Yesterday was the Oakmont criterium (Riverview Grand Prix). John and I lined up for the team in the category 4/5 race (22 laps, 16 miles), along with 43 other racers. Scary. Fine weather, albeit a bit hot. There was a bit of breeze, but it only seemed problematic at one point in the course. My goals were modest–make the selection, help John, don’t crash. Seemed reasonable.
John and I started at the front, and stayed close through the first handful of laps. Not at the front, but very close, enough to minimize the amount of work needed to stay with the group. Eventually, the group flip-flopped and I ended up further back. I took a look around and realized that, oh, the selection had been made and I was now at the rear of the lead group, which was maybe twenty riders strong. I spent the next block of laps hanging out near the middle or back of the group. A few stray riders, mostly Iron City folks, went off the front, but nothing stuck. The pace climbed now and again to absorb the riders and the counter-attacks, but there were plenty of mellow laps, too. With a few laps to go, Ted from Iron City took off again. He never got a huge gap, but apparently the group was content to let him hang out there, and the gap remained through the final lap. I managed to find John and get in position to pull, but I missed the battle for position, as we only managed to get about halfway up the group before the final chicane, which meant we weren’t going to make up more ground for the sprint. Ted managed to stay away for the win, and we finished in the top 15 or so.
With a bit of better planning, we could have done better. There was ample opportunity to bridge to Ted in the closing lap, and I should have moved John up sooner in the lap so we could be better positioned for the sprint. Oh well. The race (obviously) went better for me this year, so that’s good. The first ten laps or so hurt a bit, and there was another painful lap or two in the middle, but otherwise I definitely had a bit left in the tank. Coming into the final straight, I was only sprinting halfheartedly until the final 100 meters or so, and by then I wasn’t going to make up much ground. I feel like my condition might be coming around a bit, but I need to get my head screwed on a bit tighter–better strategy would net better results at this point.
The course was rougher than I remembered, too. Of course, the cobbles on Allegheny River Boulevard are rough, but the long straight on Washington was very rough, and so was the second corner. One guy lost his left crankarm after hitting a pothole, and another rider hit the same hole in the corner in three consecutive laps. I’m not sure how his lightweight wheels survived. My hands were pretty sore after the race, and I hit at least one bit hole at one point, too.
Posted on 8 June 2009