Dungeness that is. I skipped out on the second of three Mason Lake road races in order to challenge a mixed field of Cat 4/5 men out on the northern end of the Olympic Mountains in Western Washington today. It’s a long drive, plus a ferry, but luckily I convinced my friend (and fellow triathlon blogger), Chris Tremonte, to join me (despite him having raced an indoor track meet yesterday).
In the car/ferry ride out there we talked some strategy. Chris would make a move, then I would break away a few minutes later and we would work together until one of us died.
It worked perfectly, and I managed to bring two guys up with me. With four people in the break we worked fairly consistently and managed to build an 80 second lead by the end of the third (of four) laps. Shortly after that, Chris got wussy around a corner and got himself dropped, which left three. a few miles later another guy dropped off, and it came down to about four miles left with just one other cyclist. At that point I should have just charged and tried to drop him off my wheel, but instead I just kept rotating. It came down to a sprint (which I don’t do well at), and I didn’t do well. I was second, and the fact that the Allen is a Cat 2 track cyclist (and therefore has sprinted more times this year than I will my entire life) only mildly makes me feel better for being an idiot when it comes to strategy. Regardless, it was my third road race ever, and my first time racing cat 4’s. Unlike the name of the race, I’m not crabby.
Check here for results, and I’ll update links when I find them posted.
Scramble those eggs Ben. I can teach you how to sprint (It’s about all I can teach you) but I’d recommend just dropping the hammer with 1-2 miles to go.
good job! but yes, use your strengths in order to win.
that reminds me of a practice road race I did in Creston (near San Luis Obispo) in January of ’04. It was down to me and two other guys with just a sizable climb, descent, and about four miles of flat terrain until the finish. I should’ve went 100% on the climb where I might have had a chance to drop them, but for some reason I was scared and stupid and didn’t give it my all. I tried to sprint at the end but it was probably the most pathetic sprint attempt ever, seeing as how one was a team pursuit elite world champion and Olympian, and the other guy was a good local pro.
G
At the age of 50, this is the first race I’ve riden for 20 years. All went well until the crash in the last mile of the 3rd lap. Got up quick but could not catch the pack, despite recruiting two riders to work a pace line.
Better luck next time!
See you on the 29th.
What a blast man!
Jeff Regan
WSBA 1024
Bainbridge Island
So, pro triathlete rides away from a bunch of local cat 4’s on a flat course? impressive.
Duane
Overweight, bald, father of 2, mid-40’s accountant – AKA the guy you dropped with 4-ish miles to go.
Do I detect some sarcasm? I may be a pro triathlete, but I’m still a cat 5 cyclist, so it’s sort of like two guys playing poker, one keeps getting lucky hands (me), but the other actually knows how to play the game (you). Who wins?
seriously, I have mad respect for the parents out there doing endurance sports. I’ve stayed with enough families to see how tough it is to balance your life.
You don’t scare me. I could beat your ass with one hand slung in front of me.
Well, luck isn’t really something you can stack the deck with by training but, I get your point.
I have to say, I was impressed with your riding and power all that until I realized who you were. Then I was sorta like ‘well, sheesh, dude has all day to train…no wonder!!’ No idea if you do have all day to train but, it’s the first thought that hit me.
Anyway, it was clear you were stronger so, you deserved to drop me. I’m sure you could have ridden away much sooner than you did. The problem was that initially I was only covering the move. I was hoping the pack would come with me and then I could go hide and wait for the sprint! As I well proved, I’m not really a breakaway specialist.
Peace out,
Duane
after reading my last post, i realized that it sounds like i’m NOT impressed with your power now – not the case, just that it seems less “magical”.
sort of like when you see a magic trick and say ‘hey, Wow, that’s impressive!’ but then when you know how the trick is performed, you say ‘oh, hmm, of course, makes perfect sense…’ the mystic quality is gone but the performance remains impressive.
anyway, congrats, good luck in your rookie year and i’m sure we’ll see you out there.
d
Oh no… I get it.