Sterling Classic

[jraguin]

Summary for my Cat 5 35+ race: Crashed but chased back and got 2nd!

Detail: Tepid pace for most of the race. Russ doing some pulling including pulling us up the whole first climb (Doran and I agreed that we have to talk about that Russ!). I just watched wheels and stay in the front 10 wheels. 2nd lap on North Row, roller hill, and I am 2nd wheel marking this yellow shirt guy (YSG). Too close though, YSG steers a bit right while my wheel is overlapped, I go a bit left and clips my front wheel and I go down. Thankfully I go down mostly on the other side of yellow line and am only hit by one other guy (he goes down, sorry dude!). I get up off the pavement, get my chain back on, straighten my handlebars, grab a piece that has fallen off my bike and jump on. SRAM guy gives me a push and I am chasing hard. I can't see the pack. I turn onto Rt 12 and still can't see them. Panic starting to set in. Then I see them getting near 190 and I hammer the last bit to get back on.

Fast forward to finish: I am 4th wheel in a paceline on Rt 12 as some guy drilled it at the 190 underpass. I am trying to ensure I don't get boxed in by staying left. Pace dies, we are riding 3 abreast. Coming up the uphill still on Rt 12, YSG does a half-hearted attack on the left. I jump on his wheel. He stays left and we both take a peek back on the right near the intersection and we have a gap. He drills it on the flat and deftly avoids ramming 3 dropped guys from the field in front of us. I jump late, swing wide around the same 3 guys. I'm giving it all I got, I close maybe a little, but YSG had good power and wins clearly. I am clear in 2nd.

Great race...my butt and back have some road rash and soreness, but I am happy. Great race by everyone. I would tell stories about my experience driving for the Cat 4s, but I will leave that for them to tell.

[rusto]

John, it's not pulling if you're not working hard at it.

Yes, I was lead wheel for about 1/3 of the first two laps, but unlike others in our race who kept swerving right and left to get someone to take over when they tired of pulling, I just slowed down to a comfortable pace and waited for somebody to get tired of going slow. That's the way to do it, right?

Anyway, game plan was to stay in touch with leaders over the course and do what I could on Meetinghouse Hill. This I achieved: after the initial climb, I'd head backwards through the pack every time up MHH but was able to easily crawl to the front of the non-surging peloton as we passed under 190 right afterwards. In fact, I threw in a few short surges of my own when I got near the front. Twice as we turned onto Heywood and once as we turned onto North Row, just to keep the others on their toes.

Halfway through lap two I saw John go by me, sitting on his butt and then heard the other guy crash into him. :: wince :: I thought that was the last I'd see of him, but to my surprise he showed up again a short time later... maybe helped by my slowing of the pack when I was on the front. It was amusing to see him riding along with one lens missing from his sunglasses.

On the last lap, just as I was regaining contact with the group, we turned onto Heywood and two guys were 30-40 yards up the road with no one seeming to care. Following the example set by others in races earlier this season, I saw a chance to help John. As I passed him, I said something like, "latch on" or "let's go get 'em" and I turned on the gas. Later, somebody else confessed that he grabbed my wheel before John did but I assumed John (and a bunch of others) followed suit. I hammered hard for a good long minute until we swallowed up the break.

Soon after that, John had a near miss at a SECOND crash on North Row.

I thought that was the end of me but the pack was not ready to work hard just yet and so I was able to recover and wander to the front one last time on Rte 12. Finally we hit the incline just past Dunkin Donuts and the race was finally on. My quads were just beginning to cramp so I had to feather on the power rather than stomp on it. This allowed quite a few people to pass me as we approached MHH. I knew if I accelerated hard, I'd be shot out the back.

On the final climb, somehow my legs stayed just below total crampage - I kept my gearing low and spun my way past at least 3 people on the way up and finished 16th. Completely happy with the result.

[onegeardoug]

Nice job John! Impressive that you were able to catch back on after going down and loosing sight of the group.

