In track racing, there are races that play right into my strengths, and races where I struggle just to hang on. It was a disappointing night - a 6 lap tempo and a 7 lap point-a-lap. Fast, short races that favor the Big Thigh Guys and left me struggling to hold on. Longer races - eight, nine, ten laps - and I'd be able to sit back, recover, bridge up to the leaders and launch an attack. But not ones so short, and I rode around the velodrome, not placing.
There was also a scratch race of unknown distance, which was fast and fun but an uncomfortable jumble of they-should-have-known-better bike handling in the last 200m that disrupted my sprint.
So it wasn't the best night of racing, but there was a Devil's Scratch for the Feature. Half miss and out, half scratch.
What did you say? That race has my name all written over it?
I agree.
I wound up some sprints to keep myself alive through the eight or so laps of devil-take-the-hindmost and settled in for the scratch section. The six of us were in a fast, tight paceline. There were a few attacks to keep things alive - we were all breathing ragged and rolling really fast. With just under two to go, gui put on a burst of acceleration and I struggled to hold his wheel, but had room to accelerate up the inside once people had responded to hsi attack. The field was going fast as we came around to the bell, and I was in front, looking at Crihs and David (a strong cat 5 and a cat 4 sprinter), on my wheel, wondering who was going to go first - I wanted a wheel.
No dice.
So I jumped hard off the front, an I'll-try-this move that had the cards stacked against me - no banking, no drafting, just me and the guys behind me. I gritted my teeth and put my weight into the pedal stroke and on turn two I hazarded a glance behind me and I had a gap. I tucked my head down and put on my game face, kept the pace high, and rode around to the finish line uncontested.
Some races are just yous to win.
Others you have to keep figuring out how in the hell you're going to beat the competition.
If I were racing more of the latter, I'd get really, really lazy about track racing.
Oh, and I almost forgot:
There was also a scratch race of unknown distance, which was fast and fun but an uncomfortable jumble of they-should-have-known-better bike handling in the last 200m that disrupted my sprint.
So it wasn't the best night of racing, but there was a Devil's Scratch for the Feature. Half miss and out, half scratch.
What did you say? That race has my name all written over it?
I agree.
I wound up some sprints to keep myself alive through the eight or so laps of devil-take-the-hindmost and settled in for the scratch section. The six of us were in a fast, tight paceline. There were a few attacks to keep things alive - we were all breathing ragged and rolling really fast. With just under two to go, gui put on a burst of acceleration and I struggled to hold his wheel, but had room to accelerate up the inside once people had responded to hsi attack. The field was going fast as we came around to the bell, and I was in front, looking at Crihs and David (a strong cat 5 and a cat 4 sprinter), on my wheel, wondering who was going to go first - I wanted a wheel.
No dice.
So I jumped hard off the front, an I'll-try-this move that had the cards stacked against me - no banking, no drafting, just me and the guys behind me. I gritted my teeth and put my weight into the pedal stroke and on turn two I hazarded a glance behind me and I had a gap. I tucked my head down and put on my game face, kept the pace high, and rode around to the finish line uncontested.
Some races are just yous to win.
Others you have to keep figuring out how in the hell you're going to beat the competition.
If I were racing more of the latter, I'd get really, really lazy about track racing.
Oh, and I almost forgot:
posted by mattio at
7:51 AM
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