Deer Trail Road Race - 04/28/07

The more I race my bike, the more I realize there is evermore to learn about bike racing. Deer Trail is a case in point. Same course with drastically different weather conditions from last year to this year. Last year it was in the 40s, very windy and drizzled most of the race. This year, it was sunny, low-80s and very little wind. And the winning time was over 20 minutes faster this year. It's not a course to make selections, and this was the lesson learned. At Deer Trail, it is the weather that makes the selections happen. This year, the conditions were good for everyone. Last year, they were good for a much smaller group of racers.

I finished 33rd, in the lead pack. We (lead pack) finished :18 behind a front group of 3 which broke away at the very end. I was in no position to go with that attack as I was in the middle of the group at the time. I didn't even see the break happen, so by the time I wriggled my way to the front to have a final go at it, I saw the 3 up the road and realized it was game over. Then, at the actual finish, I got boxed in and ended up soft-pedaling across the line. It's hard to sprint for it when you've got two guys next to you, sand/dirt on the other side, one rider directly in front of you, and yet another diagnolly in front. I suppose if I were making millions I would have tried to find a way through and, in the process, almost assuredly caused a crash. "Live to fight another day," became the phrase of the day.

Great finish by Diran! He ended up 8th and was perfectly placed throughout the entire race including, most importantly, at the very end. He made the most of the slight wiggle room available as we were all crammed into one half of the road. Given the 3 who cross the line ahead, that means he got 5th in the bunch sprint. Most excellent!

Hats off to Jeremy as well. While he ended up flatting out of the race, he did go on an early flyer that lasted well over an hour. A solid but questionable move. He's also a strong closer, so it was disappointing that he flatted.

For my own perspective, given perfect conditions it will be difficult for me to win a race such as Deer Trail. When the weather sucks, I thrive and am decidedly happier than when the weather is ideal. I tried a good 10 times to attack. All of my attacks - and, all attacks except for the very last one - were quickly reeled in. The peloton gave the aggressors no quarter. Which seemed to be the modus operandi of the weekend. Across the pond in Europe, pros offered the same musings during their Liege-Bastogne-Liege race. Similarly, all attacks were reeled in decisively until the final break launched by Frank Schlek with 4k to go. We covered the 80-ish miles in 3 hours flat. With that sort of speed, breaks will be few and far between and attacks will rarely succeed.

And that's OK. In future editions, the weather will dictate my personal goals for the race. When it's shitty, I'll go in shooting for a top placing or the win; when its nice out, I'll look for a great race-specific workout and try to help one of our sprinters win it. My only regret is getting boxed in so I could do nothing to help Diran or Andrew (who was also boxed in right in front of me). But, maybe that was for the best given the narrowness of the course. Anyone leading someone else out and then pulling off would almost assuredly have caused a crash.

The eye is still on the prize - Mt. Evans, Salida and Gore Pass. The first two are the final 2 weekends in July and Gore is the second weekend in September.

Both the 3s and 4s teams experienced some bad luck. Jeremy flatted out in our race, as stated above. J-Rod got caught off guard at the 2nd feed zone and missed the decisive acceleration (which, I'm loathe to admit, was almost assuredly caused by me. SORRY, J-Rod!!). On the finishing sprint, Andrew and I were by the shoulder, which for the entire race had been the best place to be for any movement up to the front. However, we both got completely boxed in that final quarter-mile and I was stuck on his wheel across the line. Turns out being by the yellow line was the Promised Land for the final sprint. I don't think Andrew ever got out of the saddle to wind it up. I would stand up and would desperately search for any gap I could try to shoot through but then would immediately sit back down and coast. I literally coasted across the line because pedaling became superfluous and useless. Kudos to Diran for getting himself into a position where he had some elbow room to let 'er rip! On the 4s team, Tim double-flatted and DNF'd; Brad dropped back and brought Tim back up to the peloton the first time but then failed to re-bridge on Tim's second flat so he race was over as well; Andy flatted out; and Josh got a rock lodged in his derailleur and had to dismount to pry it out. He finished outside the top 10 as this squashed his chances at a top finish.

Kudos to Jerry for finishing 13th. Didn't know you had it in you, bud! And a great effort by Bryan as well. Both teams races smartly; we're showing growth. But the results for both teams were dictated by luck and circumstance as much as outright racing. While unfortunate, this is a part of the game. No whining. Just learning with the goal of not letting it happen again.

Next up, Scott's memorial race on May 20th.

Till then . . .
Nate