Tuesday Night Worlds Crit race - 4/22/14
Another day, another race. The weather has been great for the most part in St. Louis lately and I've been able to get in a lot of riding. I am really enjoying becoming more of a cyclist and improving my skills and speeds. We had another larger group racing with the young team showing up again to fill out the numbers. I am all for growing the sport and allowing for the inexperienced to get better. However, it does make it a little less organized throughout the group and tends to make for a higher chance of mishaps.
We started off as per usual with a bit of a surge after the neutral lap to thin out the lead group a bit. There was still a large number of riders together though. I even led most of the second lap by default. I wasn't pushing a tough pace or anything. Just after the 3rd lap, there was a move on the inside to try to break away from the group. Our race is not one for letting any sort of riders go off the front. I think it's the lack of any large teams (besides the young group). I wouldn't say there's a team with more than 2-3 riders. So the top riders are always quick to take up the chase to ensure they aren't left behind and out of the running. The move was just before the downhill section and into a pretty sharp turn. According to my Strava data, I am around 30-33 mph for that turn and it's by far the fastest section of the course. I was not in a rush to react and was still contently in the top 12 or so. Had I know what was going to happen next, I would have done things differently. CHAOS in front of me. A rider went down and slip into the far curb, taking another with him. A rider went wide to avoid the mess and hopped the curb to go off into the grass. Most of the riders in front of me were hitting their brakes hard, trying to skid to a stop. I hate to admit it, but my brakes don't really work all that well. I normally don't really care and avoid using them at all costs. I did try to slow down as much as possible, but I wasn't going to lock it up and go skidding like the others. I had somehow found a clear line right through the middle of the mess. Whew! That sure was a close one and my first real experience with a crash in a group like that.
There's no time to sit back though. The race goes on! It looks like only the top 5 riders made it through without getting slowed at all. I was one of only 3 that managed to make it through quickly enough to give chase. Luckily my friend and teammate, Griffen Bailey, had also made it through with me despite behind just behind the crash. He was riding a new bike that he had just gotten yesterday, so that could have been a real disaster. I pressed on as we climbed the hill section and settling back in. At the top, I made my charge to try to catch. I pushed hard through the flat, downhill, sharp turn with riders still there trying to access damage to their bikes and themselves. I just can't seem to carry enough speed to the hill section and Griffen flew by and carried on without me. I hung onto sight of the lead group, but couldn't seem to make any progress. As the minutes went by, my hope was fading. I was now barely holding onto the other riders wheel that was with me. Even he would get a gap that I just couldn't close down. I was still able to stay on the lead lap and managed to average 22 mph for a mostly solo effort. Not bad for a guy on a cyclocross bike if you ask me.
I probably finished around 8th place. There was an issue with the results as they had counted a couple of lapped riders who got back into the lead pack after sitting out a lap or two. I was just happy to have made it through with my bike and myself in tact. I've got a big adventure race coming up this weekend and a crash this close would have been disastrous!
Related links:
Big Shark Tuesday Night Worlds
USA Cycling Results - Vann Knight Tuesday Night Criterium Series
Strava Tuesday Night Crit
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