Kenosha Training Crit #1

Category 4/5
45 minutes
Overall finish 13th

The weather was overcast and cold; there was snow in the forecast for the afternoon, this weather is synonymous with cyclocross racing, not criteriums. I haven't done a criterium since August, much less ride anything but my cyclocross bike all winter; I was nervous. Would my training pay off or would I get dropped from the pack?

Since it was so cold and just all-around nasty weather only about 25~30 riders showed up to the line for the Cat 4/5 race. I looked around and didn't recognize anyone from last season that would blow up this race. We started, I kicked off and took like 20 seconds to get fully clipped into my pedals. This mistake could have cost me in another race, but luckily no-one was in much of a hurry today. The first half of the race was fairly uneventful, I was lazily attacking and pretty much just sitting in. I decided to save as much energy as possible and moved into the thick of the pack. As I was pulling in, a few riders on the front jumped off and before I noticed they were 50 yards out. I cursed loudly in my head, my lack of attention had cost me this opportunity. At this point there are a few options to consider, should I risk it and bridge the gap by myself, or should I try and organize the strong riders left in the pack.

Since the race was only half over I wanted to save my energy. Jason and I tried to organize the riders as much as possible to help facilitate a chase-down. It is incredibly frusterating to try and organize people that don't want to work together. No-one wanted to take a pull other than Jason and I, we pulled about 85% of the chase down. The most frusterating part was when others would pull they wouldn't be going fast enough to warrant them being in the front. Our efforts were futile. While we never we're able to catch the lead pack, I did learn some valuable information.

From now on I need to be more aware of what is happening around me. Criteriums are lost more on strategy, tactics, and mental awareness than on physical strength.