BOOM!

I lasted half a race. I was midpack the whole time and I knew and kept telling myself I wouldn't last in that spot and gotta move up. I was doing interval each lap by that small rise after corner two. I needed more and more time to recover from that and towards the end, I needed an entire lap to recover. End of the line for me. 

Fast race, there were only a couple of times the field bunched up. Some guy was off the front coming into the line and won. 

Very humid out so drink drink drink.

Rode home with Niall and Sean. Good times.

That photo is scary -- Mr no control straight arms v dingus with one hand on the bars. 

Do we have a pic to tweet of Mr Miles winning Cat 5? (Congrats Sean!).

Got to the race via a closed to traffic Bronx River Parkway in time to see Kayt finish up her race. There was a strong group of 6 off the front of her race, and she looked comfortable in the pack racing for 7th.

Vlad, JP and I were in the 1/2/3s. Smaller field than usual. About 40 or so starters. Biggest guns I think were in DC racing the Airforce Classics, or in New Jersey at Riverton. I forgot to check the results. I think JP was our highest placed. Vlad was rock solid racing a challenging crit as well as I've seen him. At the front, getting in some moves, chasing down danglers off the front. I went after 3 primes and won one (Sommerville Sports base layer and cycling cap--two things I actually need!). I got pipped for a $40 prime by a dude who basically sat on my wheel for 3 laps at the end of the race when we were off the front. All's fair in love and war, but still, that was annoying.

Next up for me, heading home-ish in a few days for midwest crit racing at it's best at Tour of America's Dairyland. I'll be contesting the cat 2/3 races, but if the legs are there, I'll jump into one or two of the pro races as well/instead. In the past United Healthcare, Optum, Astellas, Bissel, have all sent teams, so you know with actual pro teams, I'll have to be very good before even entertaining the idea.

Results bro:

https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2015-1706&bypass=1

I'm only seeing 25 finishers for the cat 4s? I think we had about 50 starters at the line. 

Phillip Maronilla said:

I'm only seeing 25 finishers for the cat 4s? I think we had about 50 starters at the line. 

Seem like then, there was some inconsistent reporting of DNFs. Other categories list a few, some list none.

For the data hungry, I set my Joule GPS+ to interval mark every lap in the 1/2/3 race. We complete 59 laps. Our first lap at 1:06 was the fastest. Our slowest was 1:22. Lots in the 1:10 to 1:17 range. Average speed was 24.4 mph.

Hell yes Sean!

Race was mellow for the first couple laps, a few different guys went off the front and stayed out there for 2-5 laps. Not too much happened during the middle of the race except for two teammates running into each other with about six to go causing one of them and this guy Jensen from Pactimo to crash. With three to go we started to really push the pace and I wound up on the front with about 2 left which I didn't like so I pretty much sat up and let some others take the pulls at the front.  I knew at that point my plan was to attack on the last lap going up the hill on the backside because all the big sprinter types would try and power up the hill out of the saddle and would slow down over the top.  So I attacked just after the base of the hill, got a gap and made it home. Definitely a pretty cool feeling crossing that line without anyone in front.

CONGRATULATIONS SEAN!!

Great job Sean 

If those are from the final sprint the results-bros mixed up ponytails.  Shows in order of KCC finishes: JP>Vlad>Marc, but that photo shows Vlad then JP and presumably Marc already crossed the finish line? 

Results also says Ragot finished just ahead of Vlad, but that looks like Rene to me.

Also, Donny Clark won the P/1/2/3.  Great for him, really nice dude and another one of those riders that crushed their way through cat 4 last year.  I have a feeling Sean is on a similar track...

One more thing, did anyone else notice the mismatched shoes on the 3rd place finisher in Sean's podium photo?

Well, you're wrong... this was somewhere towards the end of the race where I bridged to a group that may have just gone for a prime.

vlad said:

Well, you're wrong... this was somewhere towards the end of the race where I bridged to a group that may have just gone for a prime.

That'll explain it.  I mistook your "sprint'nnn" to mean that the photos were taken at the final sprint.

