March 6, 2005, Hungry Dog Criterium, Category 4
Tempe, AZ 14.9 miles
The weather was somewhat unpredictable with a 47% chance of rain, but I made the decision to drive the 1.75 hours to the race and give it a go.
During the drive up there were some heavy squalls, but as I approached the race there seemed to be an opening in the clouds ahead.
When I arrived, there was no rain, but the roads were still very wet.
This was a flat, 40 minute criterium on smooth roads, although the officials short changed us somewhat.
The course was a about 1 kilometer, somewhat roundish course with 2 ninety degree turns, the last one 130 meters from the finish.
The first corner had some reverse banked angles on the inside due to gutters.
The last corner had some bumps that would cause the rear tire to sometimes skip into the air.
The weather was a little cool, sunny and basically no wind.
I used my rain wheels again and only pumped the tires up to 140 psi (instead of the usual 155) to get better adhesion in the corners.
I wore 2 jerseys along with arm warmers, leg tights, and shoe covers.
I had wanted to practice my top end in sprints during the week, but felt a bit off.
I only put in one hard training day, using the others for recuperation, and even on that day I didn't feel very fast.
I'll have to do some further analysis to see if I can figure out what's going on, but generally if I rest when it seems appropriate, I have good energy in the following race.
We had a safe start and as usual I'd keep near the front, but never went to the very front.
The pace was not too hectic and the riders generally were riding very well and safe.
Just before the last turn, the course does a mild s-bend which squeezes riders toward the outside curve.
About a third of the way into the race, one rider advanced by passing us through this s-bend and got a few yells.
When he hit the corner about 2 riders in front of me, his rear wheel slid out and he went down, but only taking out himself.
On the next lap he joined us again, taking advantage of the free lap rule for mishaps.
I was riding fairly conservatively, saving my energy for the sprint and the Masters race later in the afternoon.
I was having no difficulty staying exactly where I wanted and keeping an eye on everything.
We had a slight headwind on the finishing straight.
With about 2.5 laps to go, two riders snuck off the front and there was little interest in the pack for a chase.
These riders made some good headway and it turned out that one of them is one of Arizona's promising junior riders, Ryan Zupko, who had done a formidable 25.91 mph TT the previous week.
I didn't know who was away, but was not in the mood to do any chasing myself, wanting to practice my sprinting.
With the final corner being so close to the finish, I had wanted to be first through the last turn on the final lap again.
With the slight s-bend prior to that turn, I'd need to do my actual jump well before the turn, basically on the outside of the roundish turn prior to it.
On the final lap I was in a good position going into the first turn.
I was able to maintain a good position coming into the last half of the lap and jumped at my pre-planned spot.
I flew past everyone and leaned it over tight going into the final turn ahead of everyone else.
Now I just needed to maintain that advantage to the line.
Two riders came up on the left side and were able to beat me to the line, giving me third in the sprint and fifth overall.
With less than 32 mph in the final finish (into the slight headwind), it was not a speedy finish for me and I didn't feel real fast either.
The race had prizes to 4 places, so just out of the money.
I did feel a bit weary for the next half hour and was hoping I would shake that off in time for the Masters race a couple of hours later.
I cleaned my bike from the accumulated dirt of the wet roads so that I could try to start fresh again.
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) |
HR waking
(BPM) |
Calories Burned
(Kcal) |
| 9:27 am |
14.9 |
32 |
35:40 |
53, S@5 |
0 |
24.8 |
31.6 |
175 |
192 |
47 |
320 |
Results
Racing page Bike page
