6/20/09: Mike Horgan Hill Climb

If the Mt. Evans hill climb is the Mt. Ventoux of Colorado, then this year’s Mike Horgan Hill Climb course up Magnolia Rd. is our L’Alpe D’Huez. 18 miles in a little under 90 minutes; the middle 8 miles on dirt; pitches as steep as 20-25%. It’s an epic climb for even the best mountain goats. To finish is a great accomplishment; to win equates to some serious bragging rights at any age bracket or racing category.

The senior men 3s constituted a small but fairly stacked field. For a pure climbers’ race, you rarely get a large field. Horgan would be a waste of time for the flat lander and criterium specialists. This was a case of quality over quantity, for sure.

We set off with the 35+ 3s 20sec behind us (why, I have no clue; they caught us fairly near the beginning. Duh!!). I ended up on the front, for no particular reason. Just setting a modest pace out of the parking lot and onto Canyon Rd. as we began the gradual ascent to the left turn onto the beast known as Magnolia Rd. Nobody came by me. Until the 35+ crew caught us and a handful of those blokes shot by. We became grupo compacto and started chugging our way toward Magnolia. The legs were feeling pretty good. Not stellar, but strong enough. I could tell it was going to be a very good but not great day. There would be no excuses at the top, regardless of how well or poorly I ended up doing.

From my various pre-rides on the course, my plan all along had been to set a steady, solid tempo up Magnolia and hold it steady at around 165-172 HR. If that meant I was alone at the top or with 20 others, it didn't matter. I knew how hard I could go and still race strong to the finish line, another 45min or so after completing the paved section of Magnolia – a 4.5-mile stretch of road.

At 16:10, we hit the left hand turn onto Magnolia. After an instant and very short dip down, the road takes a viscous ramp up into a sweeping right switchback followed immediately by another back to the left. The initial switchback to the right is in excess of 20% and the one back to the left is no less steep. The road refuses to flatten over the most of the first 2.5 miles up Magnolia. As we hit the first switchbacks, I searched for my rhythm, sat down and settled in. Evan Gotseos from the Turin team (he ended up 3rd on the day), pressed the pace so I latched on to his wheel. Wasn't too long before I saw my HR hit 175. Oops. Turns out I was in the 175-180 range for the majority of the paved Magnolia climb.

Evan and I seesawed the lead for the first 2 miles up Magnolia. Sounded like there was a 3rd guy on our wheels but that guy never pulled through so not sure who it was or if it was phantom panting I was hearing; I didn’t look back to check. At the 2-mile mark, Evan said he had to back off and encouraged me to stick with him so we could work together. Otherwise, he said I would be on my own. I looked down and saw 176 for my HR. Oh, well. Plan A out the window. I decided this was OK. I was feeling pretty good and kept the pressure on, deciding to go it alone. Which I did for the final hour of the race.

Based on how my pre-rides went, I set some time goals for the race. This was to help me mete out my effort more evenly and to see on how many cylinders I was firing (I’d say 7 of 8). My goal was to hit the top of Magnolia (paved) in under 30min, the 9-mile marker on the dirt at an hour flat and Peak-to-Peak Hwy at 1:10 flat. I ended up cresting paved Mag in 29:20, and hit the other 2 checkpoints spot-on. I must be an oracle! ;-)

The 8 miles of dirt undulate. It’s a stretch to recover a little bit from the initial grunt, however it’s also a place to lose gobs of time. If you fail to keep the pressure on, you can fall into a lull so you think you’re pushing hard enough but you’re really not. My 9-mile and Peak-to-Peak Hwy time marks were to make sure I kept myself honest during this crucial stretch. At the top of the paved section of Magnolia, Evan was not too far behind. As I pressed the pace and hit Peak-to-Peak Highway, no one was in sight behind me. After a short snaking downhill to Nederland – a throwback town full of hippies and, generally, folks who refuse to admit this is the 21st century – the course takes a sharp sweep to the left into the closing 15 minutes of the race. The road is a false flat as it takes us past Nederland HS and up to the road which ultimately takes racers up to the Eldora ski mountain.

I felt pretty darn good until I passed Ned HS, just in time to hit the climb to Eldora. Spending an hour alone with no help and no respite which being within a group offers took its toll. In training, I've hit this final climb in just over 10 minutes, so I figured in the race I could break 10min. Well, it took me 11 minutes! My legs were starting to cramp, so it was an exercise if gritting the teeth and pushing through it to the end. I was suffering at that point. Guess I shouldn't have expected any less. I crossed the line spent, but elated that I could finally claim victory in a hill climb race!

Behind me, things were really heating up. A lead of nearly 2:30 at the base of the climb up to Eldora started to evaporate. By the time the chase group crossed the finish line, my lead had been whittled down to a scant 45 seconds. The chasers, which included my teammate, Ben Buxton, crushed that final climb in around 9:30! Ben ended up having a great race behind me. He was really strong and had the courage to do his own race instead of trying to go with the surges ahead of him. And, he didn't succumb to the pressure others were exerting to get him to work more within their group of 5-6. He remained tranquillo and was able to reel in the surges time and again, finishing a very strong and respectable 4th on the day.

Two things I noticed first hand on the day . . . (1) how explosive the accelerations from the Pro/1/2 group can be. I caught 2 pros who started 8 minutes ahead of me on the downhill to Nederland right before the sweeping left turn which led us to Ned HS. As we took that sweeping left, those guys got out of the saddle and accelerated like nobody's business. Immediately put 5 seconds on me. I caught and passed them right by the HS, but it was a shocker to see what sort of explosive power the 'big boys' have in their legs. (2) A lot of energy can be saved by riding with others. Sure, this is pretty obvious, but the value of compatriots cannot be minimized. I made the choice to go it alone – IMO, the right choice. But, clearly, I was fraying the ends of my rope in the waning minutes of the race. I felt like a rabbit on the final climb of a mountaintop Tour stage. Did I go too early or would I have the legs to hold my lead to the end? Based on how I felt on the 8 miles of dirt, I was confident I would win; especially as my lead expanded during that time from roughly 30sec to nearly 2:30. The lesson learned here? It takes a long time to build up a lead which can be decimated in just a fraction of the time.

Still, I wouldn’t change a thing. Power numbers were solid, and my power/weight ratio is above 5.0 watts/kg for my 20min value for the first time. This is where I wanted to be heading into Mt. Evans on July 19, so a little ahead of schedule with certainly some room to grow still.

Next up: The Dead Dog stage race in Laramie, WY, this weekend. An 85-mile road race, cresting 2 passes at over 10,500 feet and with an uphill finish on Saturday. On Sunday, there’s a crit in the morning followed by an ITT a few hours later. Lowest cumulative time wins. Can’t wait!

Ride safe,
Nate