I skipped William & Mary this year. Kinda felt bad about it, but I generally do not race in the rain, and certainly not when it's COLD and rainy. Reports from that race ranged from "unfavorable" to "screw that". And it's not a BAR race, so there was no real sense taking that kind of risk that early in the season.
But without doing W&M, the pre-season jitters don't go away until the first BAR crit: Shamrock. If I could make just one polite suggestion to any future racer(s) who may stumble upon this blog, try not to start your road season with a crit. Everybody's excited, but we've all been on trainers all winter, so nobody has any bike-handling skills. I'd only even ridden in a pace line three times this calendar year before toeing the start line.
But Shamrock is the beginning of the BAR season, the races that count toward the season championship, and I was determined to get some points.
As with both previous years, the weather was much colder than the forecast had predicted, and the winds were typically strong, though this time blowing straight into your face on the finish. The Garmin recorded an average temp of 37-F, with about a 10 mph wind from ENE.
The race was mostly uneventful. No successful breaks, and though there were a few flyers, the pack never let anything get more than 5 seconds away. I tried a couple of times with other guys, but it was clear the group was not going to let go. We even had a couple of perfectly-timed counter-attacks from a new team member, but the group was super motivated.
I had even managed to hold on to some matches as the race wore on, surfing 2nd & 3rd wheel for a significant portion of the final 3rd of the race, but then with 5 laps to go, the prime bell rang.
I had just moved out front, into the wind, with the intention of pulling for no more than 10 seconds, and I was sure I'd get swamped as folks lined up to go after the prime. But nobody came around through turn 1, and nobody even moved on me in the huge lane between there and turn 2. I ran at the front down-wind to turn 3, ready to cede the front to anyone who'd take it, but as we came through turn 3, it was clear nobody wanted it. I even stepped way off the gas coming through turn 4, but again: nobody jumped. So I jumped, because dammit I wasn't going to tow everyone around for a whole lap and then NOT win the prime. In the closing feet, I saw someone jump out to my left and run me down, and I was about spent and waaaay into the red on heart-rate, but I just barely eked it out and won the prime, whereupon I sank like a rock.
It was all I could do to get moving again without getting spit out the back, and coming out of turn 2 I felt someone's bars bounce off my backside. I totally expected to hear a crash behind me, but thankfully the rider kept it upright. No idea why he tried to pass outside me when I was only a couple inches off the dirt.
My race ruined, I settled into the middle of the pack and tried to re-gather any strength I could, though in that field I knew it was over for me.
When the final bell rang, I was probably in 30th position. But I saw a friendly wheel in front of me and figured I'd follow whatever he did. We picked up 5 - 10 spots between turns 1 & 2. Entering turn 2, the same rider who'd hit me 3 laps before hit someone else, went down hard, and took out several others. And though it happened right beside me, it made everyone check up just the tiniest bit. The leaders had gotten through unscathed and were already gone, but suddenly "mid-pack" was back in the mix for points, which pay 15 deep.
I willed my dead legs to do something--anything--and get to the line. My friendly wheel was now up the road, but I had one rider to draft and another chasing. I picked up one position coming into the finish straight, but again had a chaser try to jump out and get me right at the line.
Ultimately I ended up 15th, good enough for exactly 1 point for the season championship (the winner got 30). And I got the prime, which was pretty nice, but not the result I wanted. I've still yet to learn how to make a plan and stick to it during the race. With an average heart rate just barely in zone 5, there was literally no way I could chase the prime and a decent result--I let pride interfere with my plans.
Gotta get smarter if I want to have a chance at glory.
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