This season’s Super Week races highlighted my weaknesses and my strengths. I would like to say there were fewer weaknesses than strengths, but realizing that this was a new experience for me as a cat 4 road racer, I’m happy to settle with the former and glad to know where I need to improve. I am also excited about going into the last part of the season with the Super Week experience on my resume.
Generally, I spent most of my Super Week races in the back of the pack. At Blue Island and Olympia Fields, I lacked confidence in going through corners. I did pull a flier at Blue Island for half a lap. When I eased off, a line of riders passed me and did not allow an opening for me to grab a wheel. Plus there was a corner approaching, so I slipped off the back. Olympia fields yielded similar results. I hated the course at Olympia Fields and trusted no one. This time, the wheel I was on detached from the group and the peloton dropped us. The lesson: the race exists up front. A rider needs stamina and guts to hold a position in the top ten. How do I do this? Practice, practice, practice. And some more practice.
I went in to Bensenville excited and with good legs. After the day one crash in the 4s race, I took off my helmet and jersey, said goodbye to my teammates, and went home to sleep. Both incidents bothered me a lot –the crash, and my leaving the race. I kept asking myself if I was giving up. I showed up again the next day and Jeff Holland and Mike Sequin assured me that I did the right thing if I wasn’t feeling right. “No one wants to race with a nervous rider.” Anyway, now I know what Liggett means when he says a rider is racing with anger. After a lap into the race, I went to the front and made it my absolute and total goal to stay there. I rarely let anyone go off and I only gave myself a few hundred meters to recover before I went back to mashing my pedals. Half way through the race I remember looking back at Jeff. I didn’t say anything, but I think we both knew at that moment that the end of the race was looking good for him. I had nothing left for the final lap when Jeff, followed by the field, exploded past me. The lesson: practice practice practice, build a reserve of power for the end even if setting tempo.
I completely underestimated Holy Hill Road Race. You gotta respect those hills. It seemed to me that the field had more miles of practice on them than me. I led the field out for the first four or five miles. I chased down a flier in hopes of getting in a break, but the race was way too early. Because I chased, I was not ready for the first two climbs. The field went by quickly and I found myself chasing to catch the field on the flat 2-3 mile stretch. I managed fine on the second lap but by the third, my legs became heavy and my spirit caved. I watched the peloton slide away and soon, I was riding alone, watching the corn and wheat wave, the wind in my ears, and a head full of thoughts on training in Wisconsin during the off-season.
I began Whitnall Road Race with a horrible start line position. There was a crash twenty seconds in and the field stretched all the way down the first down hill. On the back side, the group came together and slowed to make it through the shadows and potholes safely. Then some speed before the left turn, after a second first lap crash, and the easy climb. Throughout the entire race I looked for opportunities to move up, and could easily do so on the last hill. But this meant I would need to descend with a pack of riders I did not trust. Finally I decided to stay back, and make it a race in the back. I gained two positions with a sloppy bike throw. The lesson: Make sure you get a good position at the start, and practice, practice, practice.
While in the back at Kenosha, I waited for the field to tire and for the crashes to occur. I have learned to look further ahead and scan a larger section of riders. I could actually see or predict some of the trouble before it actually happened, and it did. So after twenty or so laps, I waited for the field to take a slow lap by the start finish line to slide out and attack to the front. I went by a tired field and one rider on the front came with me. Brian Morrisey says to get out of the saddle and mash for fifteen revolutions. After I counted to fifteen I looked back. We had a gap. I was off in a break. The Beans and Barley rider I was with took turns but I did most of the work. I remember a fan telling us we had ten seconds after two laps. I’m not sure if the rider I was with was actually working with me or was sand bagging so his team could catch us. After three laps, the lead riders made contact and rode second and third wheel for a lap. I became very tired and could not string out the line anymore. I was swarmed, became a little nervous, and was soon hustled to the back of the group. While leaning into turn two on the last lap, a spoke on my front tire snapped in two at the middle. My tire shuddered as I found some space and rolled to a stop, an appropriate ending for the Chase Food, Folks, and Spokes criterium. Alas, the lesson: right. More practice.