gold! http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cycling/Grants-Tomb-31012/Cat-4/21877238_SSgZpG#!i=1744349571&k=bfTM2VL&lb=1&s=XL

Started in front of the church and Ragot quickly took the lead so I jumped on his wheel and making position a priority.

Moved back to about 20th position and coming out of the before the slight uphill before the finish a guy tried to merge in to the pack without looking so I leaned in to him and we wobbled a little. Was a little bit of a scare but no blood no foul. I believe on lap thee there was a little lull in the field so I attacked and found myself with a small gap on the filed with the guy who was in the purple onesie:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_bro/6970505595/


We were quickly swallowed up by the pack. Things stayed together for the most part I think WDC went for a break but no one really bridged up they just brought the pack along with them. At this point in the race I was think about two things. 1) working on the 5 and 15 and 2) moving up around turns. I am blown away how easy it is to gain positions by doing pedaling. For the most part of the course I would ride the outside lines except the right after the sharp uphill (there you wanted to be inside so you don't get pinched at the turn) and the slow rise before the finish line because of the cross winds.

Things stayed together for about 3 laps? then there was a hard drive at the front:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_bro/6824397652/in/set-72157629191463850/

Which started a six man break and I thought we might be able to close the deal if we worked together well:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_bro/6970523757/in/set-72157629191463850/

As it turns out we weren't able to stay away very long perhaps a lap or two at best (5 laps left in race). Two of the guys who were in the break counted there own move (rapha guy and ship guy) and Joe Jacobs bridged up. Here is where I fucked up royally. Joe went flying by a cosmic guy looked at me and said he couldn't hold his wheel I felt pretty bad and I figured people would be pumped to reel them back in so I just smiled and slid back in to the pack to recover. In retrospect I watched the winning break ride off because I didn't feel like I had that effort in me.

As I sat happily in the pack I figured that the break had been brought back not really realizing that Mike and WDC were trying to bridge and pull back the break not create a break:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_bro/6824405012/in/set-72157629191463850/

With one to go I came up to find WDC pretty close to the front and mike on my wheel I figured we were in great shape for the lead out to the finish. Right then WDC took off and I thought he was he was going for a last lap solo flyer. As we went in to turn 2 and I was focused on moving up and I hear mike yell something like go? So I kept moving up and found myself about 20 back pretty much the perfect position because I knew people were going to pull off and explode so all I had to do was follow wheels to the finish. Not able to get around the last couple guys I ended up 4th in the field sprint 8th overall:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_bro/6970537037/in/set-72157629191463850/

Tough day but I really liked the full course.

^dooooope

Nice recap - and with photos to boot!

I'm gonna start racing with my saddle bag too:

http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cycling/Grants-Tomb-31012/Cat-4/21877238_SSgZpG#!i=1744348152&k=9DrHfMp

Jeff its not a saddle bag its a small "Cancellara hidden motor"

Great report Joe. I'm really pumped about the way you raced; the result is well deserved.

And, I think you actually got 7th:
http://www.usacycling.org/results/?permit=2012-801

From my end, started slow, but the race seemed way easier than last year. No problems in turns. Just cruising around. Not much action seems to be happening but just keeping an eye out mid pack.

About half way through the race coming toward the finish line I flat. Somehow the bead of the tire bulged free and the tube pushed out and exploded. Ouch!
Need to file my lawyer tabs off, but plenty of time to pit and got a wheel from Stokes. Best part of the pit was hypothermia suffering Jules taking off my wheel, getting a new wheel from stokes, and then saying "who needs a wheel?" Uhhh, the guy standing here next to you with no wheel on his bike.

Anyway, restarted towards the front. Moved around. Saw the move go away but wasn't in position to get across. Set tempo at the front and tried to keep the gap manageable. Made an effort to get across but fell short. Was going to chase and bring it home (I swear I could have done it) when I saw WIlliam attacking. I sat up and tired to slow things up a bit but got pushed back too far. I was pretty much a non-factor from there on out.

Joe collected me but I got pinched off his wheel. I should have been more aggressive but Joe was navigating the pack well solo so I encouraged him to move up.

Only my 3rd crit, much better than last year, but I still have much to learn. Joe had a bit of that killer instinct today which really paid off.

@ Mike: ha! I forgot about that. My fingers were so numb I couldn't feel anything. Those f-ing lawyer tabs... glad I didn't chowder it hard enough to penalize you in the race!

