Age-Graded Championships Race Report

Ciao piasani. Been a while since I've written. So I'll bring all-a yous up to speed. First things first, I got a new bike and I'm singin' the blues. Or should I say singin' with my Blue. I got the Blue AC1SL built up with DA 7900. I don't have any pics just yet but you can check the bike out from the manufacturer (except the pic shows it built with Red) here. I threw some DA pedals on it and a Garmin Edge 500 and the thing is still under 14 pounds. And it fits me so much better than the Cannondale I've been riding for forever that it really is a completely different experience. Loving it. Given the course of the Capital Criterium, I decided to wait and use the new bike for the first time in the age-graded champs up at Ft. Ritchie since I know the course so much better.

So I went up there to join three of my WWVC fratelli in the 35+ 3/4 race. My training has been a taste sporadic but I felt like I could win it. I knew the course well and knew where to make the moves, etc. I also knew however that the heat would be a determining factor. The heat always makes me lethargic and I always seem to have difficulty with cooling. So, we all decided to warm up on the road instead of the trainer figuring it'd be cooler that way. Good call, it was more manageable that way. Got in a decent warmup and managed to squeeze in a few laps on the course before taking to the line.

At the gun, it started pretty fast. Typical for a crit I guess. I put in an effort off the line to slot in at about seventh wheel in order to avoid any first lap gittery crashes. After a few laps, my teammate Pete Warner attacked. He and an Atlantic Fitness guy had been talking before the race and decided to go early since it was only a 45-minute race. So they went and drew out about five or six other guys over the course of a full lap or so. After they got a discernable enough gap, I went to the front to try and manage things a bit. I got there at exactly the same time as a Bike Doctor ragazzo. I confirmed with him that he had a rider in the break so we tried to shut the front down together.

Well, that didn't last long and I suspected the break just wasn't working very well together. It's a shame too, I think it could have survived and that Pete would've done well if not won it. Alas, the pack reeled in the break. After that, it wasn't really racing at all. A few little attacks went, we'd speed up and catch them, then we'd slow down and bunch up. I certainly have no room to talk since I was content to do next to nothing. The heat was getting the better of me and I was anything but dynamic. So round and round we went while the lap counter ticked down.

With two to go, the pace picked up nicely. I really thought that it would stay that way the rest of the time. It almost did. Of all places to slow down, it happened just before the second to last turn. Huh? That's when I made my mistake. The slowing allowed me to essentially coast past half the pack and get right on Pete's wheel. He wasn't exactly in the best position but he has so much power, he could easily have taken me to the last corner in the top five riders. All I had to do was yell to him to punch it. Call out. Something. Anything. But, there was nothing. As hot and tired as I was, I should've just had him deliver me to the last corner. Bo Lee once said to me (likely a quote from someone else) "Pain makes cowards of us all." So the only thing I said to Pete was "Watch out for a crash in the final turn". Don't even think he heard me. We swung through the final turn crashless but about 25 riders back. Game over. Todd Bickling was well on his way to crossing the line first and we were amidst the sprint fodder. Pete and I sprinted anyway and passed a bunch of people for a grand 14th and 15th respectively. At least Pete can say he attacked a bunch. I didn't do much so I didn't earn much. Fair enough.

Next up is Tour of Millersburg. I've only heard good things about this race so I'm really looking foward to it. Ciao!!