Easton Twilight Criterium
Submitted by Aaron Ritz - 5/28/2024
40+
Saturday afternoon I lined up for one of the most fun race courses in the area with Chris sell and Joe Secoges for the 40 plus race. There were about 60 other gentlemen of a certain age and we had the unusual practice of starting up in a grid. In some ways this was good because everybody was spaced according to how they registered, but in other ways it was bad because I registered only a few days ago. This put me in row 17 which was almost all the way towards the back of the pack.
The weather was hot and the sun was pretty fierce. It read about 90° on my bike computer standing around at the start. This was by far the hottest race I've done this year and with the challenging course I knew it would be a bit of a battle to follow the right wheels and not overcook myself. Also the race was 35 minutes plus an extra lap and this meant that it was going to be full throttle from the gun. Based on the start list I knew there would be some strong writers who would try to get away early. Notable names included Aaron Barr and Mike Miller. My plan was to be attentive in the early part of the race and not make any moves myself but follow when I could and hope that I got stuck in with a promising move or field split.
Gun went off and my goal was to get to the front of the group as quickly as possible, threading my way through traffic around the 6 corner course. I felt confident in my cornering skills and knew how to get the good lines but the thing is in a race you don't always get the line you want because there's often somebody else there. For the first two or three laps it was pretty attritional I know that both Joe and Chris got caught behind field splits or crashes early on. Four or five laps in I started to be some Earnest attacks and sure enough I found myself trying to bridge up to Mike Miller as he rolled off the front. I was able to make it across but then really felt like I'd gone way deeper than expected. I think it was a combination of the heat plus a quick early pace which really made me suffer.
This general pattern (follow, suffer, recovery) repeated itself for about the first third of the race until a group of two riders got off the front and made quick work of getting a corner ahead, and then eventually a whole lap. The main group eventually chilled out and we did the last third of the race and a pretty pedestrian tempo. Things ratcheted up with four laps to go as people were jockeying for position and the minor placings. I was going to try to save my last bit of legs for the final kick to the finish but found myself too far back. I ended up behind two separate writers who somehow forgot how to turn their bicycles and I was trapped into the barriers. Although I was unscathed, my race was over before the finish line.
P1/2
Lined up with Mike Calvin John and Eran for this one. Competition for this was ridiculous and they were multiple current and former national champions up in the front rows ahead of us. This was by far the most stacked field of any race I've ever done. My expectations were low. I only lasted about a lap and a half before getting spat out the back last year at this race and I was hoping that our early registration might pay us off by getting us into further front rows then we would have had last year. With 120 registered riders and of course under a mile in length it was gonna be something to stay in contact.
The gun went off at 8:40 as the sun went down and then giant rain clouds rolled in and began to pour just as we turned the first corner. All I could remember was something I read somewhere which said, "There will be chaos, keep pedaling." In many ways I was lucky to have done a race before because I had pretty much memorized all the divots, potholes and manhole covers on the course. As the rain continued pouring down things got pretty wild and I kept coming around corners to find people scattered along the side of the course. It turns out though that I was actually one of the better cornerers, at least in the back third of the pack where I had ended up. It was a constant shuffle of people trying to gain back places after each turn or after each split in the field. I was sure that my legs would be toasted after the earlier race but honestly I felt a lot better. I was just starting to find my rhythm when one of the officials whistled for the group I was into exit the course. Mike, Calvin and I got yanked all at the same time. Eran and John lasted a bit longer, but after about 20 minutes we were all in the sidelines watching riders furiously trying to maintain pace.
My takeaways from this event are several:
If you know you want to do a race, be sure to register as early as possible so that you can get a good starting position in the off chance that they do have a grid start
Don't underestimate the challenge of doing your first major efforts in the heat. Your body can adapt but it won't do so instantaneously. My toasty intervals on Wednesday were no match for the intensity and heat of the 40+ race.
I'm realizing that I really have to really dig deep to get my legs firing on all cylinders and ready to race. I was surprised at how good my legs felt after the first hard race. I'm totally a diesel engine rider and while I won't hardly be warmed up in the first 15 minutes of a race I can certainly overcook myself in that time. It's much better to get after it hard during the warmup and unblock whatever is in my legs ahead of time. This has become even more prevalent as I've gotten old
As always I was great to see people out there and I'm looking forward to our next set of races.