Looked at the results - comical to be sure. They got the riders one lap down correct, but those that just soft pedalled off the back on the last lap - me, WDC, got DNF! Sorry, but somebody screwed up. Not that is matters, except in USCF rankings...

NICE!!!

Posted By: josephmueller
With one to go I came up to find WDC pretty close to the front and mike on my wheel I figured we were in great shape for the lead out to the finish. Right then WDC took off and I thought he was he was going for a last lap solo flyer.

But was he in the drops? Harhar. Seriously though, what happened in the last lap? Ragot and WDC soft-pedaling off the back? Me confused.

no

it's true

i DNF'ed

with 3 to go, i attacked the group and tried to bridge to the (winning) break. i got close, but couldn't make it, started falling apart and was gobbled up/shat to the back. i tried to move up with one to go, but the legs were totally hollow at the point and i drifted back, pulled out at the little hill and watched the finish.

race from my perspective was sort of hectic and shitty: i attacked a bunch of times and either brought ZERO people with me or EVERYONE with me. FUCK!

the only useful thing i did was bridge up to Joe's break, but the moment i got there (totally hypoxic) the winning break of three attacked out of it. i didn't even have the breath to holler at joe to tell him to do my job!

in retrospect, i should have stayed at the front and pulled with 3 to go rather than attempting to bridge - maybe i could have mustered some help to bring it back. instead, i went for the stupid glory and ended up dying like a dry fish.

big ups to joe - super glad he pulled off a placing.

my one big takeaway from the race was that we didn't talk much - it's super important (especially when we're going hard and our brains are shutting down) to stay close to your teammates and continue communicating with them, even if it's just to say "hi! i'm here! i'm alive!" granted, it's hard to do in a messy 5 turn crit, but that sort of social pressure/awareness has (at least for me) huge effects on performance.

looking forward to the next one.

Hmmm. I finished. Just off the back. Jp gave me a what the?

I'm conflicted. On the one hand, Joe's finish was great. I would kill for a top 10 in most any race I enter. On the other hand, you guys are better than that. I'm greedy and want more!

Posted By: WilliamDC
with 3 to go, i attacked the group and tried to bridge to the (winning) break. i got close, but couldn't make it, started falling apart and was gobbled up/shat to the back. i tried to move up with one to go, but the legs were totally hollow at the point and i drifted back, pulled out at the little hill and watched the finish.

Good try! As you now know from experience, that kind of effort that late in the race is going to be your last of the race.

Posted By: eragot
my one big takeaway from the race was that we didn't talk much - it's super important (especially when we're going hard and our brains are shutting down) to stay close to your teammates and continue communicating with them,

Couldn't agree more. It's okay to freelance, or fall back on the "we know what to do" strategy for the early to middle parts of the race, but with 3 or 5 or 10 to go, it sooooper important to on the same page.

When I read things in Joe's race report such as, "Right then WDC took off and I thought he was he was going for a last lap solo flyer," or....

Posted By: mperlbergWas going to chase and bring it home (I swear I could have done it) when I saw WIlliam attacking. I sat up and tired to slow things up a bit but got pushed back too far. I was pretty much a non-factor from there on out.

I clench my fist, look skyward and shout, "Khaaaan!" I'm never going to be a fan of the last laps flaming shots at glory, but that's not to say they don't have their place (just not my style--which can be described mostly as "sleepy" I think), but your teammates have to know what's going on. HAVE TO. Please. Thank you.

Going back through the beginning through the beginning of this thread and the discussion of this race, one thing that everyone seemed to agree upon was that best option was to get in and win from break. If not set up some dude (preferably someone in a Kissena kit) for the sprint. From my reading (literally in this case as I was not there to spectate) of the race (reports), it sounds like Joe was left to freelance it at the end. No more freelancing, please (unless that's part of the plan).

Buzzing all weekend. Trawled through Victor Chan's photos and bought this (for my mum of course). My girlfriend wants to wallpaper the bathroom with it. It was awesome to see a Kissena in the front three virtually every shot and also relive all the race events; Jules dragging the field around, Vollbach, Tito, Jeff's and Gardiner super aggressive all day. Looking forward to the next Kissena op. Would love to hear more RR's: White? Joji? Any thoughts on doing it better? Obviously the train was short a few cars... but given the crazy pants last three laps that was no surprise. Plus we had Jules and Tito out. You OK Tito? That's a fierce race face you've got there.