In the Cat 4 race, we started with 6 MRC kits on the front; we led the neutral to the start line. I had a hard time getting off the front at this point, and found myself in the top 3-5 spots for the first 2 laps. I took a few pulls, but wasn't killing it. I'm still thinking I should have gone to the middle sooner, though. I had just finished a "pull" on North Row on the second lap when a rider slipped off the front. Turns out, that was the last time we saw him. I thought he'd come back after winning the $75 prime, but he won by well over a minute. I saw him back at Chocksett and told him he needed to upgrade. He agreed.

The first time up the hill I felt great. The second time, I thought I was gonna puke. I dug deep and clung to a wheel, still riding in the top 20, but I didn't recover until Heywood. By the time we got back to Rt 12 (2.5 to go), I was thinking about trying to organize a chase so that John would have a chance for the win. I said something to Scott and John about this, but then we hit the hill for the 3rd time and I was just happy to stay in contact with the group.

On Rt12 with 1.5 to go, I figure I'm not looking for any kind of result at this point, so I went to the front and tried to whip up some excitement to get some guys into a paceline. After my first pull, no one came through. I went back and took another pull, flicked my elbow and was pleasently surprised that 2-3 other racers were working it. It fizzled quickly and disorganization returned. I went back into the group and sulked.

On the final lap cruzing down Rt12, I saw Cratty, Sweeney, Smudger and Pare all near the pointy end of the peloton and I thought "ok, I need to go get John and take him to the front". Never happened. I was boxed in. Cratty went to the front and was drilling it, which led to chaos as we overtook the M45+ field, who had just overtaken us on Meetinghouse Rd. And before I knew it, we were coming into town at high speed and I couldn't do anything except be glad that the race was almost over.

We hit the hill for the final climb and I was just wanting to get to the top and be done. I started climbing though and I was actually passing people. Lots of people. 2 piles of riders were on the ground for some reason. (?) A guy in a RISD kit was going so slow he could have been track-standing. I probably made up 15 or 20 spots on the climb, but since I had mentally checked out before the hill...I probably started it in 50th. Lesson learned: "No matter how bad I feel, others feel just as bad if not worse". Had I been aggressive coming into town and worked for a better position to start the climb...could of, would of, should of...

(Deliberate non-mention of what the others did in this race so that everyone can tell their own story...)

[JeremyC]

I think you pretty much summed up the race. All I can add is I got great practice working my way up and down the peloton all day. On 3 different laps I took pulls at the front, and each time I would end up on the back of the race. On the 3rd lap I pulled down RT 12 and was on the rivet at the bottom of the hill. At the top I was in dead last but used the 4th lap to recover and move back up. The hill starting the last lap was actually my best, and caught back to the front where I found Sweeney. We had just started organizing a chase, we had a slight chance of catching the leader I think, but we suddenly got neutralized. As soon as the Motorcycle gave us the go ahead I hit the gas on the front for about a minute on Heywood. I'm still not sure how hard one should go at the front, each time I did about a minute totally all out and then would be spent. This time I pulled off to save some gas for the final run in. At the underpass I moved to the front and picked up Smudger and Chris as we re-passed the old guys (who had made some choice comments earlier when they passed us). I knew I didn't have much sprint in me anyway, so I decided to leave on the road, going all out until I bonked (which I did). In a perfect world I wish I could have held on for another 30 secs to the bottom of the first incline, but it just wasn't possible. Next thing I know I'm dead last, recovered for 30 seconds then road hard and passed maybe 10 stragglers up the hill. Don't want to look at the results, but all in all it was a fun race. Although the teamwork is definitely hard to to implement in a fast race with 100 person field, I think MRC showed true grit doing a lot of work. There were several other teams with 4 or so riders who did nothing.

Congrats to John and Russ. John too bad you missed out on the $50 Rudy pro-deal, sounds like you need some new shades.

[rusto]

Pete Banach delivers with this great shot of John R at the finish: clicky

[JeremyC]

2 questions for John:

1) Why are you still wearing the glasses?
2) How could you lose to a some Fred wearing the yellow jersey?

[rusto]

I tagged that Fred as a douche when he popped a few yards off the front and then "sashayed" his bike back and forth in front of the rest of us along Route 12. With any luck he'll be up in the 4's soon and get his comeuppance.

