River Gorge Road Race

This past Saturday was the River Gorge Road Race in Chattanooga, TN.  The short course was 36 miles and ended with a 3.5 mile climb up Raccoon Mountain.  The long course was 59 miles and included a 2.5 mile climb up Sand Mountain before finishing on the same Raccoon Mountain climb as the short course.  Category 4 riders raced the short course and Category 3 riders raced the long course so being a Cat 4 I was planning to race the short course.

The weekend before the race I went down to Chattanooga with a couple Cat 3 racers and another Cat 4 racer to pre-ride and we decided to do the long course.  I had a blast and especially enjoyed the climb up Sand Mountain so I decided to put in an upgrade request to Cat 3 prior to the race.  I was fairly certain it would be approved, but I was still a little nervous until I actually received the approval (two other requests I made earlier in the year had been denied).

Going into the race I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect and if I would be able to stay with the lead group throughout the entire race.  The race started out neutral for the first mile or so, but as soon as the neutral area was finished the pace quickly picked up.  There were several attacks very early and it made the racing exciting.  Someone told me before the race that the only difference between Cat 3 and 4 was the fast was faster, the slow was slower, and there more team tactics.  I agree because I saw all that during the first part of the race.  In fact, at one point I was on the front for what seemed like a couple miles and even though I was keeping an endurance pace, no one would go around me to take the lead.  I decided to see how slow I could go before someone went around me and I made it to 12.5 mph before someone finally did.

I made it towards the front of the pack going into the Sand Mountain climb and was hoping I could stay with the main group (a breakaway of three guys had went clear earlier in the race).  I concentrated on staying on the wheel of the guy in front of me and if I saw him letting a gap open, I moved up to get on the next wheel up.  Halfway up the climb I looked back and realized the group had shattered behind me so that increased my incentive to hang on.  When we got to the top we were about 10 people strong.  Before the descent we picked up two more from the breakaway and by the time we got to the bottom a few more had caught our group.  We ended with about 15 people.  We were also told by the ref that a solo rider was off the front and had about a minute and a half gap on us.  He was in the breakaway and soloed away halfway up Sand.

The rest of the race was pretty uneventful as everyone was waiting for the final climb up Raccoon.  I wanted to hang on as long as possible and was really hoping for a top ten finish.  The 3.5 mile climb is broken into two parts with a short descent coming about 3/4 of the way up.  I was able to hang with the group until about 3/4 of the way up the first part of the climb and then got dropped off the back (by that time several other guys had also).  I worked some with Will Montgomery (who won the Cat 3 TN Best Area Rider) to try and catch the group but he was also in the earlier breakaway and had worked a lot early in the race.  The gap to the guy in front of me stayed the same (just a few seconds) but I wasn't ever able to bring him closer.  I gave my last effort before the finish but still couldn't close it any.  I ended up 11th overall out of 39 guys, 10th out of the group behind the solo winner.  With it being my first Cat 3 race, I was very pleased with the result and can't wait for a full season racing Cat 3.

Also, after the weekend they posted the final Best Area Rider standings and I ended up in third place in Cat 4.

Final Nashville Cyclist Criterium

The final round of the Nashville Cyclist criterium series was today.  I've never made the podium in the four years I've been doing this series and with this being my last chance in 2013, I was really wanting to do well.  This was a 45 minute race with the course consisting of the finish straight, a left turn into a slight uphill, a left into a long straight, a right, a tight left turn into a short straight into another left, and a downhill straight into the finish line.  My Cat 2 team mate Matt gave me some pointers before the race, including the advice to get into my biggest gear going down the downhill before the finish.  My coach Craig (along with Matt) also gave me the advice to sit near the front but not on the front, so that was my plan.  I also wasn't going to attack or chase any breaks, although I would jump into a break or chase if I thought it had a good chance of working.

Before the race started I took a couple laps around the course.  Everyone stared lining up early so I ended up on the third row.  I wasn't too worried about this position since I was wanting to stay off the front anyway.  The race started and I did what I wanted and hung out at the back.  One guy attacked from the gun but the field brought him back after a couple laps.  Shortly after that two guys got away and after a few laps they had a good 40 second gap.  I thought at that point their break may work although it was still early in the race.  Regardless I was still content with sitting at the back.  I even spent a little time chatting with the guy that had attacked at the beginning.

Shortly after that as I was coming down the back stretch Matt, who was watching from the side, told me to move to the front.  I immediately started looking for a chance to move up and it came during the very next downhill straight before the finish line straight.  The field slowed so I was able to put in a very short effort and move to the very front going into the corner.  I went to the very front so that I wouldn't be dive-bombing someone into the corner.  I kept it easy down the finish line straight expecting people to come around me so I could settle into a top 10 spot.  They were content to let me stay where I was so I led down the finish line straight and into the uphill.  Halfway up the uphill David (who was the series points leader and has won numerous races this year) and his strong team mate Pete attacked and I jumped on their wheel.  After a couple corners I was surprised to look back and see it was only us three.  We each took turns making hard pulls and we were able to catch the two-man breakaway in only a couple laps.  David put in a hard effort as we passed them but both were able to hop on.  One of them only lasted about a lap but the other (Nate) was able to hang on even though he had been in a break for the majority of the race already.  David, Pete, and I all took turns pulling hard while Nate did what he could while also trying to recover.  Our lead kept growing and I realized it was going to stick.  We each kept taking turns all the way up to the last lap.  I was sitting 3rd going into the last lap with David behind me.  I wasn't sure when an attack would come but I knew it would.  He attacked on the downhill before the finish stretch.  I reacted but didn't have the kick to get on his wheel. I did what Matt had told me and got into my biggest gear, went into the last corner, and sprinted as hard as I could coming out of it.  I knew I wouldn't be able to catch David but I wanted to hold onto 2nd.  I didn't want to look around to see if I had a gap on Pete so I just kept going as hard as I could hoping not to see him come around me.  I came across the line in 2nd and was very happy to get my first podium in the series, as well as my best finish in a crit or road race.  I've had a lot of fun racing this series this year and I'm looking forward to next year.