| Manchester N.H. Road Race 27 mi. on a 9 mile circuit loop course. First 2.5
miles is uphill but I was very comfortable in a 42-17 or a 53-19 depending on
the grade. It was more of a stair case type climb. Then a steep decent to a
right hand turn. Flat from there to the start finish line.
Weather was about 78 degrees, cloudy, with a Southwest wind at 10mph.
In the 40-50 age group there were 50-60 folks in field. We went off pretty much
on time. Right off the bat I pushed the pace on the hills. Each of the three
laps I was the first one to the top but I always had the field very close to
me. After winning at Fitchburg a few weeks ago I found out I was a marked man
so every move I made was countered. I was the only rider in the field who had
the balls to attack and try to get a breakaway going. But the flatness of the
course and the power of the pack kept me in check.
As is traditional in road racing this one came down to a field sprint. The
final turn has a small hill right after it and I attacked there hoping that I
could get a big enough gap but to no avail. The sprinters who did no work and
just sat in during the 27 miles came to the front for their 200 yd race. There
were only three places for prizes so after the third rider went by I just
coasted in. Amazing how many folks sprint for all their worth after the top
three finished. Whats the difference between 9th and 10th? One place I think!
All in all I rode very well. For me it was not an animated race. I raced with a
plan to try and either get away or have a small break form with me in it
Neither of which worked but I had a lot more fun trying.
/charlie
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| re; 02
What to do about sprinters. On the whole they are weak time trialers and hill
climbers. They usually are fit but not very fit, just fit enough to sit in a
field.
What to do, race time trails and very hilly road races. If the sprinters are
there they'll get dropped in the road races and will place poorly in TT's.
Case in point my results this weekend where fitness overcomes fast twitch
muscles.
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Mt Hope Classic - Two Day Stage Race, Sat. 18.1mi TTT, Sun 30mi RR.
Different type of stage race , you receive points for each day to determine the
overall two day winner. The person with the fewest points wins the overall.
The first stage is a two person team time trail. Second stage is a 30 mi Road
race.
Saturday's Team Time Trail 18mi
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Weather - 74 degrees, Heavy RAIN, with a Southwest wind at 10mph.
Course - Some flat sections and some rolling sections. You do a 9mi loop twice.
Strategy - My partner, Walter Eyles and I rode the course as part of our warm
up. Walter is 6ft 4in @185 lbs and can really motor on the downhills. I'm 6ft
@165 and do better on the uphills. So our strategy was that Walter pulls on the
downhills and I pulled on the uphills. On the flats we switched off so each of
us was positioned for the uphills or downhills.
The race - was raining very hard at the start. We both were getting cold riding
around prior to our start time which we almost missed. At the start I had to
wait for Walter to get in his toe clips. I have clipless pedals so it was
easier for me to get off ahead of Walter. From here on in it was painful.
Drafting in a monsoon rain was not a lot of fun either. Having a rooster tail
of water in your face makes for rather a depressing ride. We did pass seven team
I will have to admit that after we had finished we both felt that we had put
together a ride that would be special for both of us.
Results - 18.1 mi in 40 min 14 sec's, avg speed 27mph! Our feelings were right.
We posted the second fastest time for the day and we were both Master, 45+ age
group. The only time faster than ours was a senior mens team with a time for
38min 58 sec's.
Sundays Road Race - 30 mi
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Weather - 80 degrees, sunny, humid, still a Southwest wind at 10 mph.
Course - I rode part of the course in my car Saturday. This course has three
very steep and very long climbs. When I got back to my motel I put on the
following gears on my cassette hub. 13,15,17,20,23,26.
Strategy - Vets and Masters were riding together. My plan was to ride up front
and try and stick with the Vets on the first climb up Mt Hope. I was concerned
about how much effort Saturdays time trail was going to cost me but if I could
stick on the first climb I felt I could make it to the finish.
The race - About 70 riders in our group. Not sure of the mix of masters and
vets. I stayed near the front and going into the Mt hope climb I was well
positioned in 8th place. I was in my 42-23 and staying with the leaders.
There's one section where it's really steep and I shifted to my 26. I was still
able to stay in contact with the leaders and a group of 8 crested and this
became the breakaway group. Now we had a long decent that put us out of sight
from the rest of the field. Along the way some juniors and seniors hoped on out
train so we ended up with about 20 riders in our group. On the next major climb
I used my 42-26 again and crested 3rd and we had a 3 person break going but
were quickly caught by the group. The last major climb is at the finish. About
3/4 of the way up I was right with the leaders but I started to feel the
affects of the TTT from yesterday. Had to shift to the 42-26 and lost some
ground.
Results - Still finished around 10th but was the first Master. No other Master
I found out had made the initial break on Mt Hope. So I ended up winning
both stages, and the overall, was the only riders to do so.
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This event was VERY well run. After yesterday RR they had a very nice catered
meal for all the riders. LOTS of food and drinks. Also there were prize raffles
each day with about 75 prizes awarded. One was a bike.
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