April 17, 2005, Colossal Cave, Masters 45+
Tucson, AZ 45 miles
I had won this race last year and if things went smoothly, I could possibly win it again.
The big difference this year was that there are about 5 new 45 year old riders that just moved into this class that have lots of strength and race aggressively.
I had researched these riders and two of them were in this race: Corky Kurtz and David Beirne, each who had won a hilly road race this season as well as other top placings.
Since I had been racing the category 4 races, I had not yet competed against them (the Cat 4 race was 54 miles this day, so I opted for the shorter race).
Another difference this year is that I have not been training for hills or distance (or even aerobic development), although 45 miles is not considered really long.
However if the pace remained reasonable, maybe I could be with the pack at the end and have a chance in the uphill sprint.
The finish is not too different from the Usery Pass race from last February where I could not muster any kind of speed for the sprint.
We had 29 starters for the 5 lap race.
Each 9 mile lap starts at the top of Pistol Hill.
After a gentle descent, the course makes a right and is mostly level until another right 3 miles from the finish and the road gradually rises.
A couple miles later it takes a final right and climbs about 300 feet to the finish.
On the first lap, the pace was very easy; too easy.
After the second turn, it slowed way down.
This usually means there's going to be trouble ahead as riders will get antsy and attack.
After the last turn and we climb the hill for the first time, the pace really picked up and I surprisingly felt myself struggling a bit, but kept contact with the riders in front of me.
After the line, the course descends and usually everyone would rest and regroup.
I was surprised to see some big gaps developing as the lead riders were pushing the pace on the downhill and I had to bridge to get back with the leaders.
Yet after a while, most of the riders were back in one group again.
After the second turn on the second lap, we again slowed way down.
Great, we're going to have some tough times on the climb again.
I moved my way further to the front this time and was in fifth going around the last turn.
The pace really picked up again and I struggled again and could not stay with the lead riders.
I wasn't sure if I was just out of practice with hill climbing or if I was having a bad day, but I was not being competitive.
About five riders were able to establish a gap by the top of the hill and I was hoping that the pack would be able to regroup with them again.
It soon became apparent that this was not going to happen, as David Beirne of the Landis team was up there and Corky Kurtz was not and about half of the pack were members of the Landis team.
This meant that every time a rider tried to pick up the pace to help close the gap to the leaders, a Landis rider would be on his wheel and when it was his turn to help at the front, he'd just slow things down.
Time and time again I'd see every other rider wearing a green Landis jersey and no organization could be achieved.
Team tactics can make a race interesting, but when half the field is all of the same team, it really imbalances the race.
So effectively, the race was over for everyone that was not in the five man break.
On the third lap I tried to pick the pace up between the second and last turns to try to make up time, but no one else would participate knowing that Landis would squelch any efforts.
As we went up the hill again, Corky took off on his own; he might as well as he's got no chance staying in the pack.
I certainly was not strong enough to go with him or go on my own and make up time on the organized leaders.
With my enthusiasm down and feeling the struggle of the hill again, I decided to call it quits two laps early.
David did eventually win the race.
He was strong enough that he finished solo by several minutes, so he probably didn't even need the assistance of his team mates to win.
The next several riders finished in groups of two, including a few after the five that had left the pack.
I was surprised when I got home that I was feeling congestion in my lungs again, especially considering I really didn't ride very hard or far.
This has been interfering with my training for several months (probably since my cold at New Year's), so I guess I'll have to visit the clinic to see if they can prescribe something to clear it up.
This may have been part of my problem on the climb as well.
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) |
| 7:04 am |
45 |
29 |
1:12:48 |
74, E@8 |
1200 |
22.3 |
41.0 |
161 |
188 |
47 |
549 |
Results
Racing page Bike page
