oigh veigh Sean....#hydrate
Keith and JP flatted out...Keith flatted so early I think they were still blowing the start whistle when his tire blew.  That left Vlad, Mark and me.  Those guys will have to give you a better report as they were at the pointy end of the race.  I was ensconced in the soft underbelly of the field for the entire race.  Smores, beer, bourbon & a cigar are terrible pre-race rituals...don't do it dudes!!! just don't.  I have really good fitness this year...I've just been suffering with my form the past few weeks.  I feel "depleted".  I'll get my mojo back soon.  I don't know how many dudes get shelled off the back but there weren't too many moves to speak of.  I saw an orange glob up the road a few times...but the breaks looked small and were brought back quickly.  It came down to the field sprint.  I wanted to just see what this new finish was all about so I put myself towards the front and middle of the pack heading into the hill.  This is a bad place to be.  Moves go up the right and left side quickly and you have nowhere to go cept further back in the pack....at that point your race is over.  If you want to place in this finish you need to be very near the front hitting the hill or near the sides were you can follow guys moving up.  It is a very safe finish from what I experienced today.  You need 2 minute power, so not a true sprinters finish anymore.  You can't be an opportunist and follow a wheel in the sprint no more....you need the power at the end to drill it on the hill, crest it and have another surge left in you to sprint = it's tough!
power #'s look good...but I had a case of the stomach bile all race so drink your Six Point AFTER your race, not the night before...that is all.
https://app.strava.com/activities/292873941

Chris, good solid racing today. Please pay attention to your recovery, then you'll find your "mojo" will be back where it belongs!

Results (I'm not so sure my 30th place was correct...me's thinks Vlad was in front of me...just checked bib and I am #178) Results doping?  Either way, any day I finish in front of Wilson Vasquez and Perlberg is a good day...on the results sheet anyway  
https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?year=2015&id=1515

Looks like Patrick scored himself another top 10 finish in the 4s with 9th place this week! Congrats. Looking forward to the reports!

PS. Have some tactical racing questions that came up today? Then sign up for the FREE webinar hosted by Tim of Training Peaks and pick the brains of some pro racers.

Yes cat IV race report please....

cat 4 report:

first prospect race of 2015, seemed slowish- the cat v group passed us. I hung out in the front for a small portion of the race, chilled with Bruce a little bit, one break went up the road for two laps with two riders but got dq'ed for passing the pace vehicle (there was some confusion when our field got overtaken)
i noticed that Patrick had good position the whole race, very close to the front but not in the wind. On the last lap going downhill my chain fell off when I hit a pothole, I started going backwards in the peloton but got my chain on by the time we reached the Bottom. 

Jeff white hollered "bring me to the front" (first mission as a kissena-oh yeh) so i whipped up the right side with Jeff on my wheel and delivered him to the front right past the ice skating rink. I then limped into 50 something place. Fun race, and I met some new faces that go with the names on this forum. 

Strange Karma today at the race, I agree with Chaim; the pace was painfully slow with some surges here and there which made me wary of a potential mega crash and thank God this did not happened. Foundation was in control of the race with their guns solidly at the front of the pack. One Wafel dude was repeatedly getting on the jogger's lane in order to gain position ( I told the official about it ) and after a few laps  I heard a spat between 2 riders who were ready to fight it out after the race ( really??). About 2 laps to go, I hit a pothole during the descent and my back wheel seized because the skewer was too loose ( F&^ me!) and I was done unfortunately but I had a great time being in the park with you guys. The team looked very strong and I'll be back this Saturday.

Today’s Cat 4 L&C race was unusual. For starters, it was slow. There were definitely attacks and we were strung out at times, but too often we were plodding along at 20 miles an hour. The headwind on the northbound section and the fact that only South Shore and Foundation had any numbers besides Kissena and no one seemed to want to commit to setting a hard tempo. 

It is humbling to see how little came of my stroll off the front at 1:16:30. I had a Waffles guy marking me for whatever reason. Once the jig was up, I led the field into the bottom part of the uphill and then pulled off. Super boring race.

"Podium!" Sort of.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DFfFk7hrhlaHOKYDxIXVoLyqcWyN8RHOxDStVoh2LiQ/edit

So, without getting into an entire race narrative of the 1/2/3 event, I think a number of you might have seen me roll across the finish line with a fairly substantial gap to take the second sprint, and you might be surprised to hear how it happened.

