Doubling up on Superweek weekend

Superweek –

Blue Island Cat4/5 - 14th
Blue Island Cat4 – 14th
Olympia Fields Cat4/5 – 2nd
Olympia Fields Cat4 – 8th

I was only able to race these two Superweek events, so I decided to double up both days and do the 4/5 and 4 races back to back.

Blue Island Cat4/5 - 14th
The pace was pretty fast and there were several attacking attempts, including a couple myself. A Wild Card rider gets off the front and his teammates are blocking. Only 1 or 2 guys are working to reel him in. I help despite being outnumbered because I don't want to accept second place as the best possible scenario. I trade a few pulls with Loukas from XXX and we eventually retrieve the solo rider. I'm with the final group of 14 when the announcer calls the final lap. The pace slows to a crawl immediately, and a rider tried to squeeze through a quickly closing gap directly ahead of me. Of course the slight contact caused a meeting with the pavement for the poor fellow. I swerve to avoid and someone else rides into me from behind. My rear skids out a bit but I keep it upright and try to chase the pack who have now dropped the hammer. Frustratingly, the harder I pedal the more they pull away. I finally concede when I see no one else is chasing and I soft pedal through the line. Upon inspection I see my rear wheel was knocked out of true causing break rub. Damn. 14th place (They paid through 12)

Blue Island Cat4 – 14th
I rushed to my car and switched bib numbers to do the Cat4 race. I had just enough time to swap my wheel with neutral support and take a spot on the line. Compared to the 4/5 race, it seemed lethargic, which was fine for me because it allowed me some time to recover. Another hour of going around the rectangle and I stay with the lead pack of 20+ riders but get bad positioning and end up 14th in the group sprint. Not the results I had hoped for on the first day but a good 2hr training effort.

Day 2
Olympia Fields Cat4/5 – 2nd
I will let others disparage the course, I had my best road racing result yesterday so maybe the layout suited me. J The pace started out blazing fast with XXX intent on splitting the field early. I bridged a couple small gaps to hold onto the leaders (3 XXX riders, 1 VeePak, 1 Pegasus guy and some other dude) Outnumbered again, I still took a few pulls to help ensure we weren’t caught. We worked pretty well together, but I was always getting gapped on the 120 degree turn that had already claimed several other riders’ skin. I was able to sprint back on, but I didn’t have the nerve to lean in without scrubbing some speed first. With about 10 laps to go Loukas from XXX wrecked and took out another XXX teammate directly ahead of me on the 120degree turn. I had to swing wide and sprint even harder to make contact with the remaining 4 riders. The VeePak guy attacked immediately after the crash, so three of us worked together to reel him in. In the beautiful karmic justice, the solo VeePak rider took himself out of the race 5 laps later on the same 120degree. The remaining 3 of us shared 1 lap pulls and worked well together. At the start of the last lap the XXX rider jumped and managed to hold his lead. I was able to take second.

Olympia Fields Cat4 – 8th
Another quick change and I was back on the line. The pace started just as fast and I had to work even harder to keep from being gapped. I was using blockers on the back straightaway to bring me back to the pack. 7 riders got off the front and I was in the second group of about 6 with 3MetCycling riders. We were a bit disorganized, but everyone put in an effort. I took a lesson from the last race and attacked at the same spot as the winner from the previous race. Suprisingly only a 2CC rider was able to match and then pass me. He took the final turn quicker but I dug in and beat him to the line. The 2 man break was absolutely flying, almost lapping the entire field.

I wish I could continue with Superweek but work wouldn’t allow it. I had a great time and was able to meet some cool people from the local road scene. Part of the Criterium poker game is knowing who the real threats are. Tough luck to Loukas for the wreck, but thankfully his sweet powder blue Indy Fab bike is fine. Next up … Whitewater Rafting in Maine and then the Chicago Criterium