Congrats again Cat 4s!

To me, what was most impressive about this race from the reader's perspective is how well you guys stuck to the plan. Namely, the super-vague plan that we all tend to go into every race with, called "try to get in breaks, if not, set up for sprint and win." Even more impressive is that the plan is totally working. Not without effort and thought though.

Harry asked

Posted By: harry bolickMalcolmson out front early 3-4laps(why? thought he was going for spring finish w/Mattie &co),

Good question. Because the start of crits are so frenetic, a lot of times it's worth singeing a few matches by being aggressive in the early stages of the race to get/keep you in good position when the race settles down a bit. John's race report says a lot, and his experience confirms a lot of what I feel like we preach during group rides, pre-race rides, clinics and on the forum.

John said in his report, "got to front position by first turn and realized that this was the place to be... even better all the team had made it up too and so I started attacking. It was hard, but I don't think as bad as being towards the rear—the whiplash out of every corner must have been awful. On the front you could just nail every apex full power and not touch the brakes."

The less you hammer the brakes, the fewer intervals you do. Fewer intervals during a race are always better.

Mattie agreed when he reported, "The hill didn't really make the race tougher, imo. People just didn't hit it hard. I would take a reasonable line, pedal through, and be up peoples asses powering through in the saddle."

Trust me on this one. That hill was excruciating for guys bunched in the middle to the back of the pack. Near the beginning of this thread Mattie, having never done the "long course" asked about how hill impacted the race. I responded that it depends, but for me, it always made the race easier. Based on his excellent race, I'm guessing he's hoping for the long course next year too!

John's report continues as the end is near, "then I hear a shout "4 laps to go", so I'm trying to find Jules Renshaw, but his handle bars fell off (weak!). Then, I'm trying to stay near Vollbach, Jeff, Gardiner and Mattie."

This to me is key. John's first thought is: End of the race, where are my teammates? The breakaways have come and gone, despite best efforts, it's coming down to a a group sprint and so the team gets to work. But it's not easy. John says "I'm trying to stay near..." It's going to take work to stay together in the closing laps of a crit, but as you already know, it's soooo important.

The Killer Kiwi's story continues, "One guy solos then two guys attack and look good going into last 3 laps, but Vollbach drilled it from the bottom of punchy climb stringing it out. NYVelo guy tries to bridge to the two guys away."

Big, BIG props to Vollbach for keeping his cool and dragging that shit back. A lot of racers will just explode away from the field, creating havoc and more mayhem by trying to bridge up to those final hero attacks. Instead Vollbach kept it strong and steady and orderly to minimize chaos. That is the ideal way to use those computrainer/alpine PR mega watts at the end of a race.

An inspired Malcolmson, will not be outdone by Vollbach and does the same thing knowing Mattie is locked and loaded and ready to go:

"Coming into the final turn at top of course thinking if these two away have any sprint we're in trouble. Drill it out of the seat from the corner (as per practice laps with Marc B. weekend prior), pass them, hug the curb, bump one, bump two start to blow, back in the seat and mash it, look around, time to sit up! GYMKATA!"

Winning that race by leading the field from the bottom of the course is HUGE. What's great about his move there though, is that John wasn't actually going for the sprint, he was going to shut down the NYVelocity heroes so that Mattie could close the deal. So if he blew up at the top of the first little rise on the homestretch, where mere mortals would have blown up, that would have left Mattie in perfect position to close the deal. The fact that he went all medieval on everyone's ass, with Mattie exercising a little backroom trickery to help, is just a bonus. The Cat 4s would have been golden regardless, because they went in with a plan, and stuck to it.

Huge team win guys. You guys should be super, super proud of yourselves. Because even if you didn't get a win, your racing would have still been super pro.

I've been reliving, ruing (my limited contribution) and celebrating that race since Saturday.

Always so many things to do better...

I am (was) in awe not just of John's "infinite sprint" but also of his ability to stay top 15 so consistently throughout the race. What can I say? Experience counts. Add some Medieval Mad Kiwi Power and you get a result like John's; a lead that is measured in double digit bike lengths from the next guys...!

In general I found myself over-correcting - too far forward, too far back, etc. It was easier than I thought to "singe" a few matches to get farther up when I wanted to, and it was totally worth it. Near the front it was not the acceleration-leg-smashing race I'd feared.