Or, how it didn't.

I did not, at any time, "attack." This might come as a surprise to many who have ridden with me and know that my preferred racing weapon is the short sharp accelerating attack, and given the proximity of the finish line to the climb, it's a pretty natural fit.

But in this case, after about 1/3 a lap at the back of the field (I was pretty tired, needed to rehydrate, refocus, and since the field was not going anywhere, I was okay with letting myself drift back this one time), I got closer to the front on the false-flat leading into the climb. Things started picking up. I was 5th or so wheel, guys started peeling off/dying as the climb wore on. Soon I was second wheel and first wheel was going too slow, I took over the front, I kept the pressure on, in the saddle and just kept turning over the cranks. I look back and see a gap to the field. "Whu-hu?"

Okay, keep it rolling. I stay seated, and my gap grows. By the time I reach the entry to the left turning chute, I look down at my power meter, I look back one more time, and know that at this point, all I have to do is a few minutes of moderate VO2 wattage and the field cannot catch me.

It was one of my goals, to score points, but honestly, not how I expected to win sprint points. A little anti-climatic, but I'll take it.

Oh man...I would love to help put you on that podium...I won't be there this weekend though...podium's are hot !
Yacks

twoyacks said:

Oh man...I would love to help put you on that podium...I won't be there this weekend though...podium's are hot !
Yacks

No worries man, I'm out for the next couple of races too. Turkey Hill this weekend, then off the next, then heading to Wilmington and Baltimore for a couple of bigger crits.

The real eye-opener and reason I wrote the story, was that it makes me believe that as a team, we're not necessarily out of contention even if it's going to be a "sprint finish." #newfinish #youprobablyalreadyknewthat

Who is "Etsu?  I'm hearing he went down at the race...hit a water bottle.  I did see a bottle flash past me on the downhill and then the sound of thunder.  Bad stuff....which brings me to this question...what the hell should you do when you see a water bottle approaching your front wheel?

Etsu crashed at Quabbin Prosepct He rides for FGX

I'm sure Etsu was at Sunday's race at Prospect. I thought I saw Charlie attending to him after a crash. Ambulance pulled up after. 

Phillip Maronilla said:

I'm sure Etsu was at Sunday's race at Prospect. I thought I saw Charlie attending to him after a crash. Ambulance pulled up after. 

Yes, I was wrong about Quabbin.

twoyacks said:

Who is "Etsu?  I'm hearing he went down at the race...hit a water bottle.  I did see a bottle flash past me on the downhill and then the sound of thunder.  Bad stuff....which brings me to this question...what the hell should you do when you see a water bottle approaching your front wheel?

I generally just ride over them if I can't avoid them. They pop open quickly.

vlad said:

twoyacks said:

should you do when you see a water bottle approaching your front wheel?

I generally just ride over them if I can't avoid them. They pop open quickly.

Depends on the design.  Not all open easily.  Trying to hop up the front wheel a bit is a little safer.  

I seriously dont understand why people dont get better bottle cages. I saw a few bottles on the ground during the race all along the course.

I am a reacting front wheel hopper

I still have intermittent terror attacks about the water bottle that I dodged on the downhill at KSR.

Dude it's haunting...like a drone strike 

I dropped a bottle at the race. I literally just dropped it out of my hand into the gutter. I am just getting old

I saw an OSMO bottle at the base of the hill. Was that yours?

Anyone racing this on Saturday? Doesn't look like there's too many prereg'd.  I'm in for the 1,2,3

Jeff Condon said:

Anyone racing this on Saturday? Doesn't look like there's too many prereg'd.  I'm in for the 1,2,3

I'll be at Turkey Hill on Saturday.

FWIW, if it doesn't look like registration is going to close online, I recommend doing it "on-site," as it's been a few weeks without KCC cash back, but I think some folks have gotten discounts when registering in person.

That's what I'm doing ....#makeapennyscream

I'll be racing L&C this Saturday.  Don't have the time to drive to Turkey Hill and back.

Too late. I prereg'd. I actually got cash back at the Kissena Spring Classic with a pre-reg. A lot of teams look to be in full force for Saturday. I'm getting off of a sickness and some travel so have been off the bike for a bit, but willing to do what I can do. 

I just pre reg'd.   getting to the porta pod trumps saving $$$