First Road Race in the Bag

// July 12th, 2008 // Cycling, Personal Crap

Piedmont Triad Omnium 7-13-08 047_croppedWell I’ve arrived back home from my first road race – The Piedmont Triad Omnium Road Race starting and ending out of Davidson Community College outside of Thomasville. So up until this point, I’ve only raced in criteriums, and a single time trial. This morning I added a road race, and it won’t be my last.

The Cat4 guys rolled out at 8:00am. We started right behind them at 8:05am. The course was nice, with an 11.6 loop we did three times. The start/finish was 3 miles off this loop. So the officials and police rolled us out with a neutral start down to the loop. I am not sure of the exact size of the field, but it’s the largest I’ve ever raced in to date. We only had half the roadway at any given time, and we were all bunched in like sardines.

Piedmont Triad Omnium 7-13-08 049_croppedI loved the ride, the course and just being out there. I had one teammate out there, and we both stuck near the front with a fair amount of ease.

The only complaint was the up and downs of the pace. I don’t know if it was a product of the group size, it being a Cat5 race, or the experience levels in the peloton, but we had a lot of braking that would have a domino effect down the peloton. The only other issue was because we were only able to ride half the road, we were packed in, and it made it difficult to move up through the group. Some of that is lack of experience on my part, and some was the lack of experience on others.

The first two laps went completely smoothly and we chugged along at paces varying from 19 to 25. It was a bit annoying as someone ahead of you would jam on their brakes and then raise out of the saddle to catch up. The only hiccup we had was reminiscent of something out of ProTour footage. A dog was standing out in the middle of the road on one of our loops (#1 I believe). One guy was almost able to hop over the little guy, but another when right over the dog with a yelp (from both dog and cyclist). Several riders went down with that and from the hard braking. I barely missed being taken out, with a well-timed swerve. My teammate Stephen also came out of that fiasco unscathed.

But the rest of the race was pretty uneventful. I conserved energy sitting in for most of the way. My only real energy burn was trying to reel in two that went of the front. Coming up the second to last hill, I was pretty spent. I went to shift down from my large ring, and it didn’t budge. After a few seconds, I shifted down on the back wheel, which got the front to drop down as well. But that sputter was enough to put me in a place of fatigue and I got spit out the back on the climb, never to latch back on.

For the first time, I realized there was some wind, and man does it make a difference out there all alone. I spent a ton of energy and almost latched back on to the back, but ended up losing them on the final hill unfortunately. I missed out on a large group finish, but had plenty behind me. I rolled in after the group, happy with my patience for the majority of the race, but really frustrated that I got spit out, after feeling so good throughout the race.

I am not sure where I finished, but I did finish, and everything up to the end I was really proud and satisfied with. I’ll post my official result once that comes through. My teammate Stephen finished 5th I believe, which is freaking awesome. I wish I could have finished with him. Next time maybe I will. The distance was just about at my limits, at least once I got spit out the rear of the peloton. But I like the road race setup. It’s really not much different that doing a group ride, albeit with the edge of competition, and not knowing all the guys in the group you’re riding with. See you all on the roads and in the next crit or road race.

6 Responses to “First Road Race in the Bag”

  1. bomboloni says:
    July 12, 2008 at 3:22 pm

    Great milestone! The accordion effect is so common in a Cat 5 race, and it happens quite a bit in the back of Cat 4. races too. You will get really tired of hearing guys yelling “slowing”. There is a huge advantage to staying to the front of the race, you get to avoid this and getting caught behind crashes. At the front you are riding more efficiently, and in road races that is SO important.

    It sounds like you rode a smart race, you conserved energy, and avoid the crashes. Keep riding smart and you will do better than stronger guys riding stupid. Congrats! You must be catting up soon?

    Reply
  2. vinpaysdoc says:
    July 14, 2008 at 9:05 am

    Keefer,

    Nice job on the Road Race. The dog got hit the second time we went around Yokley. The first rider hit the dog in the mid-section and went over the bars. The second one went over the dog AND the first rider. The third guy stopped with his wheel on the dog, couldn’t clip out, and fell over. Fortunately, none of the three were seriously injured. The finish wasn’t for the feint of heart. There were some 35 folks in the pack as we hit the cones and took up all the road for the sprint. I stayed behind Scott Yates because I figured he’d sprint well. Unfortunately, the road got tight and Watts Dixon bumped Scott as he went by, leaving Scott tensed up and backing off. Oh, well, so much for my train to the front….. BTW, Scott and Watts are pictured on this blog lapping you and I with 2 laps to go at Ace Speedway Tuesday. Watts should Cat up soon given his win in the Crit Friday.

    Hey, with regards to the trials of pack riding, you might want to consider another angle. Would you rather them brake or simply crash? It would be harder for me to deal with them crashing in front of me. My frustration was more on the climbs up Clodfelter. Many of the folks out of the saddle couldn’t hold a line while they were climbing. It made for some dicey riding.

    Enjoyed riding with you Tuesday. I wish I’d had enough to pull those guys back in with you.

    Greg Ellis

    Reply
  3. Keefer says:
    July 14, 2008 at 9:16 am

    bomboloni:

    Thanks for your comments. I’m really glad to now have all of the big three race types under my belt. I’m not sure I have a favorite. I enjoyed them all, though I like the road race and crits a bit better cause there are more people out there on the road for motivation, pacelines, etc. (obviously)

    Greg:
    Nice to meet you. I’m so glad no one got seriously messed up by that dog. I was very fortunate to skirt around it! I agree with you on the braking rather than crashing. I know the road race stuff will become second nature, but those bits were new to me for sure. You know until that last lap, I didn’t notice the hills at all. The increased pace did it for me.

    Watts is a strong strong rider and I think he wants to cat up already as much as the competition does. He’s a beast!

    I’m sure I’ll see you out at Ace again soon. You racing out there next Tuesday?

    Reply
  4. vinpaysdoc says:
    July 14, 2008 at 9:40 am

    Keefer,

    Unfortunately, I’m working until 7 pm that evening. I’ll be at the French Broad Cycling Classic in Asheville this weekend. I’ll get out to Ace when my schedule permits in the future. Let me know if you’re headed this way for any of the Crossroads stuff. Be careful out there!

    Greg

    Reply
  5. Keefer says:
    July 14, 2008 at 10:01 am

    I think I’ll be down there for some of the Crossroads stuff – Hanes Park Classic in Winston-Salem for sure. See you out there, Greg. It’s great to put a name to a face/jersey.

    Reply
  6. Keefer says:
    July 18, 2008 at 8:43 am

    Ok update here. I went onto Pre-reg’s Race Results and I’m not listed at all on there. Bomboloni said I’m screwed since I didn’t contest it within 15 mins of finishing. But I emailed the promoter of the race and shortly after got an emai from the Chief Judge of the event:

    Ryan,

    In our preliminary results from the RR, we had left a blank spot for a racer who was on tape but whose number we could not see. Based on the notes that I made on my score sheet regarding jersey color and so forth, it is probably you and the place was 21st. The registration system that was used to print results did not keep that space ‘open’ as it should have when they submitted the final results. I will review the tape tonight to ensure that the ‘unknown’ racer is indeed someone in a Tri-cyclists kit, and if so, I will notify the RMS registration staff that you need to be inserted into the results in 21st place.

    Hope this is true and coincidentally that placement would put me right there with you Greg.

    Reply

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