The Alpaca Fly's at Midway 5/14

Last Saturday was the annual Monsters of the Midway Criterium in Hyde Park, Chicago.  I have done this race once before and have been looking forward to it all year because of its fairly easy course and competitive field of riders.  The course is shaped like a giant oval with a .5 mile straightaway section on each side.  Its just like the chariot race track from the Movie Ben Hur... Which you will know right away if you're a Charlton Heston fan like I am.

Anyway, on the the day of the race the wind was blowing 20+ mph, with a light drizzle, and temps hovering around 40 degrees.  Great day for a bike race...  The plan for the day was to do two races.  The Cat 4 and then immediately after the Cat 4/5.  After doing a brief warm up I took the line for the Cat 4 start.  Off the gun the pace was fast and the wind was viscous.  Moving even slightly out of the echelon was like moving into a wind tunnel instantly forcing you back.  Having been off the bike the entire week prior my legs were feeling lethargic and I was riding without much energy.  After a few laps I could feel myself fading.

Sitting in on the home stretch during the 4's

Suddenly on the backstretch a rider went down right in front of me!!  I locked up my brakes and felt sure I was going over the handlebars.  My back wheel came off the ground and I winced waiting for the impact.  Somehow I took a line straight through the carnage and came out the other side unscathed.  However, after collecting my thoughts and taking a mechanical inventory I was off the back chasing the pack.  Chasing a 30-40 second break into a 20 mph headwind is darn tough.  I chased on my own for two laps never really getting close to catching back on.  After sensing the chase was fruitless I abandoned and decided it best to wait for the 4/5's rather than kill myself solo for the next half hour.

A little shaken up but feeling better I kicked off the 4/5s race with a new energy.  Right away I was feeling a little better and rode with the pack for most of the race.  The backstretch was slightly more of a crosswind than a headwind so it was a good place to make up positions near the end of the stretch when the leaders were tiring.  I used this technique to move up a few places each lap.



The peloton on the back stretch

 Halfway through the race the pace was fast and a light rain began to fall.  I noticed our lead group thinning rapidly.  With about 3 to go a rider took a corner and accelerated fast as he was leaning into the corner.  The acceleration spun out his back wheel and he lost traction crashing wide on the turn and taking out at least two other riders.  The pace quickened as the few of us left realized we were racing for top 10 places.  Of course there were only about 10 of us left in the lead group.  With one to go I was sitting back in about 6 position with two riders off the front.  I sat in the slipstream down the back straight waiting to make the final move.  Taking the final turn wide I had a great line on the outside.  As riders started to sprint to soon, I hesitated for just a moment as they lead me out.  With 200m to go I launched my sprint and passed the leaders of the peloton.  One rider had gone before me and I heard over the loud speaker that the two riders off the front had finished... I was sprinting for third.  I closed rapidly on the rider in front of me but crossed the line in 4th.  Another few meters and I would have got him. 

I was basking in my best finish of the year and in the free t-shirt I won as a top 5 finisher.  I also scored my first upgrade points to Cat 3 which has been a major goal for me this year.  In looking at the final stats the pace was slower than past races but given the conditions I can see why.  Hopefully I can parlay this good finish into a few more this year and get that upgrade I've been after.  Next race will be the state championship in O'Fallon, IL 6/5-6/5.

Ronald Reagan Criterium - 5/7/2011

This would be the first time for me doing the Ronald Reagan Criterium in Dixon, IL.  Hitting the door at the crack of dawn I headed out to go pick up Nick and make it to Dixon by 730am.  Blurry eyed but full of excitement we made the 2 hour trek and arrived in plenty of time to warm up and survey the course.  The first few races of the day proved exciting and Nick’s impressive result in the 5s filled me with anticipation for what was surely going to be an awesome course. 

Nick letting it all hang out to catch the group (which he did!)

The course was shaped like a figure eight with sections going uphill and others downhill with the focal point being a long steady climb on the front side with a sharp 90 degree right turn at the top.  The course design made for a challenging yet exciting ride which kept me on my toes throughout the 45 minutes race.

From the start of the race I found myself drifting further back in the pack, which is not where I wanted to be.  The peloton was very strung out with riders only 2 or 3 wide.  Clearly the pace and the corners were taking their toll at the back of the pack.  The challenging course made me nervous initially, and taking the multiple corners at full speed caused me to lose some places.  After a few laps I settled down and at the top of the climb when there was a slight lull in the pace I accelerated on the outside before the next corner and made up about 15 places.  Now I was in the top 10 and in perfect position for the next few laps.

Good position right behind the orange Tati rider

There were some aggressive attacks off the front but nothing stuck.  Some nice primes also caused the pace to pick up for a few laps.  Right after a prime lap with about 5 to go a guy just to the left of me took the right hand corner hot and hit the curb with his pedal throwing him into the air.  On my outside I could see him fly through the air like superman and heard the carnage behind me.  I accelerated and pushed the pace even harder. 

With three to go I began planning my final move.  I moved up to the front of the group and planned to attack on the final climb.  With one to go I was further back than I wanted to be but not too worried.  I had a lot of gas left for the final climb and run in to the finish.  On the final climb I attacked on the outside but at the top of the climb there was again a lull in the pace and I found myself completely boxed in on all sides.  I had nowhere to go and had no choice but to slow down.  From there the front group could not be caught.  I tried fruitlessly to catch the front group but couldn’t close the gap.  On the last turn I took an inside line and got a good sprint to make up a few more places at the line. 

Attacking on the final climb.  I'm the guy who's head is a foot above the others

Good inside line for the sprint finish

Looking back on the race my opinion is that the top 10 were decided through tactics not necessarily fitness.  The course did not allow many opportunities to make up places and if you missed those few opportunities there was no chance without taking huge risks in the corners.  The hill really was not as much as factor as I thought it would be.  It could be climbed in the big ring without getting out of the saddle.  It really just added to the exciting and fun course.  This race left me wanting to do it all over again and I can’t wait for next year!