How much racing has taken place in the last week? This is where I come to see how things went. Someone write something! Did Stephane win Neild Rd.? How was the TT. Peter? Anika? Exiting Bastion Sq. event for Jay? Was there a triple-shot-filled C race?
JT
???
Moderator: mfarnham
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Stéphane Tran
- Posts: 620
- Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 9:24 pm
Re: ???
I got 2nd in the Neild Rd. hill climb. My previous best was 9:11 and my target this year was under 8:30. My time was 8:12, but Fabian Merino (who won the cat. 4 Bastion Square crit this year) was first in the Bs with a time of 7:55. I believe Jay's time was 7:12.
As for the racing this weekend, her is my race report that I originally posted on the Wheelers forum:
After the time trial on Friday evening, Saturday was road race day in Metchosin. The mens 3/4/masters race started at 7:30, so it was an early wake-up and slow spin out to Rocky Point Rd.The weather was sunny and warm, and there was a lot of hustle and bustle at the start area with lots of riders, support vehicles and organisers all getting ready.
Mick, Andrew P. and I were at the start line for the race, and our goal for the day was to help Mick get the win in the Masters category. The course was basically climb, descend, rinse and repeat 7 times over a 10km circuit. A break got away quite early, and it had a Masters rider in it, so we knew that we would need to reel it in sooner or later. Everyone was content to let the break hang out there for the hour or so. There were lots of young keeners willing to be on the front, but I stayed at the back of the pack for the most part. As we went into the last half of the race, I got tired of the constant braking and yoyoing in the back so I moved up to the front. It was a lot easier to maintain speed and pick a line in the corners and descents, and I also found it easier to be at the front on the big climb so I could concentrate on going at my own tempo without being held up by other riders. The break had about 90 seconds on the pack with 35kms or so to go, so we decided it was time to pick up the pace. Although there were 5-6 riders willing to contribute to the chase, It was impossible to get a consistent paceline going, and I was on the front quite a bit trying to keep the pace high to close the gap on the breakaway. We finally caught the break on the long uphill drag along Rocky Rd. with a lap and a half to go. Looking back on the race from the comfort of my armchair this evening, I think that I should probably have sat in a little bit once the break was caught. Instead, I stayed towards the front and, like a puppy in a windy park, chased down anything that moved. I guess the upside is that no-one else was able to counter-attack successfully. Anyway, I was really suffering on the last lap and a half and with the numerous accelerations I had nothing left for the final 200m. I ran out of juice just as everyone was ramping up for the field sprint and rolled in slowly to the finish. Luckily Mick didn't need my help at that point and won the Masters category. I guess he is the BC Masters champion for 2014! How awesome is that! Big shout out to Andrew who looked strong all day too. After getting home from the race, it was a quick shower and then I had to get the kids' lunch, take kid#2 to Tae-Kwon-Do, Kid #1 to her dance recital and then to a birthday party in Langford. Betcha none of the cat 1/2 riders did that.
Conclusions/lessons from today's race:
This is an awesome course!
Under-20s can't do a paceline.
Grumpy old men yelling "WTF, are we racing for 2nd place?!" are entertaining but can safely be ignored, especially when there are still 4 laps to go.
In a race, a 5% incline can be harder than a 10% incline.
In a field sprint, patience, timing and guile will often beat brute force.
Mick knows how to win!
As for the racing this weekend, her is my race report that I originally posted on the Wheelers forum:
After the time trial on Friday evening, Saturday was road race day in Metchosin. The mens 3/4/masters race started at 7:30, so it was an early wake-up and slow spin out to Rocky Point Rd.The weather was sunny and warm, and there was a lot of hustle and bustle at the start area with lots of riders, support vehicles and organisers all getting ready.
Mick, Andrew P. and I were at the start line for the race, and our goal for the day was to help Mick get the win in the Masters category. The course was basically climb, descend, rinse and repeat 7 times over a 10km circuit. A break got away quite early, and it had a Masters rider in it, so we knew that we would need to reel it in sooner or later. Everyone was content to let the break hang out there for the hour or so. There were lots of young keeners willing to be on the front, but I stayed at the back of the pack for the most part. As we went into the last half of the race, I got tired of the constant braking and yoyoing in the back so I moved up to the front. It was a lot easier to maintain speed and pick a line in the corners and descents, and I also found it easier to be at the front on the big climb so I could concentrate on going at my own tempo without being held up by other riders. The break had about 90 seconds on the pack with 35kms or so to go, so we decided it was time to pick up the pace. Although there were 5-6 riders willing to contribute to the chase, It was impossible to get a consistent paceline going, and I was on the front quite a bit trying to keep the pace high to close the gap on the breakaway. We finally caught the break on the long uphill drag along Rocky Rd. with a lap and a half to go. Looking back on the race from the comfort of my armchair this evening, I think that I should probably have sat in a little bit once the break was caught. Instead, I stayed towards the front and, like a puppy in a windy park, chased down anything that moved. I guess the upside is that no-one else was able to counter-attack successfully. Anyway, I was really suffering on the last lap and a half and with the numerous accelerations I had nothing left for the final 200m. I ran out of juice just as everyone was ramping up for the field sprint and rolled in slowly to the finish. Luckily Mick didn't need my help at that point and won the Masters category. I guess he is the BC Masters champion for 2014! How awesome is that! Big shout out to Andrew who looked strong all day too. After getting home from the race, it was a quick shower and then I had to get the kids' lunch, take kid#2 to Tae-Kwon-Do, Kid #1 to her dance recital and then to a birthday party in Langford. Betcha none of the cat 1/2 riders did that.
Conclusions/lessons from today's race:
This is an awesome course!
Under-20s can't do a paceline.
Grumpy old men yelling "WTF, are we racing for 2nd place?!" are entertaining but can safely be ignored, especially when there are still 4 laps to go.
In a race, a 5% incline can be harder than a 10% incline.
In a field sprint, patience, timing and guile will often beat brute force.
Mick knows how to win!