April 12, 2015, State Criterium Championships 60-64
Mesa, AZ   35 minutes
Report from Lionel Space, Phoenix AZ
Many thanks to Dorothy Reis for the photography.
(Images can be clicked on for a larger version)

This was a 0.96 mile counter-clockwise course with 4 corners and a U-turn right after the start. The final stretch is fairly long at 280 meters and we had just a hint of a headwind on it this morning. Most of the corners were fairly safe with turn 3 entering into a narrow road and turn 5 also limited due to to only half the roadway being available. The weather was in the lower 70s and sunny. 7 riders were in our race and we'd be riding in a group of 32 as the 50 through 69 age classes would be lumped together, but each 5 year category awarded championships.

David Bixby would be my main contender in the 60-64 age class and I'd be sure not to let him get away in a break without me. There were 3 primes awarded, but I planned to only contend them if it seemed relatively easy to snatch one. The officials lined us up in rows by age category, so I was in the third row, but with a big gap in front of me. As they began the countdown, I was able to mount my bike before zero and get my foot in and then quickly slip up to the top 5 before the U-turn corner. Just to make sure I was not stuck behind any early crashes, I took the lead before turn 2 and maintained it through turns 3 and 4. I then swung over the the left, but the pack just sat behind me. We took turn 5 with me still leading, only doing 22 mph. I swung to the right, then swung to the left, but the pack just sat on my wheel. Finally just before the start line, riders on both sides of me made an attack and I quickly joined in to the new leaders of the group. Weird.

Most of my race was focused on keeping Bixby in check. With such a large group, turns 3 and 5 would get squeezed and I'd often lose a place just to make sure there wasn't an accident. Occasionally someone would intentionally make sure there was no room for me against the curb while knowingly overlapping me and I'd have crashed if I didn't brake a bunch.

The U-turn was also a bit more difficult than Friday and I'd often lose a place through the turn and then the leaders would jump hard out of the turn to make those behind suffer from the accordion effect of the turn. I'd usually lose about another 3 lengths from that, but just because I didn't want to waste energy accelerating every time, especially since the pack would ease and regroup half way down that long stretch. I'd then just move back up easily while many riders were coasting, and then slot in to my desired spot.

With the tight turns, I found myself shifting a couple of times each lap. Often on a flat course, I can pretty much just stay in one gear almost the entire time, but not on this course. This was accentuated by the ebb and flow of the aggressiveness of the pack, even though we averaged 25 mph over the entire race.

The bell was rung for the first prime and I was sitting about mid-pack coming to the final corner. Many riders were eager to go for it, so I just made sure we regrouped after the sprint and did not contest it.

About half way into the race, a lone rider slipped off the front. He was from the 65-69 age group, but I could not tell that from far away. However, he was in a green Ride-Faster outfit and I know there was nobody from that club in my age category. They announced a prime while he was out, so that prime wasn't available. I think we had a similar situation for the last prime, so I didn't really have an opportunity to waste energy in pursuing those.

We were given the 5 to go lap board and I monitored Bixby more intently. I was on his wheel when we finally got the 1 to go lap, but as we came out of turn 2, I thought he was too far back in the pack and moved myself up to a better position. I found myself on Mark Fosenburg's wheel, as I had on Friday. For the last couple of days I had re-lived Friday's finish many times, knowing that I should have jumped as soon as James Kramer did his jump half way down to turn 5. Just after coming out of turn 4, a rider jumped from near the front and this time I immediately gave chase. He was first through the last corner and I was a couple of lengths back, second through the corner. I didn't get quite the best line through the corner, not wanting to chop too severely in front of the pack, so I ended up coasting much too long after the turn. It was still a long ways to the finish line and I intended to reel in the lead rider, but to my surprise I was only maintaining the gap and not closing it. As we got to the final meters I could see a wheel creeping up on my left and I increased my effort and threw the bike at the line to make sure I beat him, which worked out successfully.

The first rider across the line was Lou Waugaman, the 55-59 winner and a Category 1 racer. I took second just barely ahead of Mark Fosenburg, the 50-54 winner. Since I was the first rider to finish the 60-64 class, I won my event. I was surprised in analyzing my speeds after the race that I was only able to achieve 32.9 mph in the sprint, where on Friday I exceeded 35. This race was a little faster and maybe I had less in reserve for the finish.

 
Crossing the line in 2nd overall.
 
 
Gap behind the 3 of us.
 
 
 
 
 
Bixby and Barrett far behind.
 
 
 
 
David Bixby took second, but was many lengths behind. Greg Barrett took third, as he often finds himself behind Bixby and myself. This year they awarded trophies (made of plate steel with torched out lettering) and State Championship jerseys in addition to the normal small medal.

 
Bixby, Space, Barrett
60-64 podium.
 
 
Championship jersey
awarded.
 
 
Trophy.
 
 
Speed over last lap.
 
Summary
Start
Time		 Distance
(Miles)		 Starters Duration Weather
(Deg F, mph)		 Speed avg
(MPH)		 Speed Max
(MPH)
8:40 am 13.5 7 32.24 74, N@2 25.0 33.0

Results

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