Picnic races tonight, so a short race (30 laps), full field, and lots of primes. I thought about trying to go for a prime before the race, but terrible start position meant I spent a good portion of the race just trying to move up. The pace was fast, as expected, but not terrible. I was pretty comfortable sitting in, even near the back of the group. Ho hum. Lots of break attempts, but nothing stuck, and the chases weren’t terribly furious. With about six laps to go, I found myself near the front with a break about a half a lap or so away. Iron City and Steel City, both with riders in the break, were blocking but I managed to sneak through. My intention was to bring another rider or two with me, but alas, after I opened a gap, I noticed no one had followed. Two choices:

1. Sit up and get swallowed up
2. Put my head down and try to bridge

I went with option 2. I felt good for about lap, and probably got within about 50 meters of the break. I held this for another half lap or so. And started to lose energy. A Penn State rider attempted to bridge, too, I tried to hold his wheel as he went by, but couldn’t. I didn’t quite sit up, but I certainly wasn’t trying to maintain a gap. I swung right, watched the group sail by, and clung on the back for dear life. As we passed the finish line, the bell rang for one lap to go, and it took everything to sit on a wheel and finish with the group. Good stuff.

Lessons learned:

* I probably could have gunned it a bit longer and maybe, just maybe caught the break. Steve K. managed to stay away, too, so it was the break.
* I need to do that more often. I definitely lack confidence in the B race, feeling like I just need to sit in. Obviously, given the right situation, I can get away. Even if the break is for naught, it’s worth trying, if only for the workout. No reason to be happy sitting in. And even if the move is destined to fail, well, who cares?
* John and I didn’t communicate much during the race, and given how blown I was during the last lap, I wasn’t going to do much. I think we need to be opportunistic during the race, and since I took my chance late, I was pretty useless during the sprint.

Posted on 1 July 2009