CVC Stage Race Report

Race Report - CVC Stage Race Elite 2
GC Results: Bruce (17th), James (46), Rob (42), Dominic (26)

This race was a 3 stage race, first day a 70 mile RR, second day a 16 mile TT, third day a (shortened) 40 minute crit. 3 of us actually won some (small) $, which was a nice outcome. On the first day, we decided to race for James as based on Merco, we expected everything to stay together. This turned out not to be the case and we were able to ride very well as a team, changing the plan on the course to race for Dominic (break) and Bruce (sprint) after going through the hills the first time. The team has raced together a number of times and the ability to change plans on the road is really a testament to the commitment everyone has to be willing to race for their team before themselves. The TT on the second day was more of an individual effort and was the main decider for the GC positions. We planned to ride for James in the criterium on the third day and we all worked for that plan. In general the race was very well run and the courses were all good.

Road Race
Results: Dominic (15th), Bruce (26th), Rob (49th), James (53rd)

Report from Dominic on the RR

The course for this race is a 33 mile loop. It's challenging with all sorts of terrain: stair-steppy climbs, screaming 55+ mph descents and even a fair bit of flattish terrain. After a 1k neutral roll-out we turned left onto the loop things picked up right away. We hit the first ramparts within a few minutes and I began to wonder if I was having a bad day as I didn't feel stellar. I was able to hang but didn't feel like I could jump away. From what Rob told me after we got through it, the first climbs had already done some damage to the bunch. Rob (our road captain for the day) made the call that we'd be racing for Bruce or me since he wasn't sure that he or James would make it through the climbs the next time. I sat in as Rob and James went to the front and kept a good steady hard pace. Nearing the end of the first lap I saw James put his arm up and pull over, apparently victim of a dropped chain. I thought he'd be able to catch back on but he couldn't quite get back in the group before the pace got hot again.

Going into the climbs the second time I decided to conserve my efforts and go for it on the rollers later in the lap. The pace was tough and with a bit of encouragement Bruce made it through with the now whittled down bunch. After the super fast descent we hit a nice little "berg" and once the speed bled off, I launched an attack. It got quickly brought back. I got a little bit bummed but then decided that in fact I had come to race my bike, not pedal around with 50 of my closest cat-2 friends. So I launched another attack. That got brought back. So I counter-attacked my own move and kept doing this until me and another guy got away for a while. This scene repeated a few more times until a solo rider and a Davis Bike Club rider countered and I decided not to follow it. This was unfortunately the move that stayed away.

For some reason the biggest team, BPG, didn't see the break go and thus didn't start chasing. Everyone was getting a bit fatigued too. I tried my hand a few more times on some rollers but wasn't getting away. Bruce got a bit of a gap for a while and I eased up to let him try to get away but eventually that too got shut down. Once the BPG team realized that there was a break of two up the road they started to work to bring it back. I helped out as much as I could but it wasn't enough to close it down.

We headed into the finish about 30 strong. At about 1k to go I told Bruce we needed to move up and we both got ourselves into position. I couldn't quite get to the front to wind it up and within seconds it seemed the sprint was on. I did what I could without getting sketchy and was surprised to see that I didn't get totally swarmed at the end.

I felt like we raced well as a team but lacked a little bit of luck and/or fitness that would have gotten us a better result.

TT
Results: Bruce (21st), James (22nd), Rob (24th), Dominic (40th)

