Category Archives: circuit races

LA Circuit Race Report

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First Race as Cat IV
Field Size 100
Weather WINDY 20-30 Mph gusts
Finished 12Th place

Well as I suspected the winds were still strong on race day. My goal was to stay hidden in the pack. I did that so well that Brandy said she had been trying to take pictures of me but couldn’t find me. I told her that was the plan.

The course was two long straights with two U-turns at either end. Our speeds going into the wind were mid 20’s our speed with the tailwind was well over 30 mph.

So this is what would happen every lap. We would go really fast with the tailwind (over 30mph) then slow down to a crawl (about 10mph) into the U-turn then full throttle into the wind then crawl into the other U-Turn then full throttle as we came out of the turn with the tailwind. Repeat this for four laps.

It became very apparent that sitting in was more important than trying to be a hero. So I sat in until the last turn and then the sprint was on. We came out of the corner at almost full throttle with at least a mile to go to the finish line. I sensed the move coming from my left and chased after it. Well he tried to get into the train and they didn’t let him in. As he tried to enter the train he cut my buddy off which threw off my line, then he cut me off, which threw off my line again and by that time he had created a gap. I hesitated whether I should chase or if I should just wait until someone bridged the gap and follow the wheels to the 200 meter line. Well other riders did come up and I was swallowed up. I had to fight for 12Th place.

In retrospect, I should have followed that flyer because he brought me to the front and if I would have stayed with him I would have been that much further ahead of the pack when he rolled off to let his teammate win. I have replayed this in my head for the last 12 hours and I can’t get it out of my head.

HIDING IN THE PACK. CAN YOU SPOT ME?

FIELD SIZE 100

THE SPRINT FINISH



I’M LIFTING MY RIGHT HAND BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT MY NUMBER BLOCKED BY THE BIG GUY NEXT TO ME

LA Circuit Race Eve

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Saturday night and I am wondering what the weather will be like for my circuit race tomorrow. The weather today was very windy with gusts over 20mph. If the high winds continue it will make for a very interesting race tomorrow. Staying in the pack and not pulling will be key.

On another note…I visited Centennial Farm today with Brandy and the kids. Somehow I managed to be suckered into this. Enjoy.

DSCF9836

Combined Race Report Post

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03/01/02 BAKER TO DEATH VALLEY 80 MILE ROAD RACE — FINISHED 30TH

03/02/08 DASH FOR CASH CRITERIUM——————- FINISHED 19TH

03/04/08 EL DORADO TWILIGHT RACE SERIES CRITERIUM– FINISHED 7TH

03/09/08 TOUR DE MURRIETA CIRCUIT RACE————- FINISHED 10TH

03/01/08 SATURDAY BAKER TO DEATH VALLEY Finished 30th

RESULTS

80 MILE ROAD RACE 3,000 FEET OF CLIMBING.

A break went off the front on mile one. We (the peloton) let them go because we thought we would catch them later. Well they stayed away the whole race. I got dropped on the climb around mile 30. The pace was mellow for the first 10-15 miles and then somewhere around mile 20 the field split and I got caught out. I worked real hard to bridge the gap. It took almost 9 miles to get back on. But by then we were approaching the base of the climb. I didn’t have enough time to recover before the climb started and about .5 mile into it I got dropped. I just didn’t have the legs to keep up with the pack.

At the top of the climb, I noticed there was noone in front of me and noone behind me. So I basically did a 40 mile TT. Yes I was alone from the top of the climb to the finish. I finished in 3:23 for an avg of 23.4 Mph. There was a tail/crosswind and I am sure that helped the peloton.

03/02/08 SUNDAY DASH FOR CASH CRITERIUM

RESULTS

The challenge with doing races on consecutive days is recovery. Not only did I do a 80 mile road race on Saturday but I also spent five hours in the car driving back from Death Valley to Huntington Beach. As soon as I was able to change out of my cycling gear I put on my Skins Travel & Recovery tights for the drive home. Once home Brandy gave me a leg massage, a good meal and some rest and relaxation.

On race day I did a decent warm up and lined up thinking “I just want to sit in.” Well the yahoos that were racing prevented me from doing that and soon enough I was in the front 10 riders enjoying clear lanes to take the corners.

But then I between turn 2 and turn 3 (slight uphill) a rider attacked. I happened to be near him and jumped on his wheel. We got a gap from the pack and as we turned on 3 I noticed we had a little more of a gap. As we neared turn 4 he was still pulling and I was tucked in behind him. He lookeed down and saw my shadow and he hit it again rounding turn 4. But now I had the perfect position — he was pulling to the line and it was a slight downhill. I coasted for a couple of seconds caught my breath and then slingshotted around him 30 meters from the line for the prime.

The sprint was anti-climatic I was on such a high from the prime I didn’t really care. I wanted a top ten finish but when we rounded turn 4 on the last lap I was out of gas for the sprint. You think it has something to do with the race the day before? Of course.


