but was unsure of Chris's abilities (he had held my wheel in my chase after all).
I did not want to venture too far back and Chris was being attentive to being in good position, so I decided to stick to his wheel until the finish.
With 2.5 laps to go, we passed some of the 65+ racers and quickly went by.
Soon after crossing the line with 2 to go, an attack happened.
Chris was quick to respond to the 2 attackers and I was right on his wheel.
As we started down the back stretch there was a bunch of yelling from the pack that they were from the other race and to let them go, so Chris backed off and I stayed with him.
It was a bit confusing as there was no way to really tell which riders were in which race.
I stuck to Chris and eventually the 65+ riders faded and we were on our own again.
However, it escaped my attention that during that confusion, Andrew had escaped off the front on the far left side of the road.
So as we got the one lap to go bell, I thought I was racing for the win, but in actuality, Andrew had sneaked away and was easily going to take the win, which I didn't find out until well after the race.
I really hate it when multiple races are on the same course as more often than not, something gets screwed up because of it.
As we came down the back stretch, Chris was in third position.
There was a bit of a head wind in the stretch before the final corner,
but I was concerned about getting caught up in some traffic and would rather be able to use my abilities rather than be frustrated at getting boxed in.
I jumped before corner 3 on the outside, maybe just a bit prematurely, but got a bit of a gap on the rest of the pack.
I gave it everything I could to the final corner, going first through it (of the pack anyway), but Steve Cullinan was able to accelerate up my draft and pass me as we neared the line.
This demoralized me a bit and I may have not continued as strongly as I should have and Chris was able to nip me at the line for third, leaving me out of the prizes in fourth.
I felt good that I could easily chase down Andrew earlier in the race.
It was good that I was probably the strongest of the 3 in the breakaway.
I'm upset that I was not attentive to Andrew sneaking away during the 65+ mix-up and a bit disappointed that my sprint did not have it's usual top speed.
Next weekend has good racing on Saturday and Sunday and I'm hoping that I can find the speed needed to perform well there.
Summary
Start
Time |
Distance
(Miles) |
Starters |
Duration |
Weather
(Deg F, mph) |
Speed avg
(MPH) |
Speed Max
(MPH) |
| 2:28 pm |
10.3 |
15 |
25:10 |
81, W@8 |
24.6 |
32.2 |
Results
Racing page Bike page
