Annnd we are back.
I find that sports are so mental. I completely burned out by the end of last year's season and I was in a tricky point in life that just left me exhausted.
This year, I've made a change which has led to a decision to cater to my strengths as a cyclist. I'll be racing for Thump Cycling p/b Turin Bicycles on their women's category 4 team.
I hadn't intended to jump in until, well tomorrow, but I found myself in two criteriums in March. Here are abridged race reports:
Oredigger Criterium (Colorado School of Mines) SW PRO-OPEN
This race was a pro-open race which means all categories were in it and it was scored as just one big category. I probably shouldn't have done this race anyway but it was a good way to get the "first race" out of the way. This was tricky with a big old 6.5% grade hill and a tricky corner. I made a mistake on this one from the get go - couldn't get my foot clipped in and scared of the corner, I didn't get up front. Then diving into the first corner (the tricky one) EVERYONE slammed on their brakes. That was a little...daunting. But then I had no one's wheel and no one to help me up the hill (since I'm not a climber). Then they said they weren't going to pull anyone but they pulled 4-5 of us. Yep, including me. Not sure if they meant to do it. In the end, they gave those of us they pulled DNPs instead of DNFs which is sort of nice because it just means they didn't rank us as opposed to we didn't race.
CSU Oval Criterium SW 4
This race actually went pretty well for me. I mean, I finished second to last, but let me explain why I still consider that "going well." I clipped in quick and hung on the pack. The pack was very inconsistent in pacing which immediately is a weakness of mine - which makes sense, coming from a tri background. I just want to go hard the whole time. The back/forth will continue to be a challenge for me. Anyway, I held on to the pack for about 15 min of the 40 min criterium, trying to stay close to the front. My first mistake was being a chicken and not getting closer to the front. I had this "well I'm not going to win" mindset that kept me from getting really close up to the front which was stupid. Anyway, I ended up being towards the back and getting boxed out of a corner by a woman who ultimately DNF'd this race. I was the closest woman chasing the pack for another 3 laps and this effort I was proud of. I basically opened a gap and held that distance by myself for a good 10-or so min. As far as I'm concerned, I showed a little time trialing power on that one. Finally three girls who had dropped behind me, caught up to me which was good because I was burning out. I worked with two of them and the other quickly dropped off us. Being in the chase pack allowed me to learn a little bit about dynamics. I was frustrated because it was mostly me and another woman alternating pulls. When the third woman was told to pull she took really short ones. I gave my all but burnt out with about 2 laps to go. These two pulled away from me and I lost them entirely b/c I'd blown up, having spent too much time working hard for them (for really no reason, other than to pull my weight). In the end, I finished with the one girl we dropped behind me and the girl who DNF'd obviously off the course. While not a great standings result, definitely a good learning experience.
Tomorrow is when I intended to start the season at a Wednesday night time trial series. I just changed my tires on my tt bike to be ready. I'll also be racing a criterium on Saturday, so I'll probably report back on those two in a collective race report similar to above. I'm not optimistic about the crit on Saturday because it has a moderate hill that might chew me up and spit me out, but my goal for this race is to practice sitting in and drafting better and hopefully do a hair better in the standings.
