Winters RR-Andrew-Cat 4 35+ 2010

Winters Road Race (1:45 hrs from Peninsula)
Cat 4 35+ (44 racers)
Teammates: John Pauley, Chris Scheetz
Place: 6th

This is a fun race. It is slightly rolling with one Sandhill distance climb about 2/3into the race. The hill has two sections. The first is through the feed zone and is probably about 4% grade. It is not a difficult section, but gets you a bit out of breath. Then you hit a flat for maybe 1/8 of a mile till the next climb. That section is fairly steep (about 7%) and about 500 meters long. The climb is followed by a rather steep and twisty descent. It is a fun downhill, but you need to be on your game as you can easily overcook a corner and find yourself in a bit of trouble. You do two laps with each lap about 24 miles.

The key to this race is surviving the hill. The first lap the group broke up on the hill, but then regrouped afterwards as no one wanted to hammer the second lap till we made it back to the hill again. Once on the hill the second time the race heated up. I made sure to stay in the top five or six guys so as not to get gapped. Once we hit the final switch back of the climb, I was really hurting. I had thoughts of cracking. I am sure the people at the finish line 10 miles away could hear my breathing at that point. Still though, I hung on and came over the top in about fifth position. We went screaming down the back and hit the bottom with about a five second gap on the next seven guys. The five of us tried to pace line and stay away, but the back seven eventually caught us. We were now a pack of 12. We then worked to stay away from everyone else, each person taking about a 30 second pull at the front. We were moving pretty good. The finish is about five miles from the bottom of the hill. I tried to stay patient, but was getting anxious. When we hit the 1k to go sign some guy took off full speed up the road. Another chased and I got on his wheel. We caught the front guy who then slowed with about 500 meters to go. We were all back together again. Then with 200 meters to go another guy launches off the front. I am boxed in on the right side of the road with someone directly in front and on my left. Unless I want to get real aggressive and probably crash, I have no choice but to wait till the guy in front or on my left takes off. With about 150 to go they do. We are hammering. My tongue is hanging out and I basically hold my position through to the line. I end up 6th and win the coveted T-Shirt.

This is a good race. The hill offers a challenge and prevents the lollygagging that occurred at Dunnigan. At the end of this race, you feel like you raced. Good to see the team well represented too. I posted a few pics on our web site, so check those out.