- this is the start of a great race season
- I got to read a few lines of some other race reports/emails of last Saturday where some cyclist talked sh*t about me and I have the hitch to reply
- I found a ton of pictures online ( which I might buy as well ) and need a place to post them
Here we go:
His reaction
Still He decided to be supportive ( probably because it was the day after I turned 32! ) and came along.
We shared the drive and the motel room with Chad ( a fellow M2er, Tri guy with a special passion for cycling ) and Tiz and I shared the tiniest bed.... ( where I had the non-pleasure of sleeping ZERO hours according to the FitBit dongle )
Here a cool pre-race shots:
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| New racing look? Or a sleepless night? |
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| Olivia before getting abused |
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| Chad, my special domestic |
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| The bloody compression tights... |
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| Italian cap! |
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| Ready to go |
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| My brother is bored 1 |
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| My brother is bored 2 |
Poor Titsiano, We left him to get a warm up done before the start and We told him to walk to the finish line where We will be lapping 4 times before the finish.... too bad We forgot to mention It was a 3 miles walk :-)
8.25am Start! -- switching to present tense --
The first few miles of neutral riding into the first lap are extremely slow, first 20 mins pretty much to understand that my legs are completely dead, I do not have a good vibe and I am mostly disappointed for the way I spent the last week ( fake tapering and way too hard running ).
A tiny video of the neutral start:
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| Onto the first lap with my man ready to battle :-) |
First lap seems way too chill, I am letting others doing the work and apparently this guy ahead (200yards or more) is completely ignored by the pack.
I am enjoying some wind protection and trying to figure out how strong are the guys I am riding with.
First lap is finishing and I am excited to see my brother....
Yes I am standing to make sure He will recognize me :-)
Second lap and my legs are still dead.... I do not feel like I am even warming up... all of a sudden I start seeing some movements at the front and I decide to be a part of it, I am sincerely quite bored and want to see if legs are actually going to wake up.
This is where I start noticing the 3/4 Dolce guys and the 2 Fusion big ones... they are working better and their riding/pedaling looks a lot more legit than the rest of the attackers.
Between lap 2 and 3 I am starting to realize how all these little surges to catch up on the mini-attacks are getting me warm and fired up.
Getting pissed a few times to see the usual cyclist BS (one guy attacking the other/s slowing down the pack and me or some other volunteer to push hard to get us back together ).
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| Loving it |
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| end of 3rd lap |
After some nice efforts upfront I feel my legs getting a bit tired, somehow I find myself at the front way too often and in a weird position where I d love to get some help but even me slowing down does not make others to step it up ( especially when the wind is nastily blowing ). I finally get the trick.... I swerve to the other side and fake my need of spiting something :-)
Lap 4 begins and we are just 20/25 left.
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| The strong riders are coming up front more often |
Sincerely I feel like my TT watts here could do a lot of damage but I have no idea how much of a factor the wind and the pack will be. ( This is where some racing experience would be nice ... It will come ).
I am staying calm and let the first half of this lap go as chill as possible ( although little attacks are still coming and I am the one volunteering for the catch up ).
Going into the last miles the pace increase, I move myself to the front and I am 2-3 guys behind.
A few 90 degrees turn and We have this 2 miles straight line before the finish.
At this point I am looking at the faces of my competitors, most of them look tired and sweaty... I am not really, I feel good and I decide that I should try an attack.... Booooom I am going all out for some 20/25 seconds and my legs are already screaming... this is not me and I am pretty disappointed I decide to give up and sit back....
As soon as I slow down I hear the Fusion guy telling me to keep going, I created a gap and carried with me 5/6 guys ( Dolce+Fusion+Velo ).
Allright, I get to the side and get the wheel of the guy next to me. 1 mile like this and the group behind is closing on us....
A Dolce guy attacks again.... and I got no response... my legs are finally telling me that all those surges in the last 4 laps where actually taking a toll on me....DUH....
I see the 1K to go mark, passed.
Final 90 degrees turn in front of us and the finish will be less than 400yds up hill.
Although my legs are dead I decide to go before the turn... If I want a chance against this big-legged-dudes I need to avoid a sprint finish.
I jump on the pedals, pass the Dolce guy up front and get ready to turn..(I am already going all out here and leading the rest but I am doing this big bluff and hopefully It will scare most of them :) )...
Ohhhhhhh crap I am coming way too fast... I can't corner... damn it.....
Uff.... I managed to turn.... I see the finish.... go legs goooo.... too bad the more I talk to them the slower I get.... I am experiencing my first Zone 5++++ effort on a bike and it ain't pleasant...
I hear some mess in the back... someone crashed and my move after all made sense... I could have been caught into that!
50yds to go and although I am this close to win I know I got nothing left and I am just waiting to be destroyed by whoever managed to follow me all the way there...
Thank God just 1 guy managed to pass me but I swear to god another 5 yds and I would have been smoked by the other dude too.
LITTLE MESSAGE TO THE SMART DUDE (Dolce Vita cycling chatting on some forum/mailing list ):
1) Yes I am a triathlete and I race with extra stuff on ( "for extra wind protection" )
2) I love leading whoever dude could stay on my wheel at the end ( btw money to charity really?? Cat5 mate... Cat5!!! )
3) Time and Money spent at M2? Yes and It showed on the field.... came pretty much SOLO and smoked your dudes!
4) See u next time around
I am starting to love bike racing.... oh dear.
V.
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| This is where my legs where still pushing watts |
50yds to go and although I am this close to win I know I got nothing left and I am just waiting to be destroyed by whoever managed to follow me all the way there...
Thank God just 1 guy managed to pass me but I swear to god another 5 yds and I would have been smoked by the other dude too.
LITTLE MESSAGE TO THE SMART DUDE (Dolce Vita cycling chatting on some forum/mailing list ):
1) Yes I am a triathlete and I race with extra stuff on ( "for extra wind protection" )
2) I love leading whoever dude could stay on my wheel at the end ( btw money to charity really?? Cat5 mate... Cat5!!! )
3) Time and Money spent at M2? Yes and It showed on the field.... came pretty much SOLO and smoked your dudes!
4) See u next time around
I am starting to love bike racing.... oh dear.
V.
5 comments:
Nice report and a great result! One of many to come.
Just a one piece of advice: while you're a Cat 5, forget about winning and think about experience. This is the time to try things you're not sure of. Go off the front and see if it sticks. Risk not following a break and see if the field will chase it down. You get your point for finishing, but you'll carry a lot more experience into a Cat 4 field if you stop thinking about finishing first and instead thing of learning as much as possible from the race you're in. And if what you try works and you finish well, even better. :-)
I'm kind of curious as to where all this trash talking was taking place. Got a link?
Comments were on a race report distributed to the Dolce mailing list.
Forget what Vitaly said. WIN! WIN! WIN! Even if it doesn't count. But do get rid of those compression leggings.
I agree.... I hated them. They were so tight they destroyed the back of my knees ( still have the marks after 2 weeks ).
Next race I will try something new... :-)
Just a one piece of advice: while you're a Cat 5, forget about winning and think about experience. This is the time to try things you're not sure of. Lock yourself out of the car before the race, slam an XL coffee and shart your chamois. Attack into a roundabout on the tops and crash in front of the field. Risk not racing and just pull over to sign some kids t-shirt. You get your point for finishing, but you'll carry a lot more experience into a Cat 4 field if you stop thinking about finishing first and instead thing of learning as much as possible from the race you're in. And if what you try works and you finish well, even better. :-)
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