Timpani Crit- Jon Hallam - Cat 5 35+

Race: Timpani Criterium, Santa Clara, CA (sunny, dry roads, around 70 degrees)

Date: Sunday, August 1, 2010

Category: Open Cat. 5 (44 riders started, 42 finished)

Duration: 35 minutes

Course: 0.9 miles per lap, four corners and flat, on good, clean pavement

Yesterday was my 2nd race ever, and my first criterium. It was quite a luxury to
do a race 30 minutes from home, and with a start time of 10:10am. I arrived
early to warm-up and to watch some of the Cat 4 race. The course was exactly as
advertised. Flat, good pavement, and we had two full lanes all the way
around. The only obstacles were a few small potholes (all marked with spray
paint) and about a thousand Botts' dots
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botts'_dots).

Just before our start, we had a quick talk from the two USA Cycling mentors who
would be tagging along to keep an eye on us. I don't remember the exact wording,
but the key take-away was: you're not good enough to pedal through the corners
and if you do you will most-likely bounce a pedal, cause a crash and everyone
will be mad at you. I thought this advice unnecessary until we got underway and
I saw some of the other riders. There were definitely a few who hit the brakes
in the turns and took unpredictable lines. Luckily, I quickly identified them
and managed to steer clear. Afterward, I heard that two riders had bumped wheels
and gone down, but they were in the back and I didn't see the crash.

There were no primes in our race and the 35 minutes passed quickly without much
excitement. There were a few break attempts which caused accelerations in the
pack, but no one got away. You experienced racers will say, "duh", but as a
newbie I was reminded that if you're not actively moving up in the pack, then
you're drifting back. Other riders are always coming up the outside and if you
sit on the same wheel too long you'll find yourself at the tail end, which means
you'll have to sprint harder out of the corners. I played it conservative and
didn't move up any farther than about 5th place and didn't fall back past the
middle.

Before I knew it the card showed 3 laps to go. The pace picked up a little, but
still no fireworks. This is where more experience and a modicum of strategy
would have helped me. I should have started moving up sooner than the last lap
so I could have had a quick recovery before the final sprint. Around the final
turn it was full gas and I managed to mostly hold my position to finish 20th.
Next time, I'll make a run at the top 10. My bike computer showed 15 miles in 35
minutes for an average speed of 25.7 mph. I suspect that's relatively slow for
such a fast course, but I'll count it as another success.

Oh, and I should mention that my new Leopard is awesome! Stiff, super quick, and
very confident in the turns. If you're thinking about a new bike, I'd highly
recommend it, and with the sweet deal we get on them, you can't go wrong.

I hope to see (or meet) many of you at the BBQ on Sunday.

Thanks!
-Jon