Race Report: Wells Ave Criterium

03 May 2009.

12 miles. 15 laps. No where to hide, your glory or failings on full display through out the race. Welcome to the world of the criterium.

From NEBC's Racing Clinic and blogs (such as SDC and SoC), I had an idea of what to expect in my first criterium, and more importantly, what I needed to do.

My game plan was to feel out the field, stay sheltered as much as possible, become comfortable riding within the pack, and hopefully be close enough to do something at the end.

Once the race started I threw those plans out.

I lined up mid-field. Partially for fear of being the guy who took out the field by failing to clip in correctly and partially because I knew I didn't want to be the first rider into turn one.

The race kicked off without incident, everyone clipping in relatively OK. The pace felt spirited, not fast; so much so that near the end of the first lap, I jumped on the wheel of a rider and rocketed to the front.

The race is a whole different beast in the front. The turns and hills are so much easier, unfortunately finding shelter from the wind is more difficult. I used these early laps to feel out field positions, dropping back, moving up, trying to feel out the field and discover where I felt the most comfortable. Mid pack was definitely the best - the most difficult mentally (watch for slowing riders ahead, fast riders behind, and crazy riders to the right and left) , but also the best for avoiding wind.

It was during one of my exploratory moments, when I was near the front, that someone decided to pick up the pace. In classic race form, the field started to string out, with me hanging on four riders from the lead. I was struggling to keep a gap from forming when I made my biggest single mistake of the race. I looked at my heart rate.

The number convinced my brain that I needed a rest, so when the pace picked up for the next prime I was cycled off the back, unable to convince my legs to propel me enough to catch a wheel. In retrospect, the most demoralizing part of this story is, I had no idea what lap we were on. The last card I had seen read 11, so I figured I'd been dropped around lap 8. When I passed the cards and read 3, I was massively annoyed with myself.

I solo'd for a couple laps trying to catch up, before easing back and allowing the field to catch me, which they did on the last turn on the last lap. Needless to say, didn't participate in the sprint, instead coasting in with the field.

A wonderful introduction into crits, so much so I will definitely be back and am considering add a few "real" crits to my schedule.