03/04/08– EL DORADO TWILIGHT RACE SERIES 60 mins FINISHED 7TH (4 POINTS)

RESULTS

I was feeling really strong and decided I would take chances and see how things worked out. The race is held in a park and it feels safe although there is one turn that takes you right into the sun and it is a tight left handed. There were a couple of attacks and I went with them just to test my fitness. We got neutralized when the pros past us and then it was on for the last lap. But then there was a crash in the Pro 1/2/3 field which caused the IV, V group to be neutralized right in front of our charging pack. I was in 5th wheel and sat up because I didn’t want to sprint into the IV, V field and lost a couple of places as we came across the line. I felt great the whole hour.

03/09/08 TOUR De MURRIETA CIRCUIT RACE 37 MILES — FINISHED 10TH

RESULTS

So I finally got a Top 10 in a race. I had been nipping at it with the previous Crits (11th Roger Millikan, 12th Anger Management the day after a 10:46 Butterfield Double) and this time it worked out. Oh and the lunge across the line meant the difference between top 10 and top 20. (This is what I thought all the way home from the race. The results from the Eldo race had not been posted and I thought this was my first top ten.)

I knew I was going to have a good day on Sunday because my pre-race leg opener on Saturday went well. I did a 30 miler and went up Newport Coast in 7:21 from the base at PCH to Pelican (new PR). On the way home I did 5 sprints all over 900watts. I haven’t hit 900w (150 lbs) on any of my previous Crits. Ok ok so these aren’t big numbers but as an Ultra cyclist I am all slowtwitch now and there just aren’t that many opportunities (read necessity) to SPRINT or climb at or above threshold.

I followed good wheels all day and stayed in the top 10 of the group and watched every break.

THAT’S ME ON THE RIGHT SPRINTING FOR 10TH

Roger Millikan St. Valentine Crit Race Report and Pictures

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That’s me in the front on the right leading the pack for half a lap.

Jesse and Keith from Team Bear Claw (in the black kits) sprinting for the line. Jesse got 2nd and Keith got 3rd.

Jesse, Keith and I relaxin’ after the race

Jesse, Brandy and I after the race.

Thank you to all my sponsors, Cervelo and their fantastic Soloist Carbon very aero very comfortable and very stiff in a sprint, Kenda Tires for the C2C’s, Sportquest for their amazing CarboPro 1200 nutrition product, Red Star Energy for their quick pick me up energy tablets, and as always my club Team Velosport Team Sho-Air Sonace.

OFFICIAL RESULTS CAN BE FOUND ON THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEVADA CYCLING ASSOCIATION (SCNCA) WEBSITE.

Sunday was my first ever Criterium. I am venturing into other types of racing this year to answer one main question…..”Am I good enough?” I know I am a decent Ultra Cyclist. But how will I do at short intense effort races? So this year I will be doing some Road/Crit/TT races to round out my experiences as a cyclist. I also think that it will help in my Ultras because I will pick up some intensity that I just can’t get in training.

I had a few questions going into the race:

1. As stated before am I good enough?

2. How bad will I get dropped?

3. Will there be a crash and will I be involved in it?

4. Will I posses the bike handling skills required?

5. Can I finish in the pack?

Answers

1. I think I am good enough to hang but winning a race is not in my genes!

2. I didn’t get dropped…this time. I stayed in the top 10-20 wheels the whole race.

3. There was a crash with 4 laps to go right in front of me. “Luckily”, for me I was losing contact with the rider in front of me on the slight uphill. By time he went down there was about 20 feet gap between us. As he tumbled his bike slid into my left chainstay and knocked my rear wheel off it’s line. But I regained control of the bike and continued to hammer up the slight up hill towards Turn 4.

4. I was timid in the first few laps but as the speed increased and the necessity of covering the wheel in front of me meant sitting in or getting dropped I felt more comfortable with cornering at 30 mph. BUT I know it will take many more races even years to really feel like I am good at pack riding at such high speeds.

5. I finished 11th on my first ever Crit. A lot was just luck. Avoiding the crash was huge in finishing the race. I lost about 3 places in the last 50 meters. I was out of gas. The course has a slight uphill from Turn 3 up and around Turn 4 and flattens out about 250 meters from the finish line. My legs were done — “on both sides”. My sprint was a paltry 863 Watts. I remember on the Mullholland Double Century 200 miles and 17,000 feet of climbing (most very steep over 10% grades) and 13 hours into the event I could still hit over 1100 Watts. I paused for a second and then sprinted again and threw my bike across the line. I know you are not supposed to pause on a sprint but I was done. I missed top 10 by a wheel but hey that’s bike racing!!!

Brandy had the unenviable task of watching three out of our four children, taking pictures and trying to get me ready. A huge thank you to her for supporting me in my latest adventure!!