[BTurner]

After picking up his prize, that Fred stated that he used to be a cat. 2 many years ago. I do not know how the hell you downgrade to from a cat. 2 to a cat 5.

[Smudger]

Following on from Doug and Jeremy's reports from the 4's. I also thought the Guy would sit up after the prime but it never happened. He could have been caught with some organisation and willingness for everyone to work up front but you know how that goes. I sat in for the 1st 2 laps with no intent other than keeping in the front 3rd of the race. Hill was difficult both times and I was starting to wonder if the spanners were coming out for this race again. Fortunately the 3rd time up the hill I felt good and was in the front 4 or 5 crossing the line. I decided to push a little with a couple of others and string it out down North Row. As we pulled onto 12 Chris came along side and asked if I wasn't "feeling it" to which I asked why. That's when he remindedme I was supposed to attack on this lap. I had miscounted and thought we still had 2 to go. I drifted back a little when a guy had jumped off the front and got ready to make my move to jump over to him but it was too close to the climb by the time I was ready and I thought I would get caught and possibly dropped so never made the move. Getting passed by the 45s was rather disheartening cause I knew we would not be able to string it out into the final clim and everyone would be getting a chance to recover. Jeremy and Chris gave a great pull and lead out on 12 as they let us pass the 45s which was a relief as I thought we would be trying to sprint through them on the hill. I was tight on their wheels and it must have looked totally pro. We got eaten up on the climb into the center of Sterling but I was able to stay with it but hit the hill 2 or 3 wheels further back than I should have been. My plan for the sprint was to work hard but not max on the steepest section and have enough left for a full on sprint to the line. It worked well as I passed 2 or 3 that spent all their effort on the steep. 8th place and final money spot. I left the money in the kitty though. Glad for the club to keep the cash.

Thought Scott and Jeremy raced really well for their 1st outing in the 4s. Doug and Chris did some serious work as did Stefan who unfortunately caught some Scottish karama.

[jraguin]

A few comments:
* Wow... cool picture of my finish. I would really love it if I had won the sprint. It does show I was giving it my all.
* @Jeremy: To be honest, I didn't even notice that I had lost one lens until after the finish (lost it at the crash). I can explain sometime when we ride together.
* I picked YSG as the wheel to follow early just like Russ did. I even had a mini-break with 2 other guys on the last lap on the rollers on Rowley Hill Road, but actually pulled up because YSG and one other guy I picked were not in that group. I picked well and now I know why he looked that strong. I didn't know you could downgrade like that.
* @Cat 4s: Being in the follow car for your field, it was very interesting. First, I agree with Smudger: Jeremy and Scott kicked butt for their first race in the 4s IMO. I can only hope my debut is that successful. Second, I watched the neutral coming as I saw the Masters field coming up my rear view mirror. The official told me that we were going to have to neutral the field, and all I could think was "Bummer for Smudger, Chris, & Doug" and "What about the guy on the break?" But as you know, the guy on the break didn't get neutralized and it definitely helped him win. Third, being a back-seat driver here, I watched you guys carefully all the way up to the turn onto Meetinghouse and it did seem like you left yourselves too far back on a narrow road to move up. But in your defense, the racers filled the road yellow line to gutter and many deep on Route 12 uphill and i bet no one gave any space to move up. Fourth, I saw Stefan's mechanical. You could hear it from my car. Unlucky.

[scott_sweeney]

Amazing how a couple of well thought out plans by Chris and Jere had pretty much no impact. We never really thought someone would on lap 2 and "stay gone" til the end.

With practice I know we can do better as a team. I found myself a couple of times in sort of a mental lull-can't let that happen next time. Mental discipline so moves aren't missed.

[pace21]

Ahhh, the best laid plans of mice and men......

I do, however, think that there were a couple guys itching to get away on the front, and if we had made our move (Option B - Smudger on Rt 12 second to last lap) with 1.5 laps left I have a feeling it would have worked. Smudger was actually off the front a little towards the end of North Row Rd, and it was right where we said it should be, and I was in position to block, but alas it was not to be. The "fog of racing" was all around us.

