Anyway, both of these races were quite successful and very well run. Niagara Classic took on Steve Bauer's name and the organization was superb. Traffic was only allowed to run the direction of the course, allowing us to use the full road on the narrow roads. A great safety measure taken that made for a great day. Grey county TT had tons of signage and volunteers on course to make sure you could find your way through when you are pushing so hard that you can't tell left from right. Albeit the cost of the time trial was rather high, maybe to do with it being a UCI grand fondo qualifer, but it would be nice if sponsors came forward to subsidize costs as it would allow for bigger fields.
Back to the racing. Niagara classic featured a hill top finish on Effingham, and we had to do it 11 times (one time was "neutral"). The first 4 or so laps were relatively easy. A break of 3 was up the road and there was the occasional attack from someone trying to bridge. The next few laps, gaps started to open on the climb (wind wasn't a big factor today), and I should have moved up. On lap 7, we overtook the women's field on the climb, and with me at the back of the pack, it allowed for a nice gap to form between me and the leaders that had a clear shot through and hammered it. A group of 9 really strong riders made it over and down the road. The rest of us 25+ riders ended up together in one group by the bottom of the hill. Unfortunately no one wanted to work (ok maybe 5 people max were) and the group was still in sight. Frustrated I was helping to pull 20 people back to the lead group, I dropped back for a little rest. A few km's later I moved back up and put in a good pull, Phil Sheffield came through, and then no one came through on him. You could tell he wasn't happy. I came through again and put in a good pull. He just sat up, and when I looked back, no one came with me. The chase group was just up the road, but they had too much horsepower. I finished the race with a 30km TT, and held off the peloton, putting a minute into them, but lost 4-5mins to the winning group that caught the break. Those last few climbs were some of the hardest climbs I have done; going in pre-fatigued made it a survival climb. I was fairly happy with this race, but a better result was possible had I been better positioned on the climb.
 |
| A happy and sore Chris to have finished solo for 13th. |
Moving onto the TT. I had bought a new TT bike coming into this. And by new I mean a old Cervelo Dual aluminum bike. I have had stiffness issues with TT bikes, so I figured aluminum was a good way to fix that. It was a hot night, without much wind. I started off maybe a little too hard, with the excitement of going through all the city corners. As it went on, and I settled in, I sweat a lot. By the time I got to the top of the hill 20km in, I couldn't see with the sweat streaming into my eyes. To be safe, I ended up tucking on the big descents because I couldn't see the potholes. Just before the final descent with 3km to go, I passed my 2 minute man. He spun by me on the downhill, and once it flattened out I was able to put the hammer down and make up some time. I really need to get a crank or pedal power meter so I can use a disc and have power data. I can pace and push myself a lot better when I have that number in front of me.
Anyway, I ended up finishing the TT in 5th! I beat a couple people that had passed me last year. A great result for me. I knew I had the power for this result after a hard winter of training, and it was thoroughly satisfying to see the training paying off.
Results for Steve Bauer Classic: here
Results for the Grey County TT: Here
If you want more pics, or faster updates on race results, check out the team's facebook page! : Here
No comments:
Post a Comment