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.
No comments:
Post a Comment