Race Report: Dash for Cash: Pleasanton Crit

First, the reason for these race reports is if anyone wants to race these races next year, they will have some info going in to better help them understand the course and possibly the tactics. Also, I need a break from work so here is what I do on my break. Enjoy if you care too.

Race: Dash for Cash (Pleasanton Crit)
Course: about a 1/3 of a mile lap around Pleasanton Office Parks. Road is close and both lanes are open (as is the case with most crits)
Length: 45 minutes. Usually about 24 laps depending on groups speed
Teammates: Chris Scheetz in the 35+ race, none in the Open 4's race

The thing about this crit that made it attractive was that it was reasonably close to home and that it started at 1:50pm! Was very nice to leave for a race at noon, rather than the typical 5:00am! Got to race site with an hour to spare. Brought my rollers with me and did a 1/2 hour warm up. First race I did was the Open (they call it the Elite) 4's, meaning any age Cat 4's can race. We had about 50 guys racing.

This race is unique in that every lap is a "prime" lap. Meaning that the winner of every lap won something. In this race it was $10/lap. For some reason I was feeling a bit cocky and decided I was going to go for the lap sprints. Second lap a guy shoots off the front. I chase, I don’t catch him and come across second. Ok, now I am a bit mad at myself for chasing and not attacking. So I recover a lap and then go for it again. This crit is a four corner crit, meaning that you go around a square block. Like auto racing in reverse, there were only right hand turns. I took off before the final turn. After you make that turn you have about 400 meters to the line. I made it in first for about 385 of those meters, only to be passed on the line. Second again, and there is no prize for second. Now I am frustrated and deeply winded. I sit in about another six laps, trying to get my breath back. I finally feel ok and so go for it again. This time I follow a guy that took off before the final corner as I had done last time. With about 200 meters to go I give it all I have. I won that sprint…finally. So that was cool. After crossing the line, I look back and a Third Pillar rider came up on me. It was just the two of us with about a 500 meter gap on the field. As he goes by he says, "let's go" and powers past. I jump on his wheel and sat there for about five seconds. Problem was I was so gassed from my sprint I could not stay there. Truth be told, I thought I was going hurl whatever lunch I had eaten two hours before. I sat up and waited and tried to breathe. Now there was about three laps to go. The pack finally caught me and went by at full speed. I mustered up whatever I had left and stayed with the pack. That really hurt.

We go into the final turn a full field (50 guys riding about 28+mph and taking a right hand turn). I am seeing double at this point but still in the field. As we make the turn, some guy on the inside drifts out and clips the guy next to him. I see a bike start to somersault past me and hear the metal hit pavement sound. Best thing you can do in this situation is to hammer and keep your bike straight. I jammed on the gas and got through the wreck, only then have a Pen Velo rider who did not speed up start to drift right into me. We get our bars tangled and we both do that high speed wobble. Luckily we got untangled in time and both help it up. By this point top finishers were up the road and so I sat up to finish in the pack. I was darn tired but had won $10 bucks and a water bottle!

As I am sitting on the curb trying to stop from being dizzy, Chris Scheetz showed up. He looks down at me and with his kind words of encouragement said, "dude, you look like shit", and he was right!

Second race started an hour after the end of my first race. We had a field of about 50 guys and Chris was racing with me. I told Chris, not sure I have anything left, but I will start and pull out if I just don’t have it or get dropped. This race I told myself I was just going to sit in the pack and see how I felt. After about seven laps, I actually started to come around and feel ok. Again, I got a bit cocky with that feeling and decided I would win a lap. Being the amazing tactician that I am showing myself to be, I went for a sprint starting from mid pack. As I was passing the field on the right I kept thinking to myself, "this is a far way back to sprint from". What a smart guy I am. I ended up getting to the front of the pack save for one rider who sprinted off the front to take that lap. Hey, now that is the way to do it…sheez. So now, I am again winded and have nothing to show for it. I sit back in the pack for the rest of the race.

When we get to that final lap I had one goal, don’t be next to five guys taking a right hand turn at 28+mph. See, I can learn from previous races. Then, just before the final turn one guy goes shooting by on the far left of the pack. I jump on his wheel and he and I get some separation from the pack. We take the turn at 30mph. Again, showing everyone what a bike handler I am, I pedal through the turn. What happens when you take a turn at 30mph and pedal through it you ask? Well for me, I catch my pedal on the ground. Now I am in a bit of panic as my rear wheel starts to lose traction. I straighten by bike out to recover from the turn, but I am headed directly for the opposite curb at full speed. I get the bike around and literally skim the far curb as I compete the turn. I could not have used up anymore road. Had I been in the pack with guys next to me, it would have been interesting.

I look up and the guy I had been chasing has a gap on me now and two more had taken the turn correctly and were on my inside. I sprint and give what I have left to hold onto 4th place. I was fairly happy with that. Would have liked to placed top three, but keeping the bike up and still getting fourth was ok. Ended up winning about $40 worth of gear for 4th, so that made the drive home more fun.