CCCX Race Report 3-19-11

Report By Mark Foster
Race Date: 3-19-11
Location: Ft. Ord, Monterey, CA
Type: Circuit race, 60 minutes, 4.2 mile laps, rolling
Class: Masters 45+ Cat4/5

So after reviewing the weather, the last thing I wanted to do was drive down to Ft. Ord and race a bicycle in the rain. I needed one more race to upgrade to a Cat 4 and I promised our team I'd get my upgrade by mid March so that I could join them in the 1/2/3/4 Master's race at Bariani on March 27th.

At least I didn't need to do two races. If I was going to skip one, it would be the Open aged(E) Cat 5 race. After the blood bath I witnessed last weekend, no longer having to race that class was a relief to say the least. Also, the E5 race was at 8:30am and the Masters race was at 11:20;the extra sleep is always nice as well.

It was raining really hard when I left the Bay Area, but as I rolled into Monterey it slowed to a drizzle. Then as I got closer to Ft. Ord it had stopped completely....nice!

The race started on time and although the ground was damp, the weather was dry. There were only 15 racers that bothered to show up, less than a third of the previous Ft. Ord Masters race; predicted rain was obviously the cause of the slim field. The 45+ 4/5 Masters did the typical slow start. It was a nice leisurely ride, but I wanted a workout as well, so at the beginning of the second lap, I made the decision to get the race going. I left my hiding spot and hammered for about 3/4 of a loop. I wasn't quite redlining, but close. Nine guys hung on, and now we had a race. One of the Penn Velo riders, Jeff, worked with me on the backside of that loop. Then, he and a couple of other guys continued to push the pace the rest of the way. Much better pace and workout, my plan was coming together. After getting everybody fired up I hid and recovered nicely. I noticed the winner of the last 45 Masters Ft.Ord race, Mark Perry, was hiding as well.

On the final lap things picked up even more leading into the final descent. A Webcor guy took the lead followed by a SJBC guy, then me. I soft pedaled to stay behind them all the way to the final turn. An attack came from both sides and the guy passing us on the left was Mark Perry; so I grabbed his wheel as he came by. He pulled into the lead on the final sprint with me perfectly positioned in his draft. With 100 yards to go I hammered by and took the win and the bottle of wine....nice! Winning a Cat 4 race is a great way to finish up as a Cat 5! -Mark