Racing Update

First of all, sorry that it's been so long since I've updated my blog. Here is a racing update:

Coming into the National Championships, I wasn't expecting to do great because I was racing in the 15-16 category, despite still being 14. Now, I think I should have had higher goals or the race.

July 28, 2009: USA CYCLING National Road Race Championships:

I started the 45 mile circuit/road race feeling terrible, I think because of the heat, despite me drinking about 6 water bottles. I suffered at the back of the pack or near it for the first half of the race, when someone in front of me crashed, and I and a couple of other people went down. From then on me and 2 other riders from 5280 grouped together, one from the crash and one who was dropped, and tried to not get lapped by the field. At the end, after doing most of the work in the last 5 miles, one of the riders, the stronger one, sprinted around me and I got 27th. Only 1 racing age 15 yr old stayed in the 20 person finishing pack.

July 30: Time Trial

Despite the course being pretty good for me, at about 2 percent for 12k up and then back down, and the fact that I felt better than I did in the Road Race, I got 35th, which I wasn't too disappointed about because Time Trialing isn't my strength. I was just hoping to do a little better.

August 1: criterium

The criterium was short and fast, on a super technical 6/10 of a kilometer long circuit. I got called up to the line because I was in the top 8 last year (8th in the 13-14 category), but around the 1st corner there was a big crash where I lost a lot of momentum. For nearly all of the race I was near the back, which was bad enough, but I was also feeling good and should have been near the front. In the last lap I moved up a lot because the pack was stretched out, and got 2oth.
My end result seemed pretty good, but given I didn't race well it wasn't.

South Carolina State Road Race Championship, August 26th:

After Nationals I took a long break, and as of the State Championships I still hadn't done a single interval yet, mainly doing Tuesday Group rides for intensity and endurance/tempo riding during the rest of the week.

Based on this, I wasn't sure how I'd do at the State Championships, although prior to the race I was feeling good. But regardless of how I felt, I really wanted to race good, stay at the front of the field, and play a card.

I would be racing the cat. 3's, a 65 mile race on a 13 mile loop. Although I know this course very well since there are 2 races on it a year, for this race they decided to add an extra hill, a short steep sprint that thinned out the field.

The race started really slow, and remained that way for most of the next 2 laps. After that there were some hard parts, a pack split, and crosswinds, in addition to a crash on the new hill. With 2 laps to go the pack was down to less than 30 riders, and a hard pace had been set for a while. I stayed in the top ten and with 1 to go I was still there, waiting for the right time to play my card.

I decided I would attack over the top of the new hill, which I thought was about 7 miles from the finish. I went over the top of the hill in around 12th, ready to attack, but someone else did before I got the chance to. There were caught pretty soon, and after that I think there was a counterattack. The field was going pretty hard into a headwind to chase them back. When they were caught, the rider leading the pack slowed and pulled off. I attacked right between the rider who had just pulled off and the rider now leading the pack, and got a gap with about 3.5 miles to go.

Unfortunately I was fighting a headwind, and about a minute after I attacked, I was almost caught. But the pack sat up like I was hoping it would, with riders watching each other. My gap grew again, I took a right turn, then began a long descent. During the descent I noticed one rider in a light blue Jersey was trying to bridge up to me. I wasn't thinking about the finish yet, but I still didn't want that rider bridging up to me.

After the descent were two rolling hills, which I went as hard as I could up. I could see the one rider, and also the pack, gaining on me now, and I wasn't expecting to stay away. After the 2 hills was a left turn, and seeing the 1 K to go sign gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, I could hold of the peleton and win a cat. 3 race.

From 1K to go until the finish there is a gradual uphill. Given I was still ahead of the chasing rider in the blue jersey, I thought the slight uphill would be enough for me to stay ahead of him.

With 500 meters to go, I thought I could win, but then that 1 rider started to gain on me quickly, so I kicked into a much harder pace. With about 300 meters to go I saw him give up a little, but I still kept going hard until 100 meters to go, when I knew I was going to win. I went across the finish line with my hands in the air, celebrating my first category 3 race victory.

After the race, I downloaded my power meter and saw that I only averaged 21.5 for the whole race. During my breakaway, form what I could tell it was about 3.5 miles, at an average speed of 23.5, not very fast, but there was a headwind for nearly all of it and the last 1.5 kilometers were uphill. I didn't use my power tap wheel for the race, so unfortunately I don't know my average power.

Lord willing, my next race is the Tour De Moore century on September 7. Although it isn't really a race, several cat. 2's and maybe even some cat. 1's will be doing it and I want be competitive and try to win it.

Almost a week later is the Carolina cup, September 13th. I think I will be racing the cat.3's and the juniors.