Trying to plan for a crit is like trying to plan for chaos where you just don't know what's going to happen until it does. Even with several having had prior outings, it seemed that tonight's race was a lot different than previous ones. Still, the fundamental plan was to break a couple of us in to this type of racing, and get more experience by trying different things. In that regard, mission accomplished.
Eddie, Adrian and I followed each other to Great Park, and Shannon arrived shortly after. Vince came in just as we had gotten ready to go out for a couple warm-up laps to familiarize Eddie and I to the track, and Verm came in after we got back and still in time to get ready and make it out for the race staging.
On the warm up laps, the wind was blowing pretty good and the thought was, it should die down during the race as it got later. However, unlike the last time the team made it out, the wind seemed to persist during the entire race. It was nice when it was behind us, but when it wasn't, it was yet just another condition we had to deal with during the race.
The turns were pretty mellow and seemed wide enough where it didn't seem too intimidating. The only concern I had was how everyone was going to hold their line through the turns, so that was something I was anxious to see where I probably observed more in the beginning rather than follow any kind of strategy.
It was good to see Adrian, Vince and Verm mixing it up up front early on and keeping in a good position. They definitely held a good position through a good portion of the race. I was with "the hammer" and Eddie where Eddie and I thought this was a good place to be since if attacks came that we needed to respond to, who better to get us back in a good position?
The first 1-2 laps were pretty "comfortable," where it was nice to warm up vs. going full throttle in the beginning. After that though, things got pretty hot and stayed that way throughout the rest of the race. It was just as intense as the others described if not more.
One good thing about having teammates there was that if you started to fall back in the pack, you would be able to shoot up the side and ask a teammate to let you in. I must have done this at least 4-5 times during the race. Positioning was always hard, so I can't imagine what this must have been like for Vince on his first outing having done it solo.
There were two primes (pronounced preems) during the race where you get points for winning one. The plan was to attack on the first, if possible, and not go for the 2nd so we can save it for the final lap. The funny thing is, I never even heard the bell for the first prime. On the 2nd prime, our team got caught off guard where we all got snapped off from another group who broke away after. While we could probably have caught the first group, there was an incident in that lap where some idiot thought turning left after a pull was the right way to get out of the line. This caused our group to check up and let the front group gain even more distance ahead of us.
Shannon (probably the most), Eddie and I did as best as we could to close the gap, but there just wasn't enough people willing to work to get that job done. I may have had more to give to close the gap, but I didn't want to blow up to do so just to get others in a better position to beat us in the end. That's not to say I didn't get up front, because I did and for a while too. The thing is, it wasn't like you can create a paceline to close the gap, because not everyone was willing to work. You'd also have to jockey for a position after. If you think racing is all physical, it proved today that it can also be a mind bender.
On the last lap, we had been closing but never enough to get to the front group. We did go ahead and sprint to the finish on the final straight section, but we were doing it more for fun than for position. Overall, we did pretty good, but we need to go back to the drawing board and figure out more considering what we learned tonight. Strong outing for the team, and I'm glad I got to get my first one done with them.
Thanks for the workout, gents! I can't wait until the next one. Thanks to Noah, Sarah and Eddie's and my family for coming out for the support!
Pictures:
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| The early birds |
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| Returning from the warm up laps |
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| Chillin' before the race |
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| Staging |
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| Team BRCM |
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| Adrian towing Eddie |
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| Working in the pack |
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| Leading the chase group |
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| Sole warrior |
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| Still smiling at the end |
Good write up. Don't know what I could have done differently last night to prevent getting slammed to the ground. If he would of just held his line whilst slowing down, all would be good. We about to get back on the pack and my legs we ready to close the last 20 meters. Overall, I think the only thing holding us back last night was fitness. Some of lead guys had some skills. All the positioning and timed attacks can't make up for that. I will heal up so we train and drink some more!
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