BC Elite Crit Champs

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trevor
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Joined:Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:52 am
BC Elite Crit Champs

Post by trevor » Mon Jun 06, 2016 9:36 am

Well I'll cap off the reports of the Bob Cameron Cycling Series with my take on the Elite men's crit on Sunday.

Representing the Wheelers were ARuss, Geoff, newly minted cat2 rider Ian, and this reporter. Heading in to the event I was pretty nervous. The Tour de Bloom crit back at the start of May was hard (read eye bleedingly-crazy hard) and I spent the past 4 weeks telling myself that I needed to make up for the mistakes I made down in Wenatchee. I knew I needed a better start. I didn't want to waste matches getting too far back in the field and having to close gaps. And I knew I needed to hold speed through corners better. I had a tough time getting "crit crazy", that intense focus and faith needed to dive in to corners in such close proximity to your competitors, down in Bloom. I felt that if I could accomplish these two things at the Leg crit I'd have more matches down the stretch to use.

Race day saw the team prepping at the OBB tent (thanks Karl and to the club volunteers who marshalled the races and got us the tent space for free!!). Proud dad moment came when my little guys participated in the Timbits event with Ewan doing the lap sans parental support for the first time. Winning. We all got our warm-ups in and last minute potty trips done just in time to do a single lap and get to the start line. Geoff and I were strongly placed right at the front putting me in good position to stick to my plan of getting a better start. Geoff's false start settled the tense moods of all and before we knew it we were off.

The first 20 minutes of the race I felt great. I was staying near the first third of the field (50 deep), corning ok, and not spending too much time closing gaps. Each lap I reminded myself of my lines, focused on when/where I could pedal in the corners, and tried to move up when the opportunity to do so (without wasting effort) arose. Knowing the big guns TRT, RHs, and LB all had to mark each other or conspire to make a move stick, the Wheelers were able to settle in and let the race unfold. Props to Geoff and ARuss who found themselves at the front and put in some solid digs to try and get in moves. ARuss, showing confidence and fine form, even took and mid race prime. Well done buddy!

The next 45 minutes were full of accelerations, frequent attacks, and a few near crashes. On two occasions I witnessed riders almost go down and my brake check alone lost me positions and wasted valuable energy making up for their errors. I found my corners continue to get dialled and tight and down the stretch I was becoming increasingly confidence that I had good legs on the day. But having good legs isn't enough in an event like this. Good legs plus the brazen confidence to make moves is the key to getting a result. When it came down to 5 to go I just didn't find myself making the necessary moves, or risks, to move up much more than I already was. Coming in to the final stretch I believe ARuss, Geoff, and I all placed in the top 20 with Ian close behind.

All in all it was a superb race. With each cat1/2 event we do we gain confidence, skills, and hopefully some road race street cred. Looking ahead in to the VCL schedule and beyond to Superweek, the guys are hoping to continue to build on this year's successes.

Huge thanks to the organizers, volunteers, and our sponsors for helping make racing awesome.

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