SeanMiles said:

Race was mellow for the first couple laps, a few different guys went off the front and stayed out there for 2-5 laps. Not too much happened during the middle of the race except for two teammates running into each other with about six to go causing one of them and this guy Jensen from Pactimo to crash. With three to go we started to really push the pace and I wound up on the front with about 2 left which I didn't like so I pretty much sat up and let some others take the pulls at the front.  I knew at that point my plan was to attack on the last lap going up the hill on the backside because all the big sprinter types would try and power up the hill out of the saddle and would slow down over the top.  So I attacked just after the base of the hill, got a gap and made it home. Definitely a pretty cool feeling crossing that line without anyone in front.

Well done sean well deserved. 

I ended up doing the Masters race, a last minute decision based on my daughter's change in softball schedule. The pace was pretty steady but I felt decent. Three guys went off early in the race and no one cared to chase. They ended up staying out there and took the podium. There were plenty of other break attempts but none stayed away. My plan was to sit in and not do too much to bring breaks back and save myself for later in the race. I did chase a couple things later on in the race but still felt okay.  ON the last lap I was about 12th wheel and lost some places in corner 3 (along with my nerve). After the last corner I was able to take a few places back up the hill and ended up 18th (6th Cat 3 for those who are counting, and yes I'm counting).  I pretty much knew that  Sam Frias was likely to win the sprint but saw him drop back before turn two. I guess he didn't want to be so far up. I should have just jumped on his wheel and tried to follow him into a top 10 placing.  My numbers were pretty good, so I'll take it.  Fun weekend of Masters racing for this old man. 

Jeff White, I didn't see your name in the results, how did your race go?

My race was fine. I finished mid-pack. The published results are highly dubious.

The legs were not great today, which is what my lackluster performance can be boiled down to in the end. But we go to the races with the legs we have, not the legs we wish we had. My issue in all tight crits like this is that I ride really well at, near, and off the front. Once I get amoeba'd past the shoulder (inevitable at times) I suffer from unending anxiety due to the insanity lines occurring in the mid-pack region of a cat 4 crit. I touch brakes in every single turn and have probably 5x more close calls there. 

It is virtually impossible to stay ahead of the shoulder the entire 40 or whatever laps of a crit like this, so I need to find a way to get back up past it after getting caught behind.

Any tips?

First, there have got to be some guys who are better than others at cornering.  When you have to follow, choose those wheels.  

Second, figure out where the field typically slows.  Use those spots to jump places.

Third, once you re/gain confidence, use that to move up.  Even in good I/II fields, the folks better at cornering can dive on the inside to take a few places, or command the best line just by moving slightly ahead of a less confident rider.  

And, while I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for the IV's, but for masters and higher categories, there are definitely good wheels to follow.  If you can line up behind them early, you can get a great hands-on course of where the good lines are and how to take them.  

Late in the race, following good wheels can make a difference, too.  I expect several are going to try to follow Scott Savory or Ricky Lowe on the final laps of a crit, but Juan Pineda is a smarter racer, and not likely to crash,  so I'd go with him if I see him start heading for the front.  

Jeff, this as you know is the toughest part of crit racing. And you're not alone. Many of us are at this level where the fitness/skills are sharp enough that we're not just hanging on, now we're trying to figure out how to place.

Every crit is going to be different but in general...

• Choose your battles. You're right, it's near impossible to be 100% present at the front of a crit all day long. ESPECIALLY crits that have lots of swelling/swarming because of dramatic swings in speed. You can't cover everything, the trick is recognizing when do you NEED to be at the front? There are lots of answers to that question, but the last 5-10 laps of a crit is ALWAYS one of those answers.
• Teamwork. So if you've got friends to help you stay out of the wind, cover moves, then this will take some of the stress off of you. In our race, Vlad was starting to move backwards after a move off the front. I rolled up next to him to remind him to stay focused, but NOT to worry about the next move. I had that. Sure enough coming up the homestretch, a thread of dudes attacks on the far right. I see Vlad twitch and I can feel how badly he wants to jump after it, but I give him a look as I'm accelerating to get on the move.
  
