Keith Berger Memorial Criterium Race Report

So we planned a trip to Connecticut to visit family around a bike race. There’s a report on the team website, so this will include more personal reflections on the race.

* I really want to underscore how relatively safe the race felt, particularly the corners. This is likely the product of these guys racing a real crit each week for their training race. Yes, the Oval is a great resource, but it doesn’t teach you how to turn in a pack. The only issue was the guy who didn’t hold his line after the finish. He didn’t cause a crash, but swerving around when guys are doing 30+mph isn’t a Good Idea.

* Wow, it was windy. Nobody really wanted to work in the second straight. My bridge effort went right into the teeth of the wind, and it was hard. There was also a fair bit of bunching in that straight because the guys at the front would just stop pedaling.

* The pace wasn’t particularly fast. The prime laps would get pretty fast, but would slow down pretty quickly. That said, the race wasn’t slow, either. We were certainly accelerating out of the turns, and the start/finish straight was always fast.

* It was nice racing on wide roads. All it took was a good ten second effort in the wind on the outside and you could get to the front of the group.

* I’m gradually improving in getting position on the last lap. I got jammed a bit on the back straight, and I lost a bit of position there, but otherwise, I at least started the lap in a good place.

* It was nice riding to the race from where we’re staying. It was a mostly flat, straight ride along decent roads. A fine warm up.