eighteen minutes of racing

O-Cup #4 promised to be interesting... A new course along flat and gently sloping terrain, with a twisty bit along beautiful Lake Huron. It was the sort of course where team tactics and peloton positioning would give riders the upper hand and the chance to control the race.

With three O-Cups under our belt this season, we've gotten to know our competition pretty well. We had plans and allies; a break would take place, and a backup plan would ensue if it was caught.

We warmed-up by riding to the course. Our team rotated in a paceline like clockwork, the road was smooth and flat, the fresh morning air and steady wind rewarded our efforts... and my bike performed perfectly.

We watched our teammates in the 8am heat come to their sprint finish, with J.T. taking first place. Their victory lifted our spirits as we prepared for our start.

That all changed once the race got underway. *click*click*click* I changed gears to try to settle the chain *click*click*skip* I realized that any sudden pressure would likely result in a sudden jolt against my legs. As we turned the first corner, I alerted my teammates: my bike would not endure the race, let alone stand up to a sprint. One offered to adjust my derailleur barrel while we were in motion. We gradually drifted to the back of the pack were we could safely repair my bike without interfering in the race.

Then a crash occurred a few metres in front of us. Two riders collided and slid to the pavement, then two more as they tried to avoid them, tumbling sideways in a spectacular fashion. I scrubbed some speed and manoeuvred around the carnage: the support cars slowing behind me, the pack accelerating before me, and I jumped out of my saddle to grab some wheels in case an attack was underway. *snap* My pedal unclips, my shoe drags along the ground, the bike rolls underneath me as my weight collapses to my left, and I land on my hip, elbow and ankle.

I quicky rise and scan my bike for damage, noticed that my chain was off --no, not off --wrapped around my cassette and disconnected from my chainrings. A pin failed... 3rd time it's happened to me in a race, but this is the first time I hit the ground because of it.

I was amongst the victims of the crash, having avoided them but apparently invovled in it. One junior skinned his arm like me, another was bleeding from his nose and brow, another rider had a clean fracture through his frame, while another had unmounted his front tubular.

And I, bleeding from my elbow, ankle and hip; loaded my bike in the commissioner's car, and took a lift to the finish line.

Niagara Classic Race Report

For O-Cup #3 we faced a familiar friend, Niagara Classic. Just so happens that this friend is sadistic and best to encounter in small doses.

This year, the lap count was reduced from seven to six, with KOM points up for grabs on laps 1, 3 and 5. Judging by how things went last year, I got enough power to climb pretty well, but sustaining that power to the top requires a lot of recovery through the back stretch, while the lighter guys are still fresh and setting the pace at drop speed. After all that abuse, my legs start cramping towards the end and it becomes excruciating to maintain pace, let alone pose a threat through the final climb to the finish.

So how did things go for 2009? Well for one, the team and supporting clubmembers fared much better, all the S3s finished, aside from our captain who was DQed in Lap1. Thinking that a few hard efforts would open my legs, I decided to go for some KOM points, so I attacked viscously on climb one, swallowing the field from behind. I nearly bridged a gap on the climb, but he picked up his pace when he saw me sneaking up on him. When I realized I couldn't catch him, I flopped in my saddle and conserved for future climbs. A few other riders bridged the gap behind me, and we briefly worked together in a break, but all of us were cooked and I turned yellow at the thought of pushing that pace for 5 more laps. Back in the peloton, I usually staked a position near the front, sometimes pulling to answer attacks or prevent them, then on climb 3 I went for some points again. This time, two other riders were with me and they both outclimbed me... and the same guy got 1st again, so his king's jersey was in the bag. With no need to contest future climbs, I resorted to recover for the finish.

In the final lap, like the year before, the pace picked up and there was no way to move up in the peloton smartly. With each lap, the field reduces in size, so you unexpectedly find yourself in danger of getting shelled. On the descent, I was amongst few stragglers in a rotating paceline to catch the field, with two teammates coming to my aid. The gap was no more than fifty metres and after a minute or so we were sucking wheels again, but at those speeds it seemed to take forever to catch on. As the peloton pressed on, my legs were searing and any attempt to move up was futile. Along with two other teammates, I was caught in the back of the pack around the final corner. My best hope was to climb like I did in Lap1, but my legs weren't nearly fresh enough. In the foothills leading to the final climb, I realized the pack was shattered, many were sprinting through the false flat... I thought they just might blow up on the climb so I picked up the pace, but still tried to save something for the end. I started the climb with a bunch of guys I marked in throughout race, but as it turned out, the real threats were way up ahead. I pressed on, climbing 15 seconds faster than my groupetto, but there was no way to catch the smartest of the field.

Turns out that the KOM and 2nd place finisher was a MTB racer, he claimed that this was his first road race. The 1st place finisher was also unknown to the pack, so there's still a few surprises coming up in the season. Alas, 7th place is much better than last year, plus 3rd place in KOM is good for shits and giggles, while holding 3rd place in O-Cup standings is par for the course. Overall, the team did well, with strong finishes in all categories.

Looking forward to racing the Bruce this weekend, my summer stomping grounds since I was two months old!