Combined Race Report Post

03/01/02 BAKER TO DEATH VALLEY 80 MILE ROAD RACE -- FINISHED 30TH

03/02/08 DASH FOR CASH CRITERIUM------------------- FINISHED 19TH

03/04/08 EL DORADO TWILIGHT RACE SERIES CRITERIUM-- FINISHED 7TH

03/09/08 TOUR DE MURRIETA CIRCUIT RACE------------- FINISHED 10TH







03/01/08 SATURDAY BAKER TO DEATH VALLEY Finished 30th

RESULTS

80 MILE ROAD RACE 3,000 FEET OF CLIMBING.

A break went off the front on mile one. We (the peloton) let them go because we thought we would catch them later. Well they stayed away the whole race. I got dropped on the climb around mile 30. The pace was mellow for the first 10-15 miles and then somewhere around mile 20 the field split and I got caught out. I worked real hard to bridge the gap. It took almost 9 miles to get back on. But by then we were approaching the base of the climb. I didn't have enough time to recover before the climb started and about .5 mile into it I got dropped. I just didn't have the legs to keep up with the pack.

At the top of the climb, I noticed there was noone in front of me and noone behind me. So I basically did a 40 mile TT. Yes I was alone from the top of the climb to the finish. I finished in 3:23 for an avg of 23.4 Mph. There was a tail/crosswind and I am sure that helped the peloton.

03/02/08 SUNDAY DASH FOR CASH CRITERIUM

RESULTS

The challenge with doing races on consecutive days is recovery. Not only did I do a 80 mile road race on Saturday but I also spent five hours in the car driving back from Death Valley to Huntington Beach. As soon as I was able to change out of my cycling gear I put on my Skins Travel & Recovery tights for the drive home. Once home Brandy gave me a leg massage, a good meal and some rest and relaxation.

On race day I did a decent warm up and lined up thinking "I just want to sit in." Well the yahoos that were racing prevented me from doing that and soon enough I was in the front 10 riders enjoying clear lanes to take the corners.

But then I between turn 2 and turn 3 (slight uphill) a rider attacked. I happened to be near him and jumped on his wheel. We got a gap from the pack and as we turned on 3 I noticed we had a little more of a gap. As we neared turn 4 he was still pulling and I was tucked in behind him. He lookeed down and saw my shadow and he hit it again rounding turn 4. But now I had the perfect position --- he was pulling to the line and it was a slight downhill. I coasted for a couple of seconds caught my breath and then slingshotted around him 30 meters from the line for the prime.

The sprint was anti-climatic I was on such a high from the prime I didn't really care. I wanted a top ten finish but when we rounded turn 4 on the last lap I was out of gas for the sprint. You think it has something to do with the race the day before? Of course.




03/04/08-- EL DORADO TWILIGHT RACE SERIES 60 mins FINISHED 7TH (4 POINTS)

RESULTS

I was feeling really strong and decided I would take chances and see how things worked out. The race is held in a park and it feels safe although there is one turn that takes you right into the sun and it is a tight left handed. There were a couple of attacks and I went with them just to test my fitness. We got neutralized when the pros past us and then it was on for the last lap. But then there was a crash in the Pro 1/2/3 field which caused the IV, V group to be neutralized right in front of our charging pack. I was in 5th wheel and sat up because I didn't want to sprint into the IV, V field and lost a couple of places as we came across the line. I felt great the whole hour.

03/09/08 TOUR De MURRIETA CIRCUIT RACE 37 MILES -- FINISHED 10TH

RESULTS

So I finally got a Top 10 in a race. I had been nipping at it with the previous Crits (11th Roger Millikan, 12th Anger Management the day after a 10:46 Butterfield Double) and this time it worked out. Oh and the lunge across the line meant the difference between top 10 and top 20. (This is what I thought all the way home from the race. The results from the Eldo race had not been posted and I thought this was my first top ten.)

I knew I was going to have a good day on Sunday because my pre-race leg opener on Saturday went well. I did a 30 miler and went up Newport Coast in 7:21 from the base at PCH to Pelican (new PR). On the way home I did 5 sprints all over 900watts. I haven't hit 900w (150 lbs) on any of my previous Crits. Ok ok so these aren't big numbers but as an Ultra cyclist I am all slowtwitch now and there just aren't that many opportunities (read necessity) to SPRINT or climb at or above threshold.


I followed good wheels all day and stayed in the top 10 of the group and watched every break.



THAT'S ME ON THE RIGHT SPRINTING FOR 10TH