Blast from the past. I did this race in '93 & '94, before my cycling burnout in '95.
Conditions: 11 Miles, Flat to rolling hills, lots of turns and plenty of WIND.
The 3s Team: Daniel and I racing with Jenny feeding. Jay and Henrik did the old mans race.
Driving out it was a bit windy, but not so bad warming up, but as soon as we staged wind picked up to 10 to 20 MPH out of the West with some good gusts.
Crosswind Gutterfest time, Pack Shatters 2 miles into the race! I was not ready for the power required and go back into a chase group chasing a chase group, chasing…
After a lap, we get a group of around 6 to 8 working pretty hard but not catching much. Most where dropped because they couldn’t do a Left to Right Crosswind Echelon. Very annoying!
Each lap, going through the start/finish area, we saw more and more people that had pulled out the race. I used this for training for Deer Trail and finished the 67 Miles in around 3’15”. Place?, I was too tired to hang around on the side of a busy road waiting for results. My guess is that less then half finished the race.
Many Thanks to Jenny for the feeds and encouragement.
Roubaix 4s and 45+ Pics
The 45+, follow closely by the 4s approach on the second lap.
Matt - Determined to finish and get a DNF.
Jeremy, determined to stay ahead of Matt
Paul, wondering where the 45+ group is.
Shuka, giving "The Look" before he drops the duds.
Happy Trails to you..., Until we meet again...
Matt - Determined to finish and get a DNF.
Jeremy, determined to stay ahead of Matt
Paul, wondering where the 45+ group is.
Shuka, giving "The Look" before he drops the duds.
Happy Trails to you..., Until we meet again...
Roubaix Report 55+
Well, the Roubaix race went well for me. First of all there were only 5 in my group! At least 4 of us were well-matched and stayed together at a good pace for 2 1/2 laps. The strongest rider jumped on the first hill south of Nelson Rd. I grabbed his wheel but lost contact on the Bosberg. We had shelled the other two, though. I time trialed in for second place. Prizes? A six pack of Boulder Beer, a pound of Veloce coffee and a GO Fast energy drink. All stimulants perfect for cycling! I recovered quickly before succumbing to a hangover. ***David Won the 2004 Colorado-Roubaix @ the Rez. Amost did the double!***
Sunday - Not So Swift Ride
Sunday - Not So Swift RideVics @ 9:45 OR 15 Minutes after the end of Paris-Roubaix coverage on Cycling.TV
Route - Probably North up Dialongal - 75th - to Lyons?
Pace - EASY - Spin out legs from B-R. Do Climb to Jamestown on way back if you feel like it...
Route - Probably North up Dialongal - 75th - to Lyons?
Pace - EASY - Spin out legs from B-R. Do Climb to Jamestown on way back if you feel like it...
Koppenburg - Cat. 4 Reports
18th Ty at 48:37 (winner in at 47:23)
21st Casey at 49:09
35th Jeremy at 51:00
48th Andrei at 52:58
68th Matt at 55:34 (85 finishers)
From Ty:
The Koppenberg was a great race for the swift 4s. The race started as expected with everyone hammering into the first corner, but unexpectedly we hit a 30+mph headwind that immediately smashed the front of the group. One guy beside of me said "What the F" and tried to make a quick move up the right side to quicken the pace.....I couldn't help but smile as the wind quickly blew him back into the pack. We worked well as a team and stuck to our game plan on the first lap. We had 4 or 5 guys still in the front group as we crested the climb and Casey, Geremy, and I (and maybe Shuka) were able to ride in the front pack until the very last lap. The 3rd time up the climb was tough, people were scattering with fatigue and we caught three riders that were going at a much slower pace and somewhat blocking the easier riding lanes on the climb. Casey got into great position on the front left, but in doing so burned a much needed match since immediately after making the right turn a guy attacked on the far left side and got about 100 yards ahead. The left part of the pack responded, but the guys on my side were slow to react, so a nice gap was opened. I caught up with Casey and was attempting to close the gap, but both of us were pretty gassed at that point. We caught the front pack at the turn by Costco, but it was single file and the pack quickly split into smaller groups as we hit the dirt and headwind for the last 2 miles. We attempted to catch the leaders, but couldn't really make any progress. They were so close, but no matter what we did they stayed the exact same distance ahead. I ended up finishing 16th on the sheet they posted after the race, but I guess they missed 2 people or someone protested, because I am 18th today on the ACA website. Either way, I was estactic with the race and finish. A much improvement from last year. Casey finished right behind me in 21st, and Shuka, Jeremy, Andrei, and Matt finished only a minute or two behind us.
Fun times and a great confidence builder for the 4's. It was nice to actually see the first part of our plan actually work.....now we'll work on the rest of them.
Good luck to those of you racing Roubaix oir the Ore Digger this weekend,
From Casey:
I thought we did exactly what we wanted to leadinginto the climb. Had 4 guys in row at the front.Jeremy closed a gap so I didn't have to work supperhard, which saved my legs on that first lap.Obviously the more we could have gotten in the firstgroup the better. I can't stress enough for everyonehow important it is to get to the front and staythere. It is twice as easy, riding at the front asopposed to the back. I think we could have talkedmore to one another during the race to see how eachother were feeling. After the 3rd time up the climb,I was in survival mode. Ty tried to help me, but Iwent to hard into the wind before the climb and up theclimb which was my mistake. If I had sat in, we wouldhave been able to work more together that last lap. Ineed to practice on being more patient.
