Tuesday Night Worlds Crit race

Tuesday Night Worlds Crit race - 4/15/14

I was back to toe the line for another round of the Tuesday night criterium races. I was looking to have a better tactical race and hopefully improve on last weeks 4th place performance. I really don't know the people I'm racing with for the most part, so I really wasn't sure who my competition was going to be. Griffen Bailey was there and he would surely stay with the lead group. The big youth cycling team wasn't there this week, so last weeks winner wasn't there.

We got led out with a neutral opening lap. I wasn't afraid to stay right near the front this time. It doesn't take long for a 0.7 mile lap even at an easy pace. We were off! The pace picked up right away. I stayed with them and the pace came down to a more reasonable level after a lap or two. It was probably best to try to weed out some of the slower rider so they didn't get a free ride from the start. I did much better at keeping with the lead peloton. There were a few areas on the course that I felt like the group was slowing me down. I tested my legs a few times and went out front, but not wasting too much effort trying to hold off anyone that wanted to take the lead back. The race was much more organized among the riders and the peloton was much larger than last week. They sounded the final 3 laps to go and I knew the real race was on. I just worked to keep up with the leaders and waited to make a move. I tried to get a lead going through the downhill and sharp left turn. My hope was to hold onto as much speed as I could for the uphill section to get to the finishing straight. Well, it didn't really work. Enough riders were able to stay close enough to catch and pass me on the hill. It really seemed like they passed me much faster than I thought. I burried my head an pushed hard for the top of the hill. I was doing my best to conserve as many spots as I could. Finally, I was at the top and pretty maxed out. I had a couple riders on the verge of being able to pass me and I was determined to hold them off. I kept the pressure on and was holding the half a bike length lead on them. I did a lunge for the line (I've always wanted to do that!). I had done it and managed to get 6th place which is the last recorded spot for the C racers, so it was more important than I knew to hold off those riders in the end. See the full results here

I feel pretty good about the race. I did have a smarter race than last week. I wasn't having to constantly catch up to the leaders and wasting effort. I still have to put some thought into my best strategy for the finish though. Actually, I just need to get better at climbing hills. Practice makes perfect. I hope to be able to race again next week and see what other lessons I'll learn then. I followed up the race with a 5K run at Tower Grove Park (21:09). Not bad to be under 7 min/mile pace and to get the Strava course record as well! It was my first week having results to upload for the criterium race so I couldn't compare lap times, but I estimate the average pace to be about the same. It will be nice to use that to see if I can improve on those lap times and climb time in future races.

Related links:
Big Shark Tuesday Night Worlds
USA Cycling Results - Vann Knight Tuesday Night Criterium Series
Strava Tuesday Night Crit
Strava Tower Grove Run