2009 Road Racing Goals

[MM_QFC!]

First TT of the my year coming up in about 2 weeks too. It mostly lets me see where I am starting at compared to the year before (well - if they can remember to put the turn around in the right spot....)

was it?

[RoadRaven]

Crits are not my thing - they worry me when I watch them and I can only get excited if no-one I know is in them. I have never ridden one, and don't fore-see myself doing so.

Well done you.
Really impressed with your "what I learned list".

So - on to the race report. I loved it! Doing it again tomorrow. What I learned:

1. Fitness is essential.
2. Smart tactical decisions made quickly!
3. When in doubt, react!
4. Corners are opportunities to 'jump' around others.
5. Don't let your guard down and get in the right gear for when it comes.

These are very good rules to keep in mind for most racing situations that I have been in (except for time trials). As you do more racing, and learn to 'read' others body cues and gear changes, you'll have less 'when in doubt react' and begin to know instinctively what might be about to happen.

Looking forward to hearing about more of your racing.

[aicabsolut]

I had a craptacular weekend of racing. I've really been derailed on training lately by injuring my left rotator cuff (plus working more and crappy weather, but that's really me being lazy).

I did a really early morning crit on Saturday. Pretty flat course, kinda windy. I got trapped on the inside a bit too much and wasn't in the best position. My legs didn't feel so great either. With 3 laps to, I made a move (on the outside, finally!) and fought my way to the front. I hung on in the top 3 on the next lap. Starting the final lap, I got pushed into the gutter by the curb (and nearly caused someone else to hit the curb) by someone who made a move and cut me off too early. I had to hit the brakes and got swarmed by the pack. I made up ground in the sprint, but was too far back starting it to get a decent result. The person who cut me off was 2nd.

On Sunday, I was in an Open (scored 1-2/3/4) race. It was difficult. I felt better than the day before, but I am not used to the pack being so tight, coming from just 3/4 fields and collegiate races. I allowed people to steal wheels from me early on. With 2 to go, I made a move to the front. I grabbed the wheel of the person taking a pull after me, but she just stopped. We got swarmed going into the final turn. I tried to fight back into position, and on the hill by the S/F, I just blew up. I wound up doing the last lap solo. I really hoped to finish with the pack on that one. At least I wasn't DFL--some others were shelled early on.

So much for last year when I felt like I could drive the pace in a lot of crits. I guess these were averaging something like 4+mph faster than my races last year. There go my hopes of a 3 upgrade. Maybe I should've tried to take it in February. The Open race was so challenging, but it was so much less scary than racing with a huge group of 4s, even though there were a few close calls.

[Eden]

was it?

The turn around was in the right spot, but they changed the course again..... different start/finish/turn around and distance.... not much good to compare to last year

hey aicabsolut - the crit in the stage race this weekend out here had 70 some women in it (combined 1,2,3 field). I'm pretty sure that it was the largest group I've ever done a race with and yes it was a bit freaky.

[Pedal Wench]

Not really road racing, but I just did my second 300K brevets. Actually, it ended up being 202 miles, and 14,447 feet of elevation gain. Ouch. I'm learning as I go with these brevets, so hopefully, if I decide to do the 400K coming up, I'll actually be prepared!