Pedalling Squares

Madera Stage Race, March 20-21, 2004

Description:

3 Stages in 2 days in and around beautiful Madera, California.

Stage 1 - Sharon Time Trial
A flat 10 mile TT. It's U-shaped, so that you finish near where you started.

How it went down:
I had the new Land Shark TT bike all set up with the Zipp wheels. We rode the course before hand. It was pretty straightforward - my biggest worry was the ferocious (and unleashed) chihuahua about 1K from the finish.

I started out strong, but it wasn't long before I just sucked. It felt like I had a headwind the whole time. I couldn't get comfy on my new TT setup. I never saw my official time, but I had about 24 minutes flat, and I ended up 12th.

Avg HR - 175 bpm.

Stage 2, Crit
Nearly a 1 mile, nearly square circuit with one RR crossing. There was also lots of gravel on back part of the course and a FedEx trailer on the side of the road just to keep everyone alert.

How it went down:
It was fast. The first prime came on the second lap and it was a time bonus, so the GC hopeful were gunning to move up. We had a few good efforts - Kevin got in a little break, I think I chased down something. Whatever.

Eventually, a group of about 5 got away. We watched them for a few laps and eventually realized we had to bridge up. I came by Rob and said "Let's go!"

So off we went. I pulled as hard as I could down the finishing stretch with the Canadian on my wheel. But then I realized that we had opened up a gap! Damn. I was cooked. But now we should work together to catch 'em, right? So we took a few turns, but I think Rob was as cooked as I was. We had another guy join us at one point, but according to Rob he was counter-productive - he kept losing my wheel and making Rob chase it. We made a valiant effort for a little over a lap, but we just weren't making much progress. So that was about all. I rested for awhile, but did try to stay near the front.

With 1 (or was it 2) laps to go, things were picking up and we were reeling the break in. I came by Kevin and told him to get on my wheel - maybe we could finish strong in the bunch sprint - or even better if we caught the break near the line. But Kevin didn't realize we had just a lap or two to go!!! Oooops! So I tried to stay near the front, but with no one on my wheel, there wasn't much point. I came across in roughly 30th with the rest of the guys. We must have caught the break at the line, as there was no time differential in the stage placings. So I'm still in 12th.

Avg Speed: 26.1 mph
Avg. HR: 171 bpm

Stage 3 - Road Race
We would do 4 laps of a 17 mile loop. The loop starts with a long flat section with some gentle up and down, then a long flat with some really rough roads, then a short climb, a few rollers to the finish line, and one or two more rollers (through the feed zone), then repeat. Rinse, lather, repeat. We didn't start until after 11 so it was pretty farkin' hot by this point.

How it went down:
I was 1:45 down on the leader, but well within striking distance of some of the contenders. So we decided to look for an opportunity starting on the second lap. The boys agreed to ride for me, chasing the breaks, possibly looking for their own opportunities.

There was an early break of about 5 but we always had sight of them. Plus we were letting the Alto Velo guys (their man was leader on GC) do the chase work. I think we caught them at the end of the second lap on the first hill. Then as we were coming over the hill before the feed zone, I was at the front and watched as an Arete guy (4th GC) just sorta rolled off the front (note this for later). I didn't think much of it at the time. He was quickly out of sight.

The Alto Velo guys made a few efforts to pick things up, but the Arete guy was riding hard and we could barely see him if at all. Not much else happened on the third lap. At the beginning of the 4th lap (starting on the downhill) things exploded. Suddenly the Solano guys (with 2 guys in the top 6 GC) and the Maguire guys and the AV guys were fully motivated to chase. We were cruisin' along at least 32 mph (sometimes 35 or 37) for most of the way down to the flats and some of that was uphill. Damn it was fast. I saw Kevin briefly and told him to not worry about GC - just the stage placing now. Let the other guys (Solano, Maguire and AV) chase - we'll save ourselves for the stage placing (if there's anything left to place in).

I didn't do much looking back, but I could hear the giant sucking sounds behind as people started going backwards. Fortunately, I started this section near the front and quickly realized that's where I wanted to stay. At some point Vaughn came up and relieved me of some water bottles and took one monster pull to help me get to the very front group. That was awesome.

Along the last part before we turned to the flat section, I was on the leader's wheel and he accelerated off the front (make another note here). There were two Maguire guys there and we kind of all looked at each other. I thought for sure the Solano guys would jump all over that (or the Maguire guys for that matter) but no one did - including me. Kevin came up and asked them if they were blocking for the leader and they jumped down his throat. They had asked the same of me. So we pressed on.

We turned right, and then right again onto the rough stuff. For the first time in awhile, the pace slowed some. It would have been a great place to jump - but I was sitting comfortably out of the wind and recovering nicely. I debated an attack on the right in the dirt (which couldn't have been much rougher than the washboard road we were currently riding on), but came back to reality quickly. I was hoping one or two of the boys would join me and we could work for a good stage finish. Kevin came up on my left and told me he was cramping badly, but that he'd do what he could. So I stayed on his wheel as he followed a few accelerations. Then he told me to put a fork in him - he was done!

So at this point Rob passes me just as we get to the hill. I ask him whether or not he feels good enough for a leadout. No answer. I could tell the Canadian wasn't up for it. Then I noticed a little gap opening and had to jump to catch it. So I moved up on the hill and crested with the top 8. One guy snuck away somewhere - so now it looks like we're racing for 4th place. On the next roller, I tried a little acceleration to see how people were doing. They're all over it. So instead of sitting up, for some reason I kept pulling the guys up the little rollers. At the bottom of the last one to the finish, they all jumped me and that was it for me. I came across alone with a good gap on the next group.

So get out your notes. In hindsight, two guys got away on my watch. I was actually at the very front and watched not one, but two guys ride away from me. They finished 1-2 with a good gap on the field. Had I gone with either one, I think I definitely could have improved my placing on GC AND gotten a decent stage finish since both of them stayed away and finished solo. Damn.

But it was a great team effort. I heard Demian was towing the boys up through the carnage and closing gaps all over the place on the last lap before he popped. Kevin did all he could for me at the end there. Rob is well . . . Canadian so . . . you know. Good job everyone and thanks for your help.


Avg Speed: ~24-25 mph
Avg HR: ~160 bpm