Holland Marsh: Provincial Road Race

Yesterday brought great weather for the race, asides from the strong wind. The course started out heading west with a tail wind, we turned left where the crosswinds strung out the peloton. We quickly descended a steep hill (I hit a max of 88.7km/h sure someone else went faster), the next left was terrible as the road was full of pot holes. It was a mess and there were water bottles everywhere, this wasn't made anymore appealing with the headwind. The last leg of the course saw the peloton meet the crosswinds again with a nice hill leading up to the feed zone. Overall we had 12 laps for 144km on the agenda.

Coming into this race I didn't know what to expect as I had been racing roughly half this distance this year while most of these guys have been racing this all year. Also I went swimming to a public pool on Friday and I think i'm coming down with a cold from that... I wanted to give it my best shot anyways to see how I could do.

Race started off good, trying to get a feel for the potholes. On the back section my bike felt funny after crossing under the 400 hwy, I looked down to see I had a flat. Crap. Lost my good position in the peloton already... Pulled over and got a spare wheel then sprinted to try and catch back up not wanting my race to be over already on the first lap. Luckily the peloton eased right up before the hill so I was able to get back on after about a kilometer. We hit the hill at a moderately hard pace, then it picked up at the top.
 The next time up the hill people were starting to suffer and a few looked to be popped off the back but were able to get back on when the paced eased at the top.
 The third lap saw the pace pick up at the beginning of that last stretch. The peloton was single file (at least the back half was) riding along the yellow line trying to get protection from the person in front from the crosswinds. Paced eased up slightly only for a moment as there was a surge on the hill. I saw a few people pop off, my heart rate was through the roof and then I also fell off the back. I tried chasing hard for a lap and kept them in my sights. After a lap I lost sight and my hopes of catching back up were dashed. I decided to keep riding until I got pulled. After a few laps of TTing I saw teammate Ryan on the back stretch with a flat. He had a few choice words for the the organizing of the race for not having a wheel car behind the peloton and I could see why he would be so frustrated. I knew I was so far back that giving him my wheel wouldn't have helped. A real deal rider came by and I rode a few laps with him. We got pulled after 8 laps of 12.

I don't know how much the flat took out of me from getting back on, or how much the cold held me back but I wasn't impressed with the result I had. Some hard interval work is definitely needed for next year if I hope to be competitive, as racing with these guys is a whole new ball game. I think if I positioned myself better in the pack it probably would have helped as well. After looking at the results though I know it was a hard race after seeing so many big names with a DNF beside it. Next year i'll be back for redemption!

Pictures up when I get some...
Race results: here
Garmin data: here

CHIN Picnic - Provincial Criterium

I had a bad feeling about this race leading up to it, and didn't really want to do it. The course is great, racing on a 1.4km course with its fair share of turns. Its a section from the Molson Indy race track so it gives you the extra race feeling, and there are always plenty of spectators to cheer on the riders.

I just upgraded to senior 2, and I knew that my fitness isn't quite on par with these guys. Being a provincial race with a title on the line I knew people would be there to take chances, and the big names would be there to make it hell. Also with provincials, the races are run by age groupings only, so I was in the dreaded 19-29 bracket (but my results would be classified in the under 23 group).

I started the race at the front with a neutral start around the initial chicane. I kept a good position but I didn't have the same sprint power coming out of the corners as a lot of these guys. A found myself slowly sliding back while my heart rate was through the roof. Soon enough I found myself positioned neatly at the back fighting to hang on. The race was flying and I wasn't use to this kind of pace in senior 3. The first crash that I know of saw my team mate Andrew House cartwheel off his bike on the back stretch as he ran into the back of another rider. I hung on for a few more laps before I found myself unable to hold anyones wheel. Not shortly after I lost contact, a waterloo cycling club rider, Aaron Hamill, was off the back too. We rode together but I had a massive side cramp that slowed me down a bit. We rode a few laps at a decent pace but we eventually saw the lead corvette come by and wave us out of the race.

Next was the ride of shame back to my family that had come out to support me. They were positioned at the end of the chicane. I showed up to find them not in their chairs. They were across the street helping downed Real Deal rider Jeff Moote. My grandpa being a long time fire fighter was in his natural habitat as a first responder and was there to help the situation the best he could. Apparently there was a brutal crash coming out of that left turn seeing 5-6 riders go down. The race was soon neutralized in order to bring in the ambulance. According to twitter he suffered a facial fracture and needed some stitches.
By this time I think many riders had already been axed, and the ones remaining got a little break. In the end Jeff Schiller came out victorious. Race results have a 46.0km/h speed as the average which would help to explain the decimated field. Congrats to everyone that held on, that was tough and I sure have a lot of work to do for next year!

Next race for me will be the Provincial road race in Holland Marsh at the end of July. Hoping to finish that one!

Race results: here
Garmin data: here

Neutral Start

Still with the pack

 Fighting to survive off the back