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VHP/TC Criterium - Cycle


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Monroe, Louisiana
United States
46F / 8C
Overcast
Total Time = 25m
Overall Rank = 1/10
Age Group = CAT 5
Age Group Rank = 1/10
Pre-race routine:

Rested after the TT in the morning, ate lunch, and headed to the site.
Event warmup:

Rode the loop a few times to get a handle of how fast I could turn with the roads still being pretty wet. After that it was time to get ready.
Bike
  • 25m
  • 9.3 miles
  • 22.32 mile/hr
Comments:

http://www.strava.com/activities/261819816

The race started off with a spirited effort of about 480-500W that settled down pretty quickly with the first turn. At this point I was sitting at 3rd in the line, which I've been told is a good place to sit. After the first turn the lead rider made an attack that I followed suit with that created a break of about 5 of us.

The second lap I spent trying to rotate back, but the group seemed content with riding my wheel. Eventually I sandbagged enough to where I was able to get back to my teammate and told him I think I can do this. I just don't think he knew what "this" meant.

For the next two laps I rode with the pack, but on the 4th lap I did a rather spirited sprint to see how the guys reacted. After I soft pedaled the strongest of the other riders bridged the group back, but it looked like it took a bit of effort for him.

The next lap I decided to attack hard and hold it to break away. This is the point where my HR went from averaging around 174 to 185. After I hit the second turn of this lap I could see that I had a decent gap over the group. I began to mentally prepare myself:

"This is it. If You hold this, then you win. You're just going to have to hurt for a long time."

I let my body settle into a rhythm of head down on the straights getting aero and pedaling hard, turn, turn, sprint, repeat. I kept telling myself that if it's hurting me, then it's hurting them.

I think it was my 7th lap when I was told by one of my teammates watching that I had about a 30 seconds lead over the pack. I pushed harder, and the lead jumped to 57 seconds. With my last two laps I shifted to a more defensive pace, but it seemed like I had the race under control.

When I heard the final lap bell I dug for half of the last lap, and after the second turn I could see the pack on the other side at an equal distance. I began to ease my effort up and take in the fact that I just won my first road race.

After I finished I waited to watch my teammate take 3rd in the pack sprint. It was a great race for both of us.
What would you do differently?:

What I did was a very risky move. I very likely could have waited longer to do a similar attack, but you never know what will happen later on in the race. It felt like a good time to go, so I went.
Post race
Warm down:

Watched my teammate finish, and then we soft pedaled a few laps. It was awesome for both of us to podium.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing really. I trained hard for this, and I was ready.

Event comments:

Good practice crit for those who don't have their handling super dialed in. The long straightaways played to my strength.




Last updated: 2015-03-02 12:00 AM
Biking
00:25:00 | 9.3 miles | 22.32 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/10
Overall: 1/10
Performance: Good
Avg HR 180 Max HR 190
Wind: Some
Course: Oval loop with 4 right turns. Probably as least technical as a crit can be.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 91
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too easy
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2015-03-02 8:56 AM

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Extreme Veteran
2261
20001001002525
Ridgeland, Mississippi
Subject: VHP/TC Criterium


2015-03-02 9:22 AM
in reply to: #5097258

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Member
2689
2000500100252525
Denver, CO
Subject: RE: VHP/TC Criterium

YAY MATT!!!!!!!!!!  So proud of you. Not only did you keep the rubber side down, but you kept the hammer down as well and had a heck of a race.  What a way to start your road racing career!!!! 

2015-03-02 10:03 AM
in reply to: laffinrock

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Master
9705
500020002000500100100
Raleigh, NC area
Subject: RE: VHP/TC Criterium

Congratulations!

2015-03-02 10:17 AM
in reply to: #5097258

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Master
6595
50001000500252525
Rio Rancho, NM
Subject: RE: VHP/TC Criterium

Wow that is SOOOO AWESOME!!!!!!!! Great report too! Thank you for the play-by-play! You are off to a great start on your season!!!!!!!

2015-03-02 11:48 AM
in reply to: #5097258

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Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: VHP/TC Criterium

Way to knock it out of the park as well as keeping the rubber side down.  Excellent first race!  You did indeed work/train very hard for this and were rewarded for your efforts.  Keep up the good work!

2015-03-02 1:37 PM
in reply to: melbo55

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Seattle
Subject: RE: VHP/TC Criterium

Awesome! Glad the weather held up for you.

Man, I seriously know that feeling of leading the pack and how motivating it is to keep pushing to hold. I almost prefer to be in the hunt but I imagine crits are even more tactical and that's not quite as easy to do.

So does this mean you can move up? 



2015-03-02 1:57 PM
in reply to: Asalzwed

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Extreme Veteran
2261
20001001002525
Ridgeland, Mississippi
Subject: RE: VHP/TC Criterium

Originally posted by Asalzwed

Awesome! Glad the weather held up for you.

Man, I seriously know that feeling of leading the pack and how motivating it is to keep pushing to hold. I almost prefer to be in the hunt but I imagine crits are even more tactical and that's not quite as easy to do.

So does this mean you can move up? 

I believe I need to get past my next race that's two weeks from now first.  After that if I have a solid finish I should be able to ask to move up.

2015-03-02 7:13 PM
in reply to: msteiner

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Expert
4598
20002000500252525
Middle River, Maryland
Silver member
Subject: RE: VHP/TC Criterium
Holy he77 Matt...blowing away the field? Wow.
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