Another Race Weekend

August. It's like the witching hour. You may be a bit tired, but you may as well race now, because the road season will be over soon enough. We're already losing daylight. This can be a tough month. Here in New England though, we're lucky to have some great races. The Concord Criterium has been on the calendar since before I started racing, making it one of the oldest continuously held races in the area. The Central NH Road Race aka Bow, might not be quite so old, but it's been going on in one form or another for about fifteen years, and has become known as a classic. As I noted in the comments to Murat the other day, mile for mile it might be the toughest course in New England. Usually anyway...

First up was Concord on Saturday. I only entered the 45+ race, which was only twenty laps of the 1.05 mile course. For Team BOB, this was an important race, carrying the NH State Criterium Championships designation. We would ride for a field sprint and try to set up Duano. As a rolleur, my job would be to keep the pace high and try to contain all the attempted breakaways. Timmy and the Cronoman would have this role as well, along with JG, who would also escort Duano on the last lap, if all went according to plan...

With such a short race, attacks started early. We did a good job keeping it under control. A few moves went in response to prime offerings, but we managed to keep it close and eventually bring them all back. Around halfway, Tom Officer (Cycle Fitness) started throwing down. He's a marked rider anyway, so this hotted up the pace. With a concerted team effort, we kept things together, but I began to tire. Around seven to go we had lost our grip and the front of the pack got lined out without any BOB representation. A three man break of Peter Megdal (NEBC), Bob Bisson (Gearworks) and Keith Ford (Sunapee) got clear by at least ten seconds. I was pretty gassed, as were the others, and no team besides us was chasing that hard. We regrouped and scurried to the front just as Officer took a massive pull up the backstretch hill. He swerved off and Skip Foley (360) and I got to the front to continue the chase. There were five laps to go. It looked like a catch was imminent, but the break persisted. I was still on my limit. At two to go I made my last gasp effort to drill it around the esses and into the hill. Then the Cronoman took over with one to go. Ford and Bisson came off the break and were caught, and the field exploded when Frank Jennings (Gearworks) responded to the loss of his man from the break. Megdal was just dangling in the front alone now, but Duano ended up left isolated for the critical last half lap. He had to close a big gap and was gassed for the sprint. JG somehow got up there at the end for 4th, but Megdal held off the field and won. Oh well.

My average HR for the 47 minute race was 160. That's threshold. I had 27 minutes in zones 5A-5C. The other 20 was between 151-159. Yeah, this was hard. I didn't feel so well afterwards, and just went home to regroup.

Most of my team does not race Bow. They are not climbers. Just me and the Cronoman lined up with almost fifty others in the 45+ race, but the field was strong with the usual suspects. Cycle Fitness had Officer, John Funk, and Mark Luzio, making them easily the strongest team in the race. Most of the others were like us, with just one or two riders entered. Bow has traditionally been a race of attrition and most of us are just looking to survive. A few of the strongest, such as Dougie have other ideas.

The 45+ only do four laps of the 17.5k circuit. I know that doesn't sound like much. What makes Bow unique is there is not one meter of flat on the entire course. I am not exaggerating. It's all either up or down. The climbs aren't the toughest, but normally the race is run under a broiling sun, and the jewel of the course is an extremely steep pitch with a tough grade for an approach. Last year the layout was changed again (there have been at least a half dozen changes in the history of the race), adding more climbing, but breaking up the run in to the toughest stretch with a brief downhill. In some ways, this made the course "easier," but not as much as the official decision to make the start "neutral." For us in the 45+, this meant we would only race the toughest one-two punch of the hills all-out three times. It had a big impact.

I lined up in the front row. Rain showers started right away. When we took to the first climbing stretch neutral, I got right on the bumper of the pace car. For some reason, nobody else in the field followed suit. My reasoning for doing this was twofold: one, there was a headwind, so why not draft the car? I needed a better warmup anyway. Second, being six inches off the tailgate had the effect of making the driver go a little bit faster than he would have otherwise. In fact, I heard later some riders got dropped in the neutral! Heh-heh.

After the first mile of climbing, the race was on and the Volvo pulled ahead. I stayed at the front next to Funk -- for a minute or two. On the steep climb (aka "Anal Sex", so named because one race years ago someone painted that in two foot high block letters across the pavement), Funk stood up and took off. I guess Vonsavage (Muscles Not Motors) went with him. I made it over in the first ten, an odd feeling for me here lately. Dougie Jansen (IBC) immediately took up the chase. I rolled through as the rain got steady on the big downhill, and tried to line it out. Even the Cronoman took a turn at the front at first, but the duo managed to stretch their lead a bit anyway. Given my recent history of getting dropped at this race, I retreated in the group and got ready to climb the hill again.

Second time up was not too bad. Things were steady. Doug and Alex Petro (Team Psycho) drove the pace, but it was even. I moved up to a good spot. This time, I crested the big climb close to the front, right with Officer and Dana Kellogg (Arc-en-Ciel). Vonsavage came back to the group. We lost about a third of the field that lap, unfortunately including the Cronoman. Third time up the climb was not much different, although we could see Funk just ahead. I was certain that a brutal counterattack from Officer was coming, but I was wrong. I suffered a bit but again made it over both climbs in good position. Next lap as we passed the start/finish, Funk was reeled in. Petro rolled off with a small gap, but no violent attacks. The pace was faster though, and I did not maintain as good of a place in the group this time. Going into the "A.S." climb, I was behind Adam Sternfeld (Millwork One), Sam Morse (Corner Cycle), and Karl Hambrecht (CCB). I dug deep to go around them and scurry up nearer to Kellogg and company, but at the top me and a GMBC guy were slightly gapped. He gave me the elbow and I took over on the downhill and we closed it up, but I was gasping. The others quickly caught us from behind. Petro was still off. I guess Dougie drilled it on the downhill while the field caught its collective breath, and he slipped off and caught Alex.

On the mini climb after the big downhill (left then right turns), they had over ten seconds and were looking good. It was raining pretty hard on that part of the course. I was focused on not cramping more than anything else, and thinking about the sprint. Sadly, the race had not broken up as much as years past, and maybe that's why I was still here... The last mile is ripping downhill, and only the final 250 meters starts to turn back uphill slightly. It would be a fast sprint. Morse attacked on the last wall, but everyone responded and by the crest it slowed. The place to attack was at the crest. There actually is a short stretch of "flat" just before the downhill there, and when I won this race (in ancient times) that is where I made my move. This year though, by that point I was not in a great position, and more importantly did not have the legs to jump. I followed wheels down the hill.

Dougie and Petro stayed away, with Alex winning. Sixteen seconds later our sprint came in. I knew the 200m sign was right where you rounded a small bend and the finish abruptly came into view. Funk led it out for Officer. I took to the left at the point where we had the whole road, and thus never had a good wheel to follow. All the heavy hitters went up the right, with Officer taking 3rd. I had a clear shot but only managed 8th, one spot out of the money. My goal going in was top 10, so I should be pleased, but the race turned out to be not nearly as hard as in recent years; maybe my fitness made it seem that way, but over twenty riders were in the lead group, which is double the norm.

This ended another "taper" week that turned out to be over ten hours on the bike for me. The Gate City Crit in Nashua and the Mt A TT are coming up this weekend. Then maybe I'll start running again. It's been six weeks. Sure helps the bike legs. Thanks for reading this long and pointless entry.