It is a long way from Annapolis to Rowlesburg, WV; about 240 miles. Fortunately the wheelsucker was able to car pool with Mike Spinnler and Brian Fouche, so only had to drive as far as Hagerstown.
The course profile featured two major climbs; the peak of the second was seven miles from the finish, and the bottom of the descent was only two to three miles from the finish. The first long climb started at about mile 20, the rest of the course profile seemed flat or just small bumps.
The wheelsucker considers himself to be a decent tactician based on his repeated viewing of the same TdF and Giro d'Italia DVDs, so after reviewing the course profile on the web, decided that whoever was in good shape at the top of the last climb would be in good shape at the finish. Of course the next question was how to best be in good shape at the top of the last climb.
The first field off was the Men 123. They were followed by a Men 4/5 field and then by a combined field of Men 50+, Men 40+, Women 123 and juniors. Being 50+, the wheelsucker was in this combined wave, which had somewhat over 50 riders. The combined fields meant that the wheelsucker was riding with two 40+ team mates, Steve Owens and Brian MacLean. The wheelsucker was well aware of the strength of Ad Bax and Paul Mittelstadt in 50+, but did not know most of the 40+ and 50+ riders. Steve told him there were three 40+ riders who had dominated the Appalachian Bicycle Racing Association (ABRA) series so far and should be expected to dominate this race. But the wheelsucker never quite figured out who the three were, except that one of them had gear shifters on the ends of his handlebars.
The wheelsucker's initial goal was to not be dropped before the first railroad crossing, which was visible about 300 meters from the start line. After making it that far with the wave intact the wheelsucker settled in near the back for a long slog.
But the notion of a flat race with two long climbs was not entirely accurate; there were other shorter climbs and rollers along the way. The pace was generally easy except on climbs where the pace went way up and the field would shred, leaving a lead group of 9-13 together at the top and a trail of riders behind who would be chasing back on desperately. For reasons unknown to the wheelsucker, the lead group never tried to go hard enough to stay away from the dropped riders who were chasing, they would ease up at some point. There were also a few attacks early, which the wheelsucker avoided chasing, letting others do the work and following wheels when these moves were being brought back.
Brian MacLean and the wheelsucker got away together for a short while, but the wheelsucker tired and slowed on a climb and was not only caught by the peloton, he was gapped and dropped before the top and had to chase back on.
A little later in the race the wheelsucker remembers letting a gap open between him and Brian MacLean, so that Brian could try to bridge to a move of two riders up the road. Brian got half way across to the move, but then there was a reaction from the field and the wheelsucker followed wheels as it was all brought back together.
So after some activity and some working very hard (for the wheelsucker) on short and medium climbs, the group started the first long climb. This was not too bad at first, but it was enough for riders to start tailing off. Gradually the effort became harder for the wheelsucker; the wheelsucker likes to think of himself as a decent climber, but it was becoming apparent that a number of others in the wave were at least as good. The lead group shrank in size as one by one riders could not hold on and were gapped. Shortly before the top, with the lead group down to 10-12 or so the wheelsucker became one of the casualties, despite going as hard as he could. He was gapped off the top as the leaders accelerated and dove down the fast descent. But the wheelsucker was not alone; several others, including at least one of the leading women 123 riders, were gapped about the same time and a small and desperate chase group was formed. The wheelsucker seems to go downhill in an aero tuck quite fast and also recovered quickly so he could push some decent watts when the descent was less steep. He was fortunate to be with Dave Kirkpatrick who was also riding strong. With Dave and the wheelsucker doing the work, the small chase eventually caught back on shortly after the descent had flattened out. But the annoying part was that riders who had been gapped as the wheelsucker and Dave chased, and even some riders who had been dropped earlier in the climb, were also able to chase back on, as the leaders had slowed on the flat. So the wheelsucker had expended energy to get back on, only to find riders behind him expending less energy, also getting back on, swelling the lead group back up over twenty. Unfortunately Steve Owens did not make it back on, and Ad Bax was nowhere to be seen.
