2010 C.O.U.G.A.R. Omnium

Spring Super Criterium; 2010 COUGAR Omnium Day 1
3/27/10

Race # 38-41
Masters 30+: 11th/50ish
Cat 4: 1st/70ish

Burnham Racing did an amazing job, yet again, putting on one of the best run events of the year: easy registration; quick & accurate results thanks to the new equipment from the ICA, lovely officiating and I got myself a win...

Last season I was very frustrated by my finishes. Race after race I was subjected to either one or two mental mistakes or “that’s racing” situations which dampened my results.

In this race, luckily, things happened that did not damage my chances. That said, this race was far from perfect and I really didn’t race with any style—if not for one particular situation, I raced this like a sprinter: don’t crash, don’t crash, don’t crash…sprint. However, I think that I earned this one in the last lap.

Type 1 report: bad. Being the first race of the year, nerves were a little high. That “stress” released a bit of cortisone (adrenaline) which ensures that the body has a supply of energy by dumping glucose into your blood. So, my blood sugars were elevated all damn day. I was not below 225 since 5am (normal= 70-100). Nevertheless, I felt ok…so, no complaints on that front.

Race report:

The race was nice and smooth, and a few got away immediately, so I could expect a nice and steady pace. There were a few slowdowns and odd situations, but by and large it was a safe race. I wanted to sit in, warm up and get used to the peloton again, then launch a nice sprint, open up the legs and not care about a result.

Cat 4:

Everyone knows that the peloton is subject to “group think”—this happens when someone doesn’t pull through and the cacophony of cussing from the rear unanimously demands “someone” do some work. It also happens in bike handling. I am far from perfect, and everyone makes mistakes—but with experience people don’t freak out. This race, mistakes happened and people freaked out causing everyone else to tense up and ride herkey-jerkey for 40 min. I was a nervous wreck for 40 min.

In the bell lap, there was a big crash just after turn 1. I was unfortunately behind it and had to veer into the grass, about 10 feet, to avoid a flying bike. Something grazed my leg, but I made it through. I got back on the track, was over-geared and slightly gapped off the back with 1.5 miles to the finish. Echo of last year when the race took off up the road. In both cases I was faced with two choices: sit up or chase.

Luckily, I’m not too bright and so I didn’t need to think too long. I caught straggler after straggler and then began to work my way up the main group pretty quickly. Headed into the final turn, I took the inside edge of the track and moved into the top 20. I stood up for a few kicks to get up to speed, sat back down, got on a wheel, looked around and then with about 300m to go magic happened: a nice wide space opened up in front of me. I surged, moved even to just in front of the leaders. With 200 to go I shifted, stood and moved in front by a length or two. I was able to hold that to the line, and threw my hands in the air.

John Wilke at Peloton Pix got a fantastic shot of it…

First pic on his splash page.

Even though we planned out how to set up the finish, the result was the same. It was still encouraging to talk to my teammates during the race, knowing that we are all working toward a common goal. They did their job and I was lucky enough to improvise and be able walk away (literally) with a top result.

South Chicago Wheelmen,
COUGAR Omnium Day 2
3/28/10


T1 Report: fine. nerves were not as bad as yesterday. Didn't bring enough water. bummer.

Masters 30+: Hast makes waste. I got off the trainer, heard the call to the line and quickly threw on my skewer. Result: an off center rear wheel--my rear break was rubbing up against the rim. But I didn’t notice right away.

So, at the start line there were 20 something guys I don’t recognize. Not good. Whistle. Attack. Wind. Surge. Wind. Attack. Wind. I chase. No one would pull through… Oh. Wait. These guys are trying to hurt me. So I was appropriately hung out to dry for nearly a lap, or something. When we got the tail wind they surged, I jumped on the back and tried to recover. Could not. Gap. Legs broken; race over. DNF.

After rolling around in the parking lot, I heard it rub.

Motherfucker.

Cat 4: 5th/35ish

Fun race. Felt a bit more like a road race than a crit. The wind made it hard. Superman flies away in lap 2 (or something like that) and is gone after 1 lap. I mean gone, as in not visible around any turn. Wow.

A few other guys try to get away, there is the appropriate chasing. I chased a few down on two occasions, and did my fair share of work at the front. But one must recognize when recognition is required: Ted Ramos did more than everyone but the winner (Ted, NOT doing that much work is the best way to improve your sprint! You’re a beast.).

I finished 5th.

I think I’m the cat 4 2010 C.O.U.G.A.R. champ.