In the end in hindsight I left myself a little exposed. I was on Jeremy's wheel from well before DD's on 12, and I knew full well he would have to pull off before the 1st hill and then I would be exposed, and of course that's what happened. When I found myself pulling on the front I briefly thought about drilling it and seeing what happened, but I knew that would be suicide. So leading out for 30 seconds or so may have cost me a few spots, but oh well, not much difference between 15th and 20th.... I actually don't know my finish place yet but somewhere around there. It did affirm my suspicion though, we have several guys with top 10 talent, but if we want to WIN one of these things (or podium) we're gonna need to get creative

[PJ McQuade]

John R, I saw your crash from the follow car and thought we wouldn't see you again. The fact that you caught back on says a lot about you, but to get 2nd!?! Bravo! This club's Cat 4 team is becoming a force to be reckoned with. Wish I was part of the camaraderie. Now hurry up and upgrade!

Not too much to report here. I followed a Sterling plan that's worked for me in the past to basically sit in until the last lap and move up toward the front after DD's. With my legs feeling fairly good at this point I was able to hold a decent position through the riser into town. I hit the base of Meetinghouse maybe 20 wheels back and took the climb wide-left. Had a nice clear shot up the road and picked a few guys off, then had to move toward the middle of the road about 20 m from the line to avoid some "dead wheels." This wasn't ideal, but I was able to put together somewhat of a sprint and snuck past a wheel or two more at the line. 9th in the bunch sprint, but 4 guys broke away early on so I ended up 13th overall. Had a good time out there. I've always loved this venue. Heard a lot of positive feedback from fellow racers about how great the course is, etc. Hopefully we continue this nice tradition. Awesome how the club pulls it together to make it happen. Cold pizza back at the school never tasted so good. Nice touch.

[swawersik]

Doug and Chris did some serious work as did Stefan who unfortunately caught some Scottish karama

Yes, you could view it as "the luck of the Scottish," but it's not that simple. After analyzing my (short) race in my head and looking at my power data, I think there are lessons to be learned. Warning: this is an unreasonably long version of "I got dropped and then blew a tire."

Race started fine, though neutral wasn't really all that neutral. Our pace car was going much faster than 15mph and gave us way too much room. Doug, Chris and I were holding a steady 19-20 mph and I were all breathing hard. This continued up the first hill, where my average power (on the "neutral" section) was 450W for 1 min. Despite this, I felt pretty decent, and stayed in the first few wheels all the way onto Heyward. Chris (then 3rd wheel) let Doug and another guy get off the front by letting a gap open up, and by the time the field realized it, they had 150-200m. A few guys came around, and I tried to jump onto one of their wheels. Despite a good 850W attack, I was too slow to respond, so I didn't make it. When I did not get on, I made my first mistake: instead of sitting up immediately, I kept trying to connect, only to realize that the entire pack was now on my wheel and that I had just bridged them much closer to Doug et al. So, despite my stressing in pre-race banter "DO NOT CHASE DOWN YOUR OWN TEAMMATE" (caps included in my prior message), I had done so.

LESSON 1: It's easier than you think to chase down your own teammate.

So, now Doug's reeled in, and I'm near the front. Shortly after we turn onto North Row, a guy from Blue Steel attacks on the downhill. Despite being a little blown, I try to go with him (680W), but again I don't immediately catch the wheel. So I take a lesson from before and sit up. But we're on a straight downhill, and my big ass goes fast on straight downhills, so I don't immediately go back to the pack and I'm in no-man's land. Just as I figure I'll just let the pack catch me, Mike Brier starts to bridge to Blue Steel. As he goes by, I think I should jump on his wheel (750W), but again am too slow to react. So in 5 minutes of racing, having put in two really pointless digs in 5 min (three in 10 min. if you count chasing Doug down). I roll back to the pack.

LESSON 2: Be decisive - It can save you a lot of energy.