There were a few more attacks before the feed zone at mile 36, but these were quickly chased down, with the wheelsucker just following. At one point the wheelsucker accidentally got into the part of the group rotating at the front – he was probably trying to stay near enough to certain riders that he could go when they went – and then felt obliged to pull through. Without going hard the wheelsucker pulled over, but no one pulled through. Still not going hard the wheelsucker checked over his shoulder and saw that the group had sat up. Without working hard the wheelsucker opened a gap of a few bike lengths. And then the wheelsucker started rethinking his strategy. While TT'ing away from the lead group and staying away for 28 miles including a long hard climb was unlikely, what if one or more riders jumped across and a good break got away? This might give the wheelsucker a head start on the climb. So instead of just sitting up and waiting, the wheelsucker continued on, holding power below threshold except on the short climbs. And the gap continued to open. Minutes later the wheelsucker rode through the feed zone (dropping an empty bottle and picking up neutral water) alone, with a big gap. Concerned that he would over-exert himself the wheelsucker was even more careful not to hold power above tempo. The gap shrank slowly, and then in a rush a single rider went by, encouraging the wheelsucker to get on. The wheelsucker quickly ramped it up and grabbed the other rider’s wheel. While wheelsucking behind this rider, the wheelsucker noticed shifters on the ends of the handlebars. "Ah, HA!" Thought the wheelsucker; "this is one of the three strong 40+ riders Steve told me have been dominating the ABRA series; PERFECT!" The wheelsucker told the other rider he would work as soon as he recovered a bit, and followed. The two worked together with the wheelsucker taking shorter hard (300-340 watt) pulls and the other rider pulling longer. After a couple of minutes of this the wheelsucker sneaked a peak over his shoulder and saw the chase only ten bike lengths behind. That was enough for the wheelsucker to sit up and sit in, as did the other rider. The group rolled by and the wheelsucker tagged on near the back and was promptly gapped on the next roller with a few other riders and had to chase back on hard. Mike Spinnler was in that chase with the wheelsucker and told him afterwards that he could barely hold the wheelsucker's wheel on a 2% downgrade, and that other riders in the chase were dropped because they could not. But Spinnler and the wheelsucker made it back on.
With about eight miles to go to the start of the last hard climb, the wheelsucker sat in and tried to recover and conserve until then. The lead group was down to about 17 riders. The climb came soon enough and the wheelsucker tried to go up it with even steady sustainable power. That was not enough and he was almost immediately gapped as were several other riders. The wheelsucker struggled on, but his lower back was quite sore and 240 watts average was all he could hold. Two riders behind the wheelsucker came by. The wheelsucker recognized one as a strong rider (but not strong climber) and tried to hold his wheel, but that required rather more power than the wheelsucker could manage, so he was quickly gapped off it.
The group ahead slowly disintegrated, with single riders or pairs strewn all over the climb. Soon the wheelsucker could see no one behind him, and the lead woman and the two riders who had passed him, disappearing up the road. Soon even they were out of site, and the wheelsucker was alone in his misery and his pain. He frequently stood and pushed a slightly bigger gear to use different muscles, then sat back down and spun in a 39x25 gear. Closer to the top a single rider ahead came into view. It was a 4/5 rider coming back from the earlier wave. The wheelsucker caught and dropped him near the top, and accelerated as the road flattened out.
Riders had been warned prior to rollout about the descent; there were several sharp S-curves that one had to slow right down for. The wheelsucker accelerated off the top, got into his best aero tuck and tried to go as fast as he could down the mountain while still staying on the road. It was not fast enough; the 4/5 rider caught him near the bottom. Both riders were fairly knackered but they hammered the last section to the finish as best they could. The wheelsucker could see riders ahead and was gaining on them, but not enough to catch them before the finish. And one of them was the leading woman, and not a 50+ rider.
The wheelsucker crossed the line to get 5th in 50+, with his cat 4/5 friend a few bike lengths behind. Brian MacLean was waiting at the finish line and reported staying with the two leaders almost all the way to the top, crossing the top fourth and then passing one rider on the section before the finish to take 3rd in 40+, a very impressive result. Brian is a big man; it must have taken enormous strength and determination to hold the leaders wheels all the way to the top of the mountain.
Ad Bax rolled in shortly after the wheelsucker. The wheelsucker later learned that he had flatted before the first long climb, and had chased from then on, passing Steve Owens on the descent off the first climb. Though not a great result for Ad, it was an impressive race, as he must have ridden on his own nearly the entire course.
Brian Fouche ended up 6th in the 123 race. As mentioned above Brian MacLean was 3rd in 40+; Dave Kirkpatrick was 6th (finishing a couple of minutes ahead of the wheelsucker), Steve Owens was 9th in 40+. The wheelsucker was 5th in 50+. The wheelsucker wonders if he could have gone up the last climb a little better if he had not ridden off the front halfway through the race.
Wheelsucker Data:
58.8 miles
Average power 203 watts, max 713 watts
Average heart Rate 147 bpm, max 168
Average cadence 87 rpm
Average speed 20.4 mph, max 51.7 mph
Results: http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2010/08/14-Appalachia-Visited-Road-Race-APRRS-6.asp
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment