Sunday, December 11, 2005

BASP Round 3 and 4 race report












Race Report: BASP #3 and #4

Date: 12/3~12/4
Course: Coyote Point both days in opposing directions.
Category: “B” Class
Field: 30 on both days
Teammate: None but Josh rode in the C class
Place: Sat. 10th /////Sun. 9th Finishing 5th overall for the series.
Overall Results: http://www.pilarcitos.com/2005crossGC_4.htm


Sat. BASP #3

The course at Coyote Pt. is my favorite so far of any of the other races I have done. It has tight tricky parts, long road parts and a few very challenging barriers.

I got there early and did about 50 min of warm-up on the course. I felt ok, but after a week of taking it pretty easy I was a little concerned that I might not have done enough high intensity workouts before the race. To late to worry about it now, so I tried to focus on a good start and staying in the front.

I got my front row call up and at the whistle I got a poor start. I was pinched in, had some trouble getting my foot clipped in and got a little pissed off. So I popped out from the side of the group and sprinted around a lot or guys and slotted into 3rd wheel going up the hill with 3 barriers on top. I tried to dismount and my shoe was sticking in the pedal and I almost fell over! Feeling a little out of breath and worried about my cleats I remounted and continued the chase. I managed to hang on to the front group for the first lap and slowly faded, losing spots till the end and finishing in 10th.

I felt ok but I just could not push anything smaller than the 15 on the flats with any authority. I knew I had made a mistake not getting the “opener” on Friday before the race. I did the best I could and looked forward to Sunday. I usually go better after a race or hard workout so I figured maybe Sunday I would have some extra oomph J

The 10th place dropped me from 3rd to 5th so I would need something special to move back up in the overall…….


Sun. BASP #4 Final (Double Points)


After returning home Sat. I was not to happy with the performance of my Crank Bros pedals and switched back to my trusty Time ATAC pedals, washed my bike and did some minor adjustments. Overall the bike was working fine.

I woke up feeling a little stiff but not to shabby. I decided to run for 20 minutes to clear out the garbage left in the system and I felt way better afterwards. I ate some granola got some coffee and picked up Channing to head down to the race.

The course was run in reversed direction than Sat and I liked the layout quite a bit more. The only bummer was the sand run they use only on Sunday, was not the same as last year due to beach erosion. I warmed up on the course keeping the HR low and not overworking myself. I felt a lot better than Sat and thought I might be able to hang in if I got a good start. I got the front row call up and at the whistle I nailed the start perfect! I was slotted in 3rd wheel and planned to just stay with Robert and Logan who seemed to be on great form and placed 1-2 yesterday. At the top of the first climb I attacked at the parking lot and wanted to be first into the tricky tree section. I was going well and started to string out the group a little. Heading down towards the sand run I washed my front wheel and I lost the lead but managed to stay with Robert and Logan for 2 laps until I started to fade with the same issues as Sat. but not as bad. I fell to what was 7th place and knew I could finish there. I had a gap to the chasers behind and I was about the same speed as the 2 guys in front with a lap to go it was all about brining it home smooth.

On the last ½ of the last lap coming down the very bumpy downhill leading to the sand run I dropped my chain! The chain had gotten stuck between the chain catcher and the chain ring and I lost a place getting it back on. Off I go and into the sand and the chain dropped again! Another place lost. I got through the sand run and knew I had to make it to the pavement with my chain or I was going to lose more places. I managed to do so and finished 9th. (If I had finished in 7th I would have had 4th overall) so that was a little bit of a bummer but on the whole a much better race than Sat.

I was only down 40~ sec on the leader (when running in 7th) as opposed to 1:53 on Sat! Gotta get those “openers” before race day. I felt pretty good on Monday. I wish we had a few more races to do! I have to wait another 2 weeks for the East Bay final and CCCX race but will be much better prepared. In the end nothing beats racing to train for racing. I know I missed out on at least 3-4 races that the rest of the guys in the top 5 did make it too and it showed……

Well the season is over for some guys but not me. I have about 3 more CX races planned and then the Criteriums start in early Jan. Special thanks to Channing for loaning me his car on Sat, coming down on Sunday, and to Dad for trekking out to cheer on both days!


Nick Hanni Fusion Sport VP Director of Men’s Cycling

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home