March Race Recap: Learning to Suffer
I had no illusion after placing 3rd in my first time trial that the season would be easy. It was going to be hard and while riding solo against the clock is difficult riding in a pack of 50 racers is just as tuff.
Independence Valley 3.24
It was a cold and wet day to race and over half the field would throw in the towel half way through. I lost contact on the first climb and was never able to catch the group again. Try as I might they were just moving too fast. I also suffered from a major cramp in the right calf that forced me to pull off the course for a while to try and stretch it out. I eventually rolled into the finish some 15 minutes behind the leader.
I was hurting, hurting really bad.
Tour of Dung #2 3.25
A much better day, dry and somewhat sunny. I was still feeling worked from the previous day but this course was much more to my liking, mostly flat. I attacked right away and got a minute gap on the peleton. It was a while before they organized to chase me down but eventually they did. From there I rode in the pack and tried to cover other attacks for the next few laps. It was in the third lap that I lost contact with the peleton when someone took my line in a turn. I didn’t have enough left to bridge back up to the group and finish the race alone as the guys behind me threw in the towel.
I came in about 5 minutes, much better than the previous day.
Tour of Dung #3 4.1
Once again I attacked in the the first lap and got a huge gap on the peleton. I was off the front for about a third of the first lap before they finally reeled me in. Unlike last time I stayed at the front helping set a blistering pace. We were spitting rider out the back and were down to 25 riders at the beginning of the third lap. Once again I began to cramp in the right calf and lost contact with the group. Try as I might I couldn’t bridge back up though they were never too far away.
In the end I came in a couple minutes behind the leaders and placed in the top 20.
These races have taught me a lot about racing and have shown me what I need to work on for the rest of the season. There is still no answer to why I’m cramping in the right calf. One possibility is that I’ve got a leg length discrepancy. Hopefully the bike fit will help me solve this problem.
Filed by Kevin at April 5th, 2007 under Cycling