Report from Bruce on the TT

The course was mainly flat 16.5 mile course. It went straight and flat for 7 miles, into minor rollers for 5 miles, which looked much bigger in the car than on the TT bike, right hand turn and then over a river bridge and then flat for 4 miles, with the finish being on a slope similar to going up Sand Hill Road. When we drove the course it looked as if one should be steady for the first third, then push hard up the uphill roller, but then rest on some of the fast descent, cross the bridge and just pedal pedal pedal until the end. On the bike all of us noticed that the uphill roller was much less steep than we had expected and that the downhill seemed flat and all the concerns about the one corner that looked fast were unfounded. I went out at my target power and focused on not going to hard, I climbed a little harder and just rode through the descent. The first 2/3 of the course went faster than I expected. Once I crossed the bridge I tried to pick up the power, but after seeing my SRM files, it only went up a little. I just focused on being
steady and keeping my cadence at 90-95 and staying in the correct position. When I got to the final climb, the last 500m seemed to take forever and by now I was laying out everything I had left. I stayed seated and just kept the power going to the line. My power went up by 75w for that last effort. My power numbers were right on target, but my HR was about 10 beats lower
than I expected.

Things I learned: "Riding" the course in the car is less useful than riding the course on a bike. I saved to much for later in the race, the ability to drive the power up that much at the end meant I should have gone a little harder during the whole event. We all made similar power, but Rob, James and I had full TT bikes, Dominic just rode his road bike with clip-ons, clearly this makes a difference.

Criterium
Results: James (8th), Rob (14th), Dominic (38), Bruce (47)

Report from James on the crit

The start of the race was delayed by the podium presentations of the Pro/1 men's and Pro women's fields. The race was scheduled to be 50 minutes but was shortened mid race for some unknown reason. The course is unique with it's narrow 180 degree turn and chicane on the backside. Overall I really enjoyed the course as it was suited to my riding style. The plan was for me to sit in the pack while Bruce, Rob and Dominic worked the front of the race chasing/initiating attacks and trying to keep the race safe. At the whistle the race started out fast and remained so for the entire race. This was partly due to Dominic spending a lot of time on the front keeping it strung out and putting in a few attacks. Bruce attacked just after one of the primes but was soon caught after the 180. I was happy with my ability to remain near the front for the entire race. What I found worked well to conserve energy was to enter the 180 somewhere near the front of the pack and while everyone else was out of the saddle sprinting out of the 180, I would soft pedal and let a few guys pass. With little effort I was able to gain those spots back on the backside of the course only to repeat again on the next lap. This allowed my legs to remain relatively fresh throughout the race. I tried for a prime about mid race to test out the legs, but was slightly beat to the line by a visiting Japanese rider. Before I knew it I looked up and saw 7 laps to go. At 5 to go I was sitting about 15th wheel when a group of 6 riders were able to open up a small gap. At 4 to go a crash happened in the pack on the inside of 90 degree left hand turn and quickly spread across the entire road. I was on the outside and was forced to go up the curb onto the sidewalk. I got back on the pedals and chased
back on to the group. I made my way up through the pack and found Rob's wheel, I yelled to let him know I was there and he towed me up to Bruce's wheel near the front of the pack. The group was still about 15 seconds off the front and looked like they were working together well. I let Bruce know I was there and with 1 to go Bruce put in an impressive effort at the front with me on his wheel. He pulled off on the backside of the course, I pulled through and then eased up to let a few riders go by so I could tuck in for the sprint. I tucked in 2nd wheel behind a Hazards rider who took me wide in the last corner forcing me to come around him on the outside. Aaron Cox from BPG came up the inside and we had a drag race to the line. 2nd in the field sprint was good for 8th overall.

Takeaways from this race and the weekend: I feel the team communicated well before during and after the race. Racing is like playing cards, sometimes you are dealt a good hand and sometimes you aren't. On this day the crash was unfortunate because I really think we would have caught the group of 6 had it not been for the crash. Bruce, Rob, and Dominic all rode the race to the best of their abilities and it showed, they all contributed to the cause of the team to get me to the line. I hope to deliver the win next time I am the designated guy. Since we missed the winning break, I have to mention that as something to learn from. More efforts from the team as a whole to have a presence at the front would be good.

Overall it was a great weekend hanging out and racing with Rob, Bruce,
Dominic, and Jono (who raced the Pro/1 field).