Crit Happens

Whew, that was an intense race!I felt like pulling out after about lap #3 of this 25 lap free for all. I stuck it out though, and ended up 'in the money', so I ultimately had a positive experience, once it was all said and done...I didn't crash, I finished, got paid, improved my skills, gained experience, added fitness, etc.

I started the race in dead last position. Not sure why I let that happen in crits, I guess I am just not very confident in this discipline. Anyway, that meant about 3 or 4 agonizing laps being whipped around the six corner course at the tail-end of this monster that was the main Cat 3 field.

Everybody was full-on up the hill. More importantly, they would keep pushing at the summit all the way to the corner, making each lap challenging. About mid-way through the race though, either the field slowed down, or I sped up, but I was able to regain my composure and begin charging up the hill in the front portion of the group.

For some reason, there was a lot of braking in the race, which usually isn't necessary on the downhill portion. Chris Reed mentioned this to me after the race, and I agreed. He has raced this crit many times, and is good at it (He came in around 5th overall this year), so he knows what he is talking about.

Crit racing is such a different form of racing. Especially criteriums with 90 degree corners. It becomes so important to be comfortable and agressive with respect to obtaining the proper positioning. I wasted so much energy taking bad lines, braking, etc. Everyone is strong at this level, so 'wasting energy' is less than ideal.

I took a couple of non sequential laps at the front of the chase group, in hopes of feeling out the field and giving some of my fans (ok, my mom and step-dad), something to cheer about.. The announcer called out my name as well.

So, I was dead last at times, in the lead at times, in the midst at times, all over the place. Towards the last 6 or so laps, I was actually gaining ground on riders on the uphill, in that they began to become obstacles as I ascended. This is a good sign, because that is basically the opposite of getting dropped.

Now that doesn't mean that I felt good about a top finish. A lot of the guys that showed up for this race were from all over the midwest, and they seemed determined to make this race worth their drive.

Bryan Moritz and a guy from West Liberty (now Nortre Dame) made a break. The odd thing about this break, though, is that some of us were so busy hanging on for dear life, that we didn't even notice it. My first clue, was that I couldn't see the pace car up ahead. I just assumed we didn't have one anymore.

It wouldn't have made any difference to me, if I would have been knowlegable about the break, I was simply just doing what I could do. However, it is just an interesting side note. I thought I was 'at the front' of the entire field on those laps that I pulled, I guess I was just in the chase group.

This race paid out $1500, for 15 places and I came in 13th. I don't know how many started and/or finished, but I believe there were around 27 starters. I definately feel more prepared for the rock island criterium now. I will also be better prepared to know what to expect from future cat 3 crits.

Photos from bryan.moritzcycling.com