I was glad I showed up early to Glencoe. The first thing I saw was a woman crashing in Turn 1. I noted a troublesome lip in the gutter and filed a memo to not go too wide there. The next hour was spent walking the course and taking notes, then riding it a few times during the children's race, trying to take the turns at race pace to get accustomed to them.
On such a technical course, position is key and it would be important to take advantage of any chance to move up. I'm not the best handler, but I was able to start well and make my way near the front. Even near the front, I stayed on guard the entire race, taking any opportunity to make up a spot or two, either by drafting onto a free ride or by taking a faster line in a corner. Attrition would be heavy here, so you also had to mind the gaps. At the first hint of flagging from the rider ahead of you, you had to sprint around him or risk getting caught behind an even larger gap.
The two Aerocat riders in the 30+ race were noticeably in a different league. One was a former pro and masters national champion, the other a former mountain bike Olympian from Colombia. Early in the race they did a bit of the old "Saturn sit-up" and one of them got down the road alone. This was leading into the first points sprint. I was sitting about fifth wheel and something rash came over me -- I jumped on the third-to-last turn.
Obviously I have no business getting mixed up in a sprint competition. But I felt I could catch the field by surprise, and indeed, I was able to hold on for third. Who knows what could happen from this point -- maybe I could get lucky in the next few sprints, too.
This sprint led to a brief three-man break that lasted for about a lap, but I think we were too cooked from the sprint to give it the gas that was required. Too bad.
I continued to focus on position and cadging free rides toward the front. Leading into the second points sprint I was again positioned in the top 10. This time I jumped even earlier, hoping to again catch folks by surprise. This didn't work as well, but I still hung on for fourth, with the previous second-place sprinter getting fifth. By my math that made us tied for second. Huh.
No concerted attacks would come for the rest of the race until two riders slipped off at the end. I think the pace was too high for anyone to try, and I could sense that the pack was getting smaller, though I dared not look back.
Third sprint. This time I just didn't have enough gas or position to contest. And I'm pretty sure the same Aerocat rider won all three points sprints. Rats.
From then on it was all about position. I was feeling good, but not so good that I felt I could sustain an effort off the front. So I just tried to conserve and keep position. Hopefully the natural sprinters had fallen to attrition.
I had some bad luck in the final laps, however, having to close a few gaps, including when someone unclipped in front of me on the final climb. That's racin'. But it meant I had to scramble to regain contact and make up as many positions as I could.
In the end I finished a few spots out of the money, but I was pleased to not have anyone pass me in the sprint, which given my track record is rather extraordinary.
I probably would have done better had I not burned so many matches on those point sprints. But they did have the benefit of keeping me near the front of the race, and that was pretty important. So it may have been a net gain, and it's always fun to try something new.
An hour later it was time for the 1/2's race. This was strung out single-file from the start, but I was doing fine hanging in. About 20 minutes in, however, my calves started cramping up bad. It's always hard to determine what causes a cramp -- not enough water? too much water? not enough food? the wrong food? -- but in any case, I was done.
I'm pretty bummed I wasn't able to see how I could perform at this level, but happily this gave me the opportunity to see Dave Moyer put in a great effort to make the winning six-man break. (I had been so far back in the pack, I had no idea anyone was off the front.)
Technical courses aren't my strength, but I can't wait to try this course again next year.