The Tysons Corner Grand Prix is exactly the same course and race as the old Tysons Corner Circuit Race; same race, slightly different name. The Wheelsucker had raced Tysons Corner before, and even raced it in the rain. While it feels like a three easy corner wide open crit, the circuit is slightly too long for crit rules, so is a circuit race with no wheel pit and no free lap.
This was a Masters 55+ (only) race, allowing cat 5s, and had 28 starters. The Wheelsucker checked the entry list several times and recognized some names, but most were not known to him. The sky was overcast and there was occasional very light drizzle as the Wheelsucker warmed up, but it never actually started to rain seriously.
Stephen Szibler registered moments before the race, so the Wheelsucker had a team mate. DC Velo had four riders, NCVC had four, Route 1 Velo had two, and everyone else was riding alone, including Dennis Crockett, AVC. Randy Thrasher was a no show with a sore knee. Even with four riders, DC Velo was rather weaker without him.
The Wheelsucker was front row at the whistle and tucked in near the front with Dennis Crockett on the front. Dennis would spend most of the race on the front. In contrast the Wheelsucker was never on the front except that once or twice he got into an aero tuck and coasted to the front on the descent, promptly relinquishing the lead on the climb. Mostly the Wheelsucker wanted to be following Crockett or Mittelstadt near the top of the climb, and would move up on the climb to be best positioned if they attacked near the top.
With four riders, the onus was on DC Velo to try to get someone clear, or tire Dennis out. Ad Bax attacked on the first or second lap. Crockett let him go and just drove the pace hard enough to bring Ad back as he tired after a lap. Paul Mittelstadt countered and Crockett went harder to stay on his wheel, and others followed if they could.
After a couple of laps to determine pace, the referees put up lap counter numbers. This was a 13 lap (total) race.
The pace and the attacks from Ad and Paul, and the response from the other stronger riders, quickly shrunk the lead group down to nine, with DC Velo having two riders – Ad and Paul -- and everyone else in that lead group alone. This went on for a few laps. It would be nine together at the base of the climb, six at the top with three dangling, and the three would chase back on, on the descent because no one of the leading six wanted to drive the pace hard enough to keep the gap. Dennis was on the front most of the time.
Once he realized this was happening, the Wheelsucker briefly considered going to the front and driving on the descent so the three were gapped for good, so guaranteeing him at least sixth place if he stayed with the leaders, but he did not want to expend any more energy than he needed to, and figured if they were getting gapped on the climb each lap, they would either be gone by the finish, or they would be so spent he could take them in the last climb/sprint to the finish.
Ad and Paul attacked a few more times, but Dennis wasn't letting Paul go anywhere, and Ad was not going to be able to stay away on his own. The Wheelsucker did not try anything himself, and was content to let the attrition happen, and be in position to cover any moves from the strongest riders, and maybe consider trying something late in the race when the riders in the lead group were a little more tired.
The pace up the climb was steady, medium-hard most of the time, and very hard once. The Wheelsucker never felt that he was at his limit to stay with the leaders, but it was very close once or twice. He was seeing that others were letting small gaps open near the top (they looked blown), so he was frequently moving up a few places on the climb, to be closer to Crockett and Mittlestadt, or anyone else who looked good and who might go, near the top.
The Wheelsucker processes a limited amount of oxygen, and when going hard on a climb does not have enough oxygen to operate legs and brain at the same time, so there was limited thinking and planning going on in the Wheeluscker's head. There was a general thought about a late attack, particularly if the group was down to six or less, and the risk of attacking, being caught and dropped, and losing more places was lower. But no concrete decision has been made.
The Wheelsucker had moved up again as the lead group crossed the finish line with two laps to go (a 45 second effort at 344 watts), and was level and inside of Dennis at the left turn at the top. The two looked at each other, and somehow the Wheelsucker knew it was time to go.
So the Wheelsucker jumped as hard as he could. This was not actually all that hard by real racer standards; his peak was 618 watts, and he averaged 396 watts for twenty seconds, but Dennis was letting him go, and everyone else was following Dennis, so the Wheelsucker had the initial gap. At 35 seconds he was starting the descent and THIS time the Wheelsucker was not coasting. He caught the lead vehicle and had to coast for a few seconds before the driver stepped on the gas and sped clear. The descent was 47 seconds and he hit a peak of 37.1 mph, even though he was not going full gas, saving something for the climb and the last lap. He did sneak one glance back and did not clearly see a chase, and knew had had a gap. At the base of the climb the Wheelsucker was going 350-400 watts and he SHOULD have looked behind him after starting the climb, but did not.
