CCCX March 11th, 2012 45+ 1/2/3 race

It is just like drugs. Really, ask anyone. Get in a winning break once and you want that stuff again. It is like smack. You know its not good for you, you know it will probably kill you, but you just can't help yourself. You need it, you need it bad! And so it was that I started my fourth race of the year at CCCX.




We had 28 riders line up (of which 5 were in the 55+ cat). Two of the riders wore the CoreTechs kit (Daryoush and myself). Also racing was CCCX yoda, Steve Heaton and SJBC Cat 1/former pro Eric Saltzman. Listen, I may not be the smartest bike rider, but I know I don’t want to go into a sprint with these two. So, couple this with my love of being in a winning break and I knew what I needed to do…get in a break!



Oh, if only it were that easy. Of course, when you are sitting in a parking lot prior to race start, it seems easy. How could you not make it happen? Keep reading.



So the race starts kind of strange. A rider I don’t know, Joe Foster (Knarlube) takes the front and starts hammering. He pulls for a full lap for no real reason we could figure. He does keep any attacks from going though as the pace was pretty high.



Lap three (could have been lap four-hard to remember). Daryoush goes to the front and gives an attack. No one goes with him and he is brought back. When they catch Daroush I counter attack. No dice, they jump on me about a second after I launch.



Lap five and I think it is time to go again. I go hard. I get caught relatively quickly. I wait about a minute and do it again. This time I get some distance. I put my head down and go hard. I have three guys jump across to me. Ok, now we have it! None of those three pull through, but I am ok with that for now. I pick up the pace a bit and keep hammering. I glance back and see that the pack is chasing hard, led by Heaton. I keep going hoping that he sits up before catching on, but come on, that was not going to happen. He catches and brings the whole field together again.



Well, I am pretty spent, so I drift back and rest in the pack.



Lap six, final lap, I come to the realization it will be a bunch sprint. That sucks. As we crest the final hill into the fast downhill, I get my first glance of Rick Morgan (SJBC) in the race. He comes charging by. I know what is up and know that he is going to try and lead out Saltzman (both are SJBC). He is on the other side of the field though and I can't get across. In back of them is Heaton. I figure my race is done right there since I can't get over to them. Then I spy Andrew Nevitt (SJBC). I know Andrew will sprint to the finish and most likely will try and get on Saltzman's wheel or in front of him to help with the lead-out. Nevitt is stuck on the wrong side too though. He goes wide on far left and eats a bunch of wind. I am tucked nicely behind him. He never does catch Saltzman's wheel but he leads me to a good position. Mid hill I sprint past him to take the fifth spot (thanks Andrew!). Heaton wins and Saltzman gets second.



What could I have done differently? Not really sure. If no breaks were allowed, I was stuck dealing with a pack sprint. I supposed I could have made a better effort to get on Heaton's wheel earlier, but if I had to judge my abilities honestly, would not made much of a difference. So there you have it. Another race, another day as a bridesmaid. I need to find a better supplier! Love this stuff though!