Tuesday Night Worlds - 2nd place!

Tuesday Night Worlds Crit race - 5/20/14

I was seriously sore and still feeling the effects of Sunday's olympic distance triathlon (Gateway Triathlon). I did take one day of rest, so that's something, right? There was about 20 riders in the race which is a slightly smaller field than normal, but the regulars that place high were all there. It felt like the group was doing more surges and slowing down than normal. It's a lot harder on the riders than keeping a steady pace. I found myself staying close to the front and in the top 3 for most of the race. During a couple lulls in action I was even ended up out in front to do some pace making. I didn't want to put in too much effort, but I also didn't want to make it easy for anyone in the back either. I actually felt like it was tough to keep up with front and was worried that I wasn't going to be able to hang on the entire time.

With 3 laps to go I actually found myself in the worst position of the night. I was back in about 7th place or so. I'm guessing the group got a little boost of energy from the excitement. I stayed calm and didn't panic. A lot can happen in those three laps. I just held tight and went with any surges from the guys ahead of me. I waited and waited to make my move. This is not my strong suit. I would love to be the guys to go off the front early and try to hang on for the win, but tonight especially, that wouldn't have worked. I was too tired to do an extended break away and the C race jumps on every move there is, so I've never actually seen a move of one or two riders ever make that stick. The group has always responded and possibly just dropped a couple riders off the back instead. Coming off the downhill and sharp left turn I carried a good amount of speed and quickly was coming up on the riders in front of me. It was earlier than I wanted to go, but I had to go with the flow. So, I put my head down and hammered up the hill. It paid off. Not only did I get my Strava PR for that hill, I also had distanced myself from the main group. I didn't actually look, but the sound behind me was telling enough. With any bit of a gap, I just had to keep the pressure on as I rounded the turn at the top of the hill. I caught the inside gutter a bit and it pushed me a little wide in the turn. That's when I felt a rider just off my right shoulder. It would be hard to impossible to hold him off if he was in my slip stream. Sure enough, with a call of "inside" he used my draft to sling shot around and nip me on the line. I got 2nd! I lost by half a bike length.

It was still a great result and better than expected considering how I felt at the start and concerns in the middle. I also got my PR for the loop in that last lap as well even though I didn't feel like I started to push it until getting to the hill. I'm feeling like a much more confident rider and I think my riding is getting better because of it. It's a wonderful self feeding cycle of improvement. I've felt it in all of my riding whether it is the solo triathlon efforts or in adventure races on my mountain bike. It's a great workout and wonderful training tool. I'm very curious to see what the B race is all about and hope to get into one soon.

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