Tripleshot Cycling

There was a pretty good turnout for Tripleshot tonight. Gavin and Ryan representin' in the A group and I counted 13 in the B group, which was really B's and C's because there was no C group.

The B race strategy was to try to work for Kevin to see if we could get him a win over Kelly and try to close the overall gap. It seemed like we had a pretty good chance with only one other IRC rider in the group, but that Kelly, he knows what he's doing out there.

The pace was pretty fast to start. I was feeling it off the hop and looked at my speedo as we closed on on the A's in the first lap or two - 40K on the backstretch was not uncommon. It settled down after a few laps and I realized that I didn't have to bury myself to close gaps after the corners because the front would slow down and we would all close up again. The corners always sort of weird me out at Caleb because everyone is so hard on the brakes going into them - you can't carry much momentum so you have to stand on it coming out.

With 9 laps to go Hugh got a gap at the front that turned into a pretty big one as a few TSers went to the front of the group and took the pace down. With the hot start I think most people were fine to let the pace drop so Hugh really got away. He came back after a lap though as that is a long way to go on your own.

There was a prime with 7 to go and that took the pace up again, but once again it settled down. John Guthrie took off about then and one of the girls took off to chase him. I went with her and closed the gap and we were all together again. John hit the deck a lap or two later when he was pedalling through one of the corners and launched himself off his pedal. Seems like he was okay and everyone else avoided him.

On the last lap we almost got it perfect. I jumped on one of the tri dudes as he moved up the backstretch with Kevin on my wheel. As we got to the last rise on the backstretch the pace slowed so I hit it thinking that I still had Kevin. Jeff jumped on, then Kevin as I went as hard as I could through the last corner and onto the final descent to the line. Jeff came around me, then Kevin with Kelly on his wheel. It's a bit of a blur from there with a few others coming past. I went as hard as I could up to the finish, started to fade and got caught by a few more right on the line. I think if we had one more person in the lead out we might have had something there - so close. Still, it felt pretty good to get sort of organized and do stuff that makes you feel as if you are in a bike race. Like I said, Kelly is a smart guy - he found Kevin's wheel and stayed there until the finish line where he took it by half a wheel. We gotta think a bit more about how to solve that one next time. Great race, looking forward to the next one.

I had a good time too. As Jeff mentioned the pace was rather quick. Kelly, the TripleShot target for the night, started off down the back side of the course quite quickly right off the start and he had IRC-John with him (that's the John that crashed, not me). Right away I decided my role would be to mark him. I have to say that was cool. I didn't think about anything else - I just wanted him to know that if he tried anything, I'd be on his tail (just like Eurocar dude and Cadel Evans this morning . It's cool because it meant that there were no internal debates. Steady? conserve? jump? where should I position myself? These are things you often think about throughout the race and the decision making can be as tiring as the pedaling. But, last night the only note-to-self was, do what Kelly does. I'd like to think it worked. There were a few times when it looked like he was wanting to get away. Initially with John and later with a Pro City guy. I have to also add that Kelly did at least a couple of laps on the front - he was strong and really earned the win.

There were at least two times when a Triple Shot rider rode off the front last night - first it was Hugh who thought he was racing for the prime. That worked really well. Two of us rode on the front slowing the pace just a little and Hugh was gone. Too bad it turned out not to be a prime. Doesn't matter, the team worked perfectly. That's something to remember. If you get a gap, don't give up. Even if you think you can't possibily ride faster than the pack, remember that you might not have to. Some of us will be trying to make things easier for you. I'm not suggesting Hugh gave up - he crossed the line first, which was his goal. It's just a general comment for anyone finding themselves ahead of the pack mid way through the race.

By the last lap I was not feeling strong. Jeff initiated a great lead out just before the last right hand turn. Kevin and I were side by side behind him, but I wasn't able to slot myself in and told Kevin to go with Jeff. I wish I'd have been able to help, but I know I'd have just created a gap and that's the last thing I wanted. I recovered just a little after the right hander and thought that the draft I'd get from the ten bikes ahead might just work well for the sprint up the hill. Things were looking good but a car coming down the hill made people a little nervous and the pack tightened up a bit preventing me from sling-shoting through.

When we want to run as a team, we each have roles to play and I think that evenings like last night help to clarify those roles. The more we do it, the better we'll get. Fun!

JT

My first Caleb 'A' race and it shows. It's always nice be able to have concrete examples to pass on to the juniors how you always have room for learning and improving. I definitely have room for improvement, especially in my tactical sense.

I managed to talk Mat Baker into riding this race instead of 'B' and it sounds like he had fun. He definitely fits in the 'A' race. I didn't realize this was his second bike race, ever. He's strong like bull and learns fast. By lap 5 he was a seasoned vet. Chapeau, mon vieux. I am surprised I managed 10th considering I raced like a novice; I gassed myself early enough to miss the break, then clashed wheels in the sprint for 6th, almost going down. I love racing, though. Any day on a bike where the rubber side stays down beats the poo poo out of doing almost anything else. Kudos to Kevin F for pulling out third in the 'B' race.

R

Caleb ‘B’ was again a good learning experience. It was really cool to have 14 TSCers at the line in B’s. I think we ran a pretty good race for our relative inexperience. I felt really good for the whole race but deviated from the plan with the preem lap. My bad. I wasn’t really thinking I was really itching to launch. I should have sat in. I really do have a tough time sitting in. I understand it is the best chance at winning most of the time but…honestly how much fun is that? But I can see how me jumping around in the pack and not staying ‘protected’ would frustrate a few. My apologies on that front. I must be in a good place if I was ‘disappointed’ with second last night. The next day any podium feels awesome! It was actually a third place. Joel Taylor kept going after the preem lap and was way off the front. Nobody noticed and he won the race we were actually duking it out for second! Full points for Kelly for a super smart race. Dave Strasser was the 4th place finished with another strong performance.
Like Geoff and John said it was really fun to try the tactics and race as a team. It really adds a lot of learning and enjoyment to the sport and makes you understand the Tour a lot better in all the timing and dynamics of a team a race and the individual variables all coming together at once. Really makes me realize how darn fantastic HTC is! Its like checkmate 2 moves into the game once they get 10kms in.
Thanks everyone who pitched in during the race. I got a great lead out from Geoff and Jeff too bad it was Kelly on my back wheel!

I'm looking forward to moving up to A's and pulling for the TSCers if possible.

When thinking about Joel's position, I remembered that it wasn't long after he got away that the A's came up on our backs. The B group rode the penultimate lap slowly to let the A's get past so we could have a decent bell lap. That slow lap sealed the deal for Joel. I also remembered that this wasn't uncommon in past years and that anticipating the A's was an important consideration.


JT