Chico Downtown Crit Race Report

Race: Chico Downtown Crit
Date: 21 Sep 2008
Category: Pro 1/2/3
Duration: 60 minutes
Result: 10th on 40-50 riders
Teammates: Billy Crane (Cat 2 debut!), Chris Crawford, Jan Diemont, Rand Miller, Bob Parker.

A few of us in the team headed up to Chico for some late season racing. Rand and Chris did the Henleyville RR the day prior and Billy and I headed up just for the crit. Billy recently upgraded from Cat 3 to 2 and wanted to get a race in the higher category before the off season. I was there because I like crits and I'm not burned out yet :) When we got there Jan had showed up as well and Bob Parker had entered our last race of the day after doing the 35+ 123 race a bit earlier.

This race was in downtown Chico, consisting of 6-corners (5 lefts, 1 right) in a loop that was taking us on the order of 90 seconds to lap. So, the corners came in fairly rapid succession, which made for a somewhat technical course. Pavement was the usual downtown stuff with transitions, bumps, and potholes here and there, but not too bad overall. A few of the corners had curbs that tapered down to street level, making it possible to really cut the corners if need be. I did that on several occasions!

Rand was jonzin to get his freak on so I wanted to help set him up for some strong attacks. So, I mostly covered attacks with less threatening guys and helped chase a move or two that we had missed. Chris helped keep things in check throughout the race and was riding well. Billy was a bit shocked by the speed in the first half of the race and eventually pulled out. It's hard to describe to the new guys how hard or different the races are than 3's crits. The P12 races are usually crazy-fast for 10-20 minutes before they sort of settle into a slightly more sustainable pace. Usually if one can hang on for that first fast interval, they can go the distance. Getting used to the pace is the biggest challenge for recent upgrades. Riding efficiently instead of on brute force is probably the biggest key to success that really only comes with experience. It sounded like Billy almost made it over the hump, so he shouldn't be upset; he'll get the hang of it and we expect him to be tearing up the RR's in '09. From what I recall, Jan was pack surfing and waiting for the sprint finish. Bob was staying in good position near the front and riding well throughout the race.

So, our team was active for the entire race and was represented in most of the moves but the speed of the pack wasn't letting breakaways get much distance at all. We were still trying to get some separation late into the race. Rand and I were up near the front attacking within 10 laps to go. Chris was up there helping with the pace as well. After one of my efforts, I drifted toward the back while recovering (Bob helped me eventually get back in and toward the front--thanks!) and I noticed Rand was gone. This was with about 5 laps to go. It turned out that Rand got a flat with 6 to go and free laps ended at 8, bummer! Anyhow, it was looking like it would be a pack finish so I tried to suck it up and prepare for a sprint. My efforts from earlier had taken a bit off my top end at this point but I did what I could. I think with 2 to go I was at the back then the pack slowed and I was able to move up to about 3rd wheel, which was good. As the pace increased in the final 2 laps, I was suffering pretty badly but tried to hang in there. On the last lap, a couple riders surged, including Mike Sayers of BMC (his last race as a Pro?), and I wasn't able to latch on. Somewhere in the chaos, one rider, Chris Turner, had gotten off the front late in the race and was able to stay off for the win, very impressive. So Sayers finished 2nd and JD Bergman (BPG) finished 3rd just in front of a charging pack. I actually had a good sprint after losing position and came around several guys for 10th place (in the money--woo hoo!). Jan sprinted in a few spots ahead of me, though I'm not exactly sure where.

It was a fun race, I'd definitely recommend it and I'd do it again, even with the long drive.

Even with some bad luck losing Rand in the closing laps, we put 2 guys in the top-10, not bad. Our guys rode well, some of whom finished off the season with Chico Crit (myself included). We've had a great year in the Elite Team--our best yet--and I'm already looking forward to 2009.

Thanks for reading,
Rob MacNeill