My race on Saturday was pretty interesting. I got to the start line a little late, so I was in the third row, but I was at the outside. The field was big, maybe 35 people, so I knew I had to get to the front quickly. The guy in front of me was on a full-suspension mountain bike, and maybe had platform pedals (I don't remember now), so I figured I'd be able to get by him pretty quick. In spite of a delay in starting the race (where we were just held at the line), I stayed very calm, and just thought about what I had to do. I generally don't get really nervous at the start, but I'm usually more tense than I was Saturday. It was a good place to be.
(That's me on the far left.)So, at the start, I immediately started passing people on the outside. By the time the course narrowed, I was in 6th or so. For most of the first lap, I felt pretty good. The pace was hard, but not too uncomfortable, and I thought I'd be able to stay with the lead group. It was at a long false flat at the end of the lap that I realized things weren't going as well as they seemed. I finished the lap still with the lead group, but my legs were tiring. The second lap was much worse. Several people got around me and I crashed on a slow off-camber section. My legs had no snap. I was able to pick it up again a little for the third lap, and I made up some spots on guys who really went out too hard. I finished 11th; about what I typically did last year. It would have been lower if a couple guys hadn't crashed and dropped their chains at the end. I was pretty disappointed.
Afterward, I went home and got cleaned up, then I came back for the Elite race. There were some big names there, Jonathon Page, a former Swiss nat'l champ, the Canadian nat'l champ, Adam Myerson, Steve Tilford, plus all of the local fast guys. The whole thing was really cool; the pro's are extremely fast.Here's what I learned watching the Elite race:
- That my lines aren't too bad, but I need to be more precise.
- The fastest guys do everything just a little better everywhere (although, compared to me, a lot better everywhere!) and are more consistent.
- They look for spots where there's more traction in corners, even if it's a little off line.
- They pump the terrain.
On Sunday, I had a little more nervous energy for the race. They had changed the course a little which made it a bit faster. During the warm-up laps, I inadvertantly showed a few of my competitors how to get around the trickiest corner on the course. Anyway, I lined up in a slightly better spot at the start, 2nd row this time and still on the outside. I went out hard again, but backed off very early, basically as soon as we got through the first real corner. I just tried to keep a steady pace for the first lap and a half. It meant that my position wasn't so good (maybe about 16th), but I was feeling much better. About halfway through the second lap I started pushing a little. I was riding with a pretty big group; I think that I should have been faster than these guys, but I was losing bits of time here and there to them (and noticeably, a couple seconds on every remount). Halfway through the third lap, I really started cranking it up. I was making up time and spots on guys who weren't doing the basics (like pedaling down shallow hills). Unfortunately, disaster struck on the last steep little hill. The line I was riding up the hill took me right against the tape. The guy in front of me was essentially on the same line, but he didn't make the hill and stopped. This left me with my wheel between him and the tape... no where to go! So, I had to get off and run, and I got passed by a few people. I pushed really hard for the rest of the lap and made up a few of those spots, but getting cut off on the hill definitely cost me a few positions. I ended up 14th, roughly in the middle of a group of 7 that were covered by 6 seconds.
Even though I finished worse on Sunday, I felt like I raced much better. My lap times were much more consistent Sunday, the first two were the same down to the second, and my third was a couple seconds quicker. On Saturday, my laps varied by as much as 30 seconds!
I watched the Elite race again on Sunday, it was still cool. Page and Michael Mueller (the former Swiss champ) crushed everybody both days. Then I helped clean up the course. Despite my bad race on Saturday, I really enjoyed the race weekend.
So, here's my laundry list of what I need to work on:
- I don't have particularly good cyclocross race fitness right now. Part of it this weekend was that I was fatigued from a long training block, but the other part was that I haven't been doing muscular endurance - type intervals, which I think are key to going fast in 'cross.
- Getting on my bike! It's obvious that I lose a couple seconds every time I do this.
- Keeping my elbow next to my body when carrying the bike. (This keeps the saddle out of your armpit, so you can lift the bike higher if necessary.)
- More precise lines.
Hmm... that's a big list! I'm also going to make my tire change this week. I stopped by the shop earlier this week, and they're getting some new tires for me. I'm picking them up later this week, but I want to get at least one practice in with them before I race. This is what I'm getting:
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