Also, I didn't realize when I got to the front how much (if any) damage I was doing to the field - if I had it to do over again I'd have stayed first wheel for several more laps and really tried to grind they guys in the back down. Instead I found myself on the front and immediate though "yikes! bad! bad! get out of the wind!" and when I eased off again I over-corrected and got swallowed by the bunch.

John graciously neglected to mention that I totally failed to understand his early race hand signal - did he mean "GO!" or did he mean "Get to the front!" or did he mean, "see that line up there? I'm going to be first across it?" Bewildered I just did more of what I was doing.

One thing that I am ever more a fan of is practice; John & I must've done that final corner 10 times (if not more) in warmup and it really helped in being able to pick a good line, and fully appreciate how hard we could take it. That little hill would have caught me in too big a gear if I had not tested it 10+ times to really get the rhythm.

I am a little worried that Johnny "Wrongway" (does he need a new nickname now?) is going to get kicked to the 3's right away now and we've lost our chance for lead-out nirvanna... but if he's got to move up, what a way to do it!

@ Marc.

I should rephrase. William was trying to bridge. The break, which ended up winning, was right there. Maybe 5 seconds. It was a legit move.

Joe freelanced the finish. Good work, but yeah, not ideal.

there was certainly some confusion and a lack of communication for us in this race.

i saw we chalk it up to Early Season Wiggles and be extra committed to learning from out mistakes.

we had a lot of good instincts individually, but failed to effectively work off each other as a team.

i'm pumped that joe salvaged a result. in retrospect, it would probably have been better if i'd worked at teh front to reel in the break, rather than trying to bridge to it alone, but i was cross-eyed and not thinking straight.

if you guys see me near the end of the race, assume i've reached Point Stupid and start giving me orders - i will respond!

Quick question, there was some talk on this thread, given Kissena's numbers, in going for 2-up teammate attacks...did that ever happen? If so, how did they play out?

Quick questions: There was talk of collusion with Al B and his BH teammates on this thread. Did it happen, if so how did those moves play out? Also wondering how Rene and Stokes felt during the race?

Al B had food poisoning the night before and didn't race.

Saw some BH guys hanging around but not much seemed to be happening.

Rene hung in there but said wasn't feeling good for the sprint.

Insightful reports guys, and well done on the great result!

@ Marc. Thanks for the compliments and analysis, good food for thought. Dave V. and Dave G. tried the two man attack and they looked good until I foolishly hitched a free ride over and then, a little over excited, overdid my pulls and caused some gaps. I think Jules' post above is really relevant—we practiced, practiced, practiced, discussed strategy the week before and the morning of... riding up from BK we went through it all again. Super helpful. Because I'd sprinted that last stretch before, a few times, I knew I could "go-long" without exploding. Wish there were more crit's in NY!

@ Jules, you definitely thinned the bunch out with your 2 minute power. My pointing up the road like a gospel singer, was the order to "release the Kraken", there was a lull, and I thought more pressure would bust open the race even more, which you did.

I'm excited about the Cat 4 team, because I think we can keep doing this. It was evident that we have a killer team... we have practice, preparation, communication, goals. I'm curious to hear what other people think what other variables help develop a winning team. Maybe this is for a separate "winning ways" thread. I can think of a few more tactical things that help:
- if you're suffering at the front of the race, everyone else is probably suffering just as badly and it's probably a good time for a winning move to go.
- tighten the crap out of your shoe buckles for the sprint
- if you're sprinting, hug one side so that: 1) it that makes it harder for people to sit on and come around you (cross wind for example) 2) You only need to cover one side.
- simulate a real sprint every ride. 30 second intervals are fine but when you're practicing winning, you win more. We'd do this nearly every ride when I was racing in NZ: We'd do heaps of match sprints: jockeying for position, handling, surprising your opponents. One fun training game is to jump when a certain color car passes you. You jump for the next streetlight or crosswalk (or land post as we call them back home).

On a different subject: Al at Ride Brooklyn is kindly cross-promoting the club. It says there RB are sponsoring us, anyone know what the deal is? When this will kick in?
http://brooklynbicycles.com/

@ Ashley, thanks and welcome to the club! (assuming you're new to Kissena).

@ John, next time I'll know; can't tell you how dumb I felt/feel at having missed the Kracken-Freeing opportunity. Good fuel for next time!

Ride Brooklyn sponsorship = awesome. Congrats to whomever made this happen. You rewl.

I think we have Mitch Sonies to thank for initiating this. Thanks Mitch!

Thanks Mitch!!