Saturday June 5th: Brady Theater District Crit
Back in HOT Tulsa for the 2nd yr in a row and ready to RACE! Ive been training hard this past winter and Tulsa Tough was a race I wanted to do really well in. Its a great weekend of racing, pretty well organized, great payouts and big fields for a Woman's 3/4 race! I was gearing to go.
Its 12:45 and about 95 degrees and we line up with a field of 60 women! Wow! I think this is the largest woman's field I have raced in. Unfortunately Im not able to work my way up as close to the front of the starting line as I had hoped. They start us quickly and I easily move up throughout the first lap. The course is 'L' shaped with 6 corners and while it really isn't a "technical" course, the number of crashes in each race would beg to differ.
Approx 1/2 way into our 45 min race I'm about mid-pack and trying to move up and we round the last corner. We are probably 3 wide through the corner and all of a sudden I see a girl from the inside of the corner sliding out and towards Allison and then me! Sometimes crashes happen in slow motion. This one did not. I dont remember what I thought or exactly how I hit or what hit me. All I remember is feeling the back of my head (helmet thank God) bouncing off the pavement. I wait for anyone else who might hit me and then jump up and quickly assess the damage. I think Im ok. I dont see any bleeding and I'm moving, so things don't seem broken. I pick up my lens from my sunglasses and pop it back in. I see Carrie running down the sidewalk to assist. She gets my chain back on and looks over my bike. I try to catch my breath and get my head on straight. I head back to the pit for my free lap. About 10 of us try to merge w/ the group on the next lap which requires a lot of work to chase back on since I wasn't able to clip in as quickly as normal...a bit frazzled... Im back and and work on settling in a bit and catching my breath.
There is a prime lap which I think is only for the group and not the person off the front. Apparently she wasn't off the front until after the prime was called. I guess I wasn't all with it b/c I sprint for the prime which she clearly had. Oh well. I end up bridging up to her, but the group is close behind. Turns out that was going to be my only sprint in the race. After the first crash I tell myself I need to move up to the top 5-10 riders. With laps to go Im approx 8th wheel and on the tightest corner of the course, someone in front of me touches wheels and goes down RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! I yell "Again?!" and roll over her wheel, grab my breaks and sort of step over my bars to catch myself before gently falling over w/ my bike - AGAIN. No more free laps now.
I rush to try and put my chain on so I can at least finish the race but I can't get it back on. Some spectators try to help and its just really jammed in my front derailleur. I yell "F*#@&" about a zillion times knowing that my race is over. The girl who went down in front of me just sort of stands there looking at me. Im not sure if she was scared or what. I feel bad I didn't have the fame of mind to ask if she was ok. All I can think about is the fact that this was my "A" race and Im not even going to finish!! I limp down to the start/finish stretch in time to watch Cindy and Aubree duke it out in the sprint! OH how I should have been right there w/ them!! Cindy takes the win, but if Aubree had another 50 meters, she would have had it...it was close!
I calm down and gain some perspective and realize that if I were to crash again, Id want it to go the same way. Nothing broken or majorly damaged!! I was just thinking a few weeks ago that Im not sure how I have managed in 2.5 yrs of road bike racing not to go down in a race. I knew my time was coming... Ill heal, my bike is basically fine.
I start focusing on tomorrows race!
Sunday June 6th: Riverside Crit (Cry baby hill)
I wake up pretty sore from Saturdays tumbles. But, my headache has gone away, so Im grateful for that! I decide to race and Teresa and I ride to the race from the hotel. There is a great riverfront trail and we do a long warm-up to help loosen everything up. My tailbone is pretty sore! The weather is great this morning. There is more wind, but is probably only in the low 80's, which is a welcome relief!
I line up early to get a good starting position. The group is smaller today maybe between 30-40 riders. I establish myself in the front of the group early into the race and have good positioning. I realize quickly which riders are good climbers and which can corner well. You could get screwed unless you got on the right wheels in the right places. The really sharp final corner would really gap off riders and you could end up having to work really hard in the finishing stretch just to get back to a wheel.
As I crest the hill over and over I feel something very familiar...Ive done this before! Not just last year, but my coach has had me doing some very similar hill repeats over past weeks and I'm feeling really strong on the hill! Sometimes I actually don't feel like I'm going to die when I get up to the top! My gearing is good and Im keeping pace w/ the front of the pack which has formed a split in the field.
During the race, at the top of the hill, the official rings the bell for the KOM prime! I knew where I needed to be positioned to get it. I stay on the right wheels and let someone else lead up the hill and then on the little "kicker" after the big climb (where everyone died each lap)I kick it into gear and attack her and get the prime! Wow! cool! I get a nice gap on the field and find a strong pace and lead off the front until the next time up the hill where the group catches back on. I get back in and recover. There were some other primes, but I focus on the finish instead of expending more energy on primes. 3 to go and I end up on the front. I take it easy and slide back a bit going up the hill so I can get off the front. I find a good position and stick it for the next two laps. On one to go, I decide to try and attack on the small hill after the climb. Its a little early, but I think I can hold them off. OOPS, I was wrong. Right before the downhill, Im caught by a group of 4 and they fly past me down the hill and get a big gap on me after the final corner. I sprint so I dont loose anymore positions, but I know Im sprinting for 5th. Oh well, lesson learned! It was still a good race, I felt strong and I finished MUCH better than last year! I also feel like I made up for my lost Saturday.
Time to head home and recover this aching body! Man I love my chiropractor! :)
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