• Alternate Lines. So, even though this was only a .5 mile course, a "short" course by most any standard, I found it quite wide open. And with relatively short straightaways taking the "alt line" that might have left you in the wind for a few pedal strokes offered up very little penalty. I found moving up on the outside on turns 1, 2 quite effective (while everyone else was hugging/braking through the apex) and in turn 3, I just carried more speed by taking it wide letting me rest even more. The only turn that I wanted to hit the apex was turn 4 which was among the widest of the course. However on that turn, coming out of the turn (remember we've talked about exit speed before), if you had riders on your left, you had a nice pocket of draft. Also the wider lines allowed me to pedal through turns 3 and 4. You might feel more solid/stuck to the pavement, if you can pedal through turns. Turn 2, my field was allergic to the left side where the pavement was less than butter smooth, but quite rideable. I used that as an "express lane" to the front quite often. Gearing here was important. Not to start this argument again, but most of the folks around me were just slower going up the hill, pounding a big gear, out of the saddle, while I spun up seated most every lap. Being able to spin is very useful skill in crit racing especially.
• Energy Savings. So say this race is coming down to a bunch sprint, If you've spent all day hammering out of every corner, the last 1/3 of the race is just going to suck. As the laps tick down, the intensity goes up, the anxiety goes up. And if you've managed to spend most of your race making good choices about where you put out watts and where you spin to recover, then you'll have more energy in reserve. And if the energy stores are good, the legs feel better, then the whole anxiety level gets notched down a bit. So in those last 10 laps, if you get nudged out of a fast strung out section, instead of panic, and burning, you can easier shrug it off because you can handle the extra wattage in the wind for a minute or so until you can get yourself back in line. And so any way you can reasonably save energy in the front half the of race and still be in the race, is going to help as the laps count down. Remember the example of where I followed after an attack, that Vlad wanted to jump on? There is an "energy savings" example in that moment too. Did I go max watts as soon as I saw two people fly by? Absolutely not. There was no need to burn that kind of match. In my head, I count to 10, gently but swiftly accelerate and by turn 1, I was in line on those wheels and ready to go. And I didn't have to go deep to do it. I mean sometimes you do have to dig deep, but mostly, it helps to be patient.
  
• Expect It. Accept it. You know how it's easier to handle the climb on the group ride if you know it? Is the climb any less steep or long? No, but your brain knows what it's going to feel like, you know the dips and dives, and the familiar climb is so much "easier" than anything else. Well, you have to know, that the end of crits is just going to be, messy and scary and dangerous. Always. Then that knowledge should help you not only re-focus, re-energize.
• Race with a plan. If you go into the race with a solid team and individual racing plan, then when things get sketchy, it's easier to fall back on the knowledge of what you need/should be doing based on that pre-race planning and discussions. And if you are sharing the workload with teammates, it makes it easier to motivate to get to where you are supposed to be, if you've got a teammate off the front doing their thing. And while this team in general has done at least an okay job of coming up with a plan for the opening and middle stages of a given race, our "end game" planning is virtually non-existent.

Okay, I've got more to say...but it's late, and I've got 14 hours of quality car time starting in just a handful of hours. Hopefully this has been helpful.

Very savvy racing Sean, Chapeau!

Nailed it!

First of many.

Marc, I'm impressed by the amount of time and energy you give to your responses. As usual there is a lot of useful info in your mentoring. Even though i didn't post the original question, thanks. 

^a double agree for Marc and WHAT A BADASS PHOTO!

Way way early, but White Plains Crit is the 2016 NYS Criterium Championships race.  June 5th.  I'm so completely out of shape right now, but my dream-goal is to crack the top 10 again, either myself or by helping a teammate.

David Yang said:

Way way early, but White Plains Crit is the 2016 NYS Criterium Championships race.  June 5th.  I'm so completely out of shape right now, but my dream-goal is to crack the top 10 again, either myself or by helping a teammate.

I'm glad to read that you are thinking of this race. Will be a reminder/motivator for winter training! June 5 is a nice date especially for those who are getting fit and planning on racing the Memorial Day Weekend crit events in New Jersey. Should be a fast day.

Good vibes at this course. Will be targeting this race for sure. We can definitely have a strong showing in the 4's.