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 |
No comments:
Post a Comment