From Matthew:
The wind happened! Holey moley. Swifties got good spots at the line and rolled out with Jeremy and Matt at the fore and the rest tucked safetly in behind. Gruppo compacto 1st time up the hill to hit a full blast headwind at the top, folks spinning out, wrecks, etc. First group with most Swifties in it rolled away and the 2nd group and various stragglers in between broke down into small groups in the harsh crosswind on the W side of the course. After it was all pain and suffering for me but Jeremy and Andre said things stayed together for another run up the hill and at least Casey was still with the front group heading out onto the last lap.
From Andrei:
Great race for the team! I was glad to see us in the front group after the first climb up the hill.
The start was fast, and I was in a good spot on the right for the climb. After a few yards, someone skid-out in front of me and I moved to the middle of the climb. Then, another guy wiped-out right in front of me! I did a big swerve to avoid a crash, went to the top, and almost got blown over by the wind. With the front group in sight, and the chasers all tangled-up behind Shuka and I, we could not bridge to the group in the strong cross-wind. It shows how much more luck is involved in road racing vs. other types of racing!
I learned lots about racing in the pack, working with others, and with being confident on climbs, corners, and riding on dirt. The one big mistake was to not have enough rest before the race. I rode too much Fri. and Sat., and did not have fresh legs for the race. The ones who say "Just train-through your C races" must be talking about someone with much better fitness. To meet my personal and team racing goals this year, I will need to taper my training for every race.
Good job guys!
Andrei
21st Casey at 49:09
35th Jeremy at 51:00
48th Andrei at 52:58
68th Matt at 55:34 (85 finishers)
From Ty:
The Koppenberg was a great race for the swift 4s. The race started as expected with everyone hammering into the first corner, but unexpectedly we hit a 30+mph headwind that immediately smashed the front of the group. One guy beside of me said "What the F" and tried to make a quick move up the right side to quicken the pace.....I couldn't help but smile as the wind quickly blew him back into the pack. We worked well as a team and stuck to our game plan on the first lap. We had 4 or 5 guys still in the front group as we crested the climb and Casey, Geremy, and I (and maybe Shuka) were able to ride in the front pack until the very last lap. The 3rd time up the climb was tough, people were scattering with fatigue and we caught three riders that were going at a much slower pace and somewhat blocking the easier riding lanes on the climb. Casey got into great position on the front left, but in doing so burned a much needed match since immediately after making the right turn a guy attacked on the far left side and got about 100 yards ahead. The left part of the pack responded, but the guys on my side were slow to react, so a nice gap was opened. I caught up with Casey and was attempting to close the gap, but both of us were pretty gassed at that point. We caught the front pack at the turn by Costco, but it was single file and the pack quickly split into smaller groups as we hit the dirt and headwind for the last 2 miles. We attempted to catch the leaders, but couldn't really make any progress. They were so close, but no matter what we did they stayed the exact same distance ahead. I ended up finishing 16th on the sheet they posted after the race, but I guess they missed 2 people or someone protested, because I am 18th today on the ACA website. Either way, I was estactic with the race and finish. A much improvement from last year. Casey finished right behind me in 21st, and Shuka, Jeremy, Andrei, and Matt finished only a minute or two behind us.
Fun times and a great confidence builder for the 4's. It was nice to actually see the first part of our plan actually work.....now we'll work on the rest of them.
Good luck to those of you racing Roubaix oir the Ore Digger this weekend,
From Casey:
I thought we did exactly what we wanted to leadinginto the climb. Had 4 guys in row at the front.Jeremy closed a gap so I didn't have to work supperhard, which saved my legs on that first lap.Obviously the more we could have gotten in the firstgroup the better. I can't stress enough for everyonehow important it is to get to the front and staythere. It is twice as easy, riding at the front asopposed to the back. I think we could have talkedmore to one another during the race to see how eachother were feeling. After the 3rd time up the climb,I was in survival mode. Ty tried to help me, but Iwent to hard into the wind before the climb and up theclimb which was my mistake. If I had sat in, we wouldhave been able to work more together that last lap. Ineed to practice on being more patient.
From Matthew:
The wind happened! Holey moley. Swifties got good spots at the line and rolled out with Jeremy and Matt at the fore and the rest tucked safetly in behind. Gruppo compacto 1st time up the hill to hit a full blast headwind at the top, folks spinning out, wrecks, etc. First group with most Swifties in it rolled away and the 2nd group and various stragglers in between broke down into small groups in the harsh crosswind on the W side of the course. After it was all pain and suffering for me but Jeremy and Andre said things stayed together for another run up the hill and at least Casey was still with the front group heading out onto the last lap.
From Andrei:
Great race for the team! I was glad to see us in the front group after the first climb up the hill.
The start was fast, and I was in a good spot on the right for the climb. After a few yards, someone skid-out in front of me and I moved to the middle of the climb. Then, another guy wiped-out right in front of me! I did a big swerve to avoid a crash, went to the top, and almost got blown over by the wind. With the front group in sight, and the chasers all tangled-up behind Shuka and I, we could not bridge to the group in the strong cross-wind. It shows how much more luck is involved in road racing vs. other types of racing!
I learned lots about racing in the pack, working with others, and with being confident on climbs, corners, and riding on dirt. The one big mistake was to not have enough rest before the race. I rode too much Fri. and Sat., and did not have fresh legs for the race. The ones who say "Just train-through your C races" must be talking about someone with much better fitness. To meet my personal and team racing goals this year, I will need to taper my training for every race.
Good job guys!
Andrei
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