Part way up the climb he was surprised to hear Dennis shouting, GO! And then Dennis came by him at a high rate of speed. 400 watts clearly wasn't enough, and the Wheelsucker kicked as hard as he could – hitting just over 600 watts, actually not bad for a tired Wheelsucker – and barely, just barely, managed to hold Dennis’s wheel past the start/finish line – so one lap to go – and to the top of the climb.
The Wheelsucker was redlined. Other than that the situation was ideal; he was in a break following the strongest rider in the race with under a lap to go, but the Wheelsucker needed to stay there, and needed to not be caught.
As the Wheelsucker thinks back on the race the situation seems rather clearer than it was at the time, with only a few brain cells actually operating. Dennis must have been expecting some help; after all why let the Wheelsucker get off the front alone? But the Wheelsucker basically had nothing left to give, and just had the one thought of holding Dennis’ wheel. So the Wheelsucker wheelsucked THE ENTIRE LAST LAP, hyperventilating and trying to recover however slightly. His SOLE contribution to the break was to shout "Big Gap!" to Dennis, part way down the descent.
Dennis must have been impressed.
The Wheelsucker rationalizes after the fact that if the chase had been any closer, he would have gone to the front on the descent and taken a hard pull to keep them clear. Who knows?
And then it was the last climb to the finish line.
Dennis was still on the front, and the Wheelsucker hit 560 watts several times to hold his wheel. As they approached the finish line and the last effort for the sprint, the Wheelsucker probably should have checked behind him to see what the gap was, but did not.
Inside 200 meters the Wheelsucker was hearing the sound of an incomplete shift coming from Dennis’s rear wheel, maybe Dennis had shifted half a shift too far. The Wheelsucker decided the situation was as favorable as it was going to get, and he had to try, so he stood and launched with every little bit he had left. Everything he had left turned out to be 17 seconds averaging 550 watts, with a peak of 675, and that was nowhere near enough to get the finish line ahead of Dennis. Dennis was several bike lengths clear and pulling away steadily as they crossed the finish line. The Wheelsucker imagines Dennis would have been rather annoyed if Dennis let the Wheelsucker go, caught him AFTER warning him to accelerate and then had the Wheelsucker do no work at all the entire last lap, only to sprint around Dennis, but the Wheelsucker beating Dennis in a sprint seems rather unlikely.
Later the Wheelsucker learned that Paul had come around the last turn third and was initially closing ground on Dennis and the Wheelsucker, but ran out of gas part way up and the gap stayed steady from there. Ad Bax was fourth.
So the second place was somewhat of gift from Dennis, though the Wheelsucker did work as hard as he could once given the opportunity.
The Wheelsucker will take it.
Looking at the numbers, it was nominally a 45 minute race, but it actually went more like 35 minutes and 13 laps. The Wheelsuckers shortest power peaks are at the finish, there was a hard effort up the climb with about five to go, and the CP2min is when the Wheelsucker is off the front and then struggling to hold Dennis’ wheel. CP5, CP6, CP10, CP12, CP20, CP30 are the last five, six, ten, twelve, twenty, and thirty minutes of the race.
The Wheelsucker thinks that a slightly longer race might have suited him better, except that Dennis does not seem to tire.
No one bothered to remind the Wheelsucker to zip up his skinsuit and replace the helmet with a podium hatThe Women's race was the last of the day and the Wheelsucker stayed to cheer on his team mates.
ABRT was represented by Amanda Watson, Sue "McSpeed" McQuiston and Ainhoa Perez-Diez. The field included cat 3 and 4 riders. In addition to Sue and Amanda a couple of other riders were interested in driving the pace, and the group shrank lap after lap.
After keeping the field under control the entire race, Sue and Amanda drove the pace hard for at least the last two laps. Amanda was doing final leadout for Ainhoa when another rider jumped hard, early. Ainhoa came off Amanda's wheel and sprinted a long, long way up the hill, winning with a big gap.
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