Tom Rice's CCCX Report from the 45+ 4/5 race

Where - At the CCCX Circuit Race course at Fort Ord, CA

When – Oct 1, 2011
Written by Tom Rice
Race – 45+ Cat 4/5
Stats – 1 hour, 5 laps, 22 miles and a Beautiful, sunny day for a bike ride
Finish – 4th!
CoreTechs Teammates – Mark Foster

This was my first race as a recently upgraded Category 4 racer but I've done this race a number of times as a Category 5. The goals for this race are to make sure Mark Foster stays in first place in the championship points series for this race and for both of us to finish as close to the front as possible with one of us winning.
With that in mind, I get in my pickup truck for the drive down at about 8:45 in the morning with plenty of time to get to the race, get registered and get in a good warm-up. I'm mentally working out final strategy and tactics as I pull onto highway 280 at Edgewood Road and set the cruise control.
It is a very nice day and I get completely zoned into my drive. In fact, I'm so zoned out that by the time I realize I've passed the highway 85 exit towards 101 south, I'm on highway 680 and I'm already in Fremont. Fremont for crap's sake. I've just added almost an hour to my drive. I'm so far off track that I'm not even sure the best way to get back to 101 south.
So, I pull off the highway, enter my destination into the GPS and it calculates how long it will take to get to Fort Ord. I'm going to make it but only by about a half an hour. But, here's the rub – because of my "detour", I have to stop for gas before I get to the race, so I'm going to arrive only 20 minutes before the start of the race. This is not recommended race day preparation technique.
I get there, park, get my bike out, pump up the tires, register, pin my number on my jersey, get dressed and roll up to the start finish – all in a complete panic. I get there with about 2 minutes to go and receive some good natured ribbing about being late…
At the whistle we start. I have not had time for any warm-up so I go to the front and put in a long medium effort pull to get the blood flowing properly (and to shake off the panic of almost missing the start) and it works, I actually feel pretty good.
The race pace is not super fast and no one seems willing to put in a big effort to break away. So, most of the race is fairly uneventful. That said, Mark and I both believe that a well "tenderized" pack results in a safer sprint so we work to make sure the pace stays high enough so some of the riders will be a little worn out at the finish.
On the last lap, coming down the hill leading into the left hand turn that leads onto the finish straight, I'm setting up to get into the top five or so riders when I hear some chaos from behind and to the right of me. One of our pack gets shunted off the road into the gravel which makes a lot of noise and I get a little distracted. I refocus coming through the turn onto the finish straight and look for a good wheel to lead out my sprint. I'm about seventh position at this point and I have a lot of space to make up. So, I begin my sprint earlier than I normally would but it seems like everyone is.
I'm winding up to full power and I start to get boxed out to the right – not enough road and a slower rider in front of me – I have to let up. As this rider starts to sit up (he's is wiped out and slowing), I yell out, "On your right. On your right!" He hears me, straightens up his line and I have the space I need to wind up my sprint again. (Thank you, whoever you are, you are a good and honorable rider.) I pass one, two, then three riders and I'm looking at second place. But right at the line, I see two other wheels cross at the same time as I do. Close!! I'm pretty sure I've made the podium but I not sure if I'm fourth or fifth… I check the results page - fourth! My first race as a Category 4 and I'm on the podium - a very good race for me!
I'll let Mark tell the rest of the story…

Tom Rice, Bicycle Racer
CoreTechs Cycling Team