Author: Dwaine Trummert
A number of Cyclocross events are
staged at Thorton A. Sullivan Park each year. This park is on the edge of
Silver Lake and has hills at each end with a flat section between them. This
provides plenty of variety for the course designers and plenty of challenges
for the racers.
The day started chilly but without rain
and warmed enough to be raced in short sleeves. As I scouted the course I
discovered the variety of terrain we would race over. The sand sections were
obviously going to challenge everyone. As were some of the climbs. But two
types of technical sections stood out to me. First were the three short steeps.
Each was through a corner that prevented much speed to be carried and all three
were difficult to ride without dismounting. The second feature I noticed were
the number of technical downhill corners. One in particular was at the end of a
paved straight that then bent to the right and descended before tightening up
and then dumping the rider into a really tight lefty. During my practice laps I
experimented on how best to get through these technical sections and also
observed other riders to see what else was working.
At the start line I chatted with Damon
but did not see the other riders I met at Tall Chief. When the whistle blew I
was pretty surprised to see how hard the first three rider were going. I
entered the first turn in fifth or so. The pace was high and I was back into
seventh within the first minute. At this early point in the race I was
concerned that I might blow up if I tried to sustain this pace.
By the middle of the first lap the
action cooled a bit. I was back to fifth with a group of three directly in
front of me. The leader had earned a gap but was still within sight. It was
also in this middle section where my comfort with the technical sections
allowed me to rest a tiny bit and still hold the wheel in front of me.
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| Photo by Woodinville Bicycle |
By the end of the first lap the lead
group was down to three and tightly bunched. I held third and it was around
this time that I took stock of the race and liked what I was seeing. My heart
rate was out of the red and it appeared I was struggling less getting up the
steeps and down the tricky corners than the guys I was with. Over the next lap
or so I would follow the wheel in front of me. Then, just before one of the fast
descents I'd slip by, let it hang out a bit down the hill, and see if the other
rider wanted to counter. This worked well and at about the two laps point I
was leading the race.
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| Photo by Woodinville Bicycle |
After taking the lead I needed some
self talk. Talk to keep myself calm as I hadn't expected to be setting the
pace. Talk to remind me not to make a race changing mistake. So I watched over
my shoulder to monitor my lead, rode the technical sections as smooth as
possible, and kept my heart rate out of the red. At the end of the fourth lap I
finished first with a healthy gap between me and second.
After the race I chatted with Damon
about the course. We agreed that it was pretty technical especially the descent
I described previously. He mentioned that other races at this park have been
designed to be less technical. This matched with other rumors I had heard
earlier in the day.
In retrospect this course was probably
designed to maximize my strengths. I could (barely) ride all the steeps during
the race while some others gave up seconds dismounting. My descents were fast
which also allowed me to gain a second or two at zero energy cost. And the
climbs, while certainly not of Cyclopath length, were not slowing me much.
Two
images above (the ones showing a Cyclopath jersey) were taken by Woodinville Bicycle http://woodinvillebicycle.smugmug.com/
.
See you at the next event.
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