Next comes the one place where I feel I was semi-savvy tactically. There was general agreement that the break needed attention, as the two guys up the road were strong. At the front were a bunch of guys without teams and a bunch of MRCs. I didn't want to make my teammates blow their wad chasing down the break, especially not at this point, but I knew after the last 15 minutes of folly, I was in no shape to chase them down myself. So I went to the front and, with the help of a kid from Dartmouth, traded pulls to keep the gap from growing. Despite several taunts of "where's your team to help?" I figured that if the pack wanted to close the gap, they could, but I wasn't going to do it. And somewhere between the turn onto Rt 12 and 190, others came around and closed things up.

LESSON 3: Don't do more work than you have to. Don't let others goad you into doing more work than you have to.
Corollary: you can probably taunt others into working for you if you do it right.

So I finally faded back into the pack to recover. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before we were in Sterling Center and on the Meetinghouse climb. Now, this short stretch of road and I have a special relationship: she is my dominatrix, and I am her bitch. I have been dropped on this climb late in the race, early in the race, and on intermediate laps. I have come to learn that that best way for me to get up is to start at the front and sag climb, so that I'm still in contact with the main pack at the top. But, having been recovering from my not-so-smart efforts, I was in the middle/back of the pack the first time up, so I was not confident at the outset. I dug deep, but started to panic as I saw big gaps in front of me. Have I been dropped? Near the middle of the second part of the climb, I hear the motorcycle coming past. They're already pulling the follow cars around? No, the moto's not riding totally at the back. But now I'm feeling defeated and kind of give up, and a short time later, John R in the follow car and the SRAM car come by. Son of a B---! Just one lap in and I'm done! I start considering just how much I suck when I realize that on the shallower grade, I'm getting back towards the follow cars. I start chasing in earnest, and am almost on when we turn onto Heyward. On the downhill, I bomb past the SRAM car, then past the follow and back to the pack.

LESSON 4: Stay calm and don't friggin' give up. If I hadn't mentally cracked for a few seconds on the hill, I'd have been sitting in the pack recovering all that time I was chasing.

So I'm back in the pack, still carrying momentum from the downhill. I see riders being dropped off the back as the short climb before North Row starts, and I move right to avoid them, right into a sea of broken pavement. I hit a big hole, hear a bigger bang, and know my time with the pack is now officially over. Both tires were flat, so at least I got a nice pair of Zipps for the rest of the day. I finished the race to get the training miles in.

So, yeah, I had bad luck. But I also put myself in a position to have bad luck. I hope others can learn from my mistakes.

Congrats to both Johns (R and Smudger) and nice racing by all the 4s. I was very impressed with Scott and Jeremy in their first outing with us. We're building up a solid team, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.

And, of course, a huge thanks to Bill Turner and everyone who helped make this race happen.

[RPerson]

So if I'm not mistaken, I think I know the background behind the Fred in the yellow jersey...

I went to High School with a Jason Croteau who, back in the day, was a young stud riding for the Hot Tubes team. He got really good and I even found a 1994 writeup which mentioned him showing his face in the Pro field at Fitchburgh. At some point though he fell off the map. Fast forward to a couple years ago and I ran into him at a reunion and we spent the whole time talking about bike racing and how he's always loved it as a sport even if he didn't race any more. My guess is that what happened over the last couple years is that he got on his bike again, got a brandy new license, and effectively started over ignoring everything he did before because it's been 15 years or more. I could be wrong about all of this, but the name, age, and general area where he lives add up so it's probably him. We should recruit him and make him burn the yellow Fred jersey

[jraguin]

I totally agree with you Rich. Let's get this guy on the team. He lives in Webster. I would like him in our colors kicking my butt! I can try to find his contact info and ping him.

[rusto]

Got my pix up here: clicky As usual, I'll collect pix of club members for distribution and PM/email you with download links.

I apologize to those I didn't get many/any photos of as I was often holding traffic as you went by.

[rusto]

Gotta love Colin's number crunching road-results.com: comparing this year's Sterling to lasts, turns out I was one place ahead of the SAME GUY:

[rusto]

Pre-race photos courtesy of Jorge H:

[rusto]

Joe Marinelli's pics on SmugMug (no MRC members visible): clicky