IVRR 2010

Here is a report from Cat 4 racer Jed Barden

IVRR Report

When I got to the course I barely recognized it because the sky was sunny and clear. This was quite a change from a year ago, when we had to cope with pouring rain and snow. This race marked my first full year as a road racer, as IVRR 2009 was my first road race. That first race was a short one for me. I was spit out the back on the first climb and struggled over the the ensuing flat section with help from teammates. After Mark T. dropped me on the second climb, it started to snow. The descent was harrowing, since I was blinded by the falling snow and was starting to freeze up as the snow accumulated on my shoulders and quads. Then my rear tire flatted on the descent. I had long since fallen behind out follow car and had no support. After about ten minutes the Cat 4 women's race rolled through, and their follow car picked me up. I must have been quite the sad sight on the side of the road.

In the year since I have learned a few things about road racing. Minor things such as training, eating, and wearing proper clothing. I looked at IVRR 2010 as somewhat of a redemption race - and as a progress check to see how far I've come over the last twelve months. My teammates in cat 4 were Shawn H., Brad H., and John W. This was John's first race as a cat 4. The start of our race was delayed for 15 minutes due to finish-line crashes in the morning races. Race organizer Eric encouraged us to race aggressively (i.e. not wait for a bunch sprint) so we could go home in our own car instead of an ambulance.

The race had an odd start. During the neutral roll out the lead car suddenly slammed on its brakes and did a U turn. This was rather confusing for our group as we watched the lead car drive back towards the parking lot. What happened I don't know but the lead car eventually came back to take us around the course. When we started racing, the pace up to the first climb was slow. The first time seeing the climb sends a shiver down your spine because you round a corner and then see the road go up, up into the trees and you cannot see the top. I managed to get in the front part of the pack over the climb, and just concerned myself with following wheels and not using too much energy. Unfortunately Shawn and John got caught up behind some slower riders on the climb and became separated from the front group. Then, in his efforts to catch back up after the first climb Shawn's brand new Specialized Roubaix tire flatted.

The pace on the flats after the first climb was pretty hot, and teammate Brad came up and took a monster pull that strung everyone out. We had a large group of about 30-35 at the second climb. This climb was a lot smaller than what I remembered. There wasn't really any opportunity to get separation. A very fast descent though, with speeds approaching 50mph. Back on the flats, Brad must have been feeling good because he bridged up to a couple riders who had a gap of 10-15 seconds. With the first climb of the second lap upcoming, I was looking forward to getting some separation and paring down what was still a big group of riders.

However, one cannot force a separation from mid-pack. To attack a climb, the first order of business is to be in a position where you can attack. At the base of the climb I was about 20th wheel, which boxed me in behind slower riders. It wasn't until halfway up the climb that I broke out, charged to the front, and opened up the gaps. But the climb isn't long enough, and with the fast descent, most of the guys who were gapped off caught back on. Near the crest of the climb, we passed the breakaway (Brad included) in TdF fashion, where the strong climbers pass the completely blown breakaway riders as if they are standing still.

I cursed my poor positioning and resigned myself to more pack riding. Our lead group of about 25 went over the second climb without any significant developments. The pace was not that high and a motivated rider could have attacked and gotten away. Too bad Brad used up his big attack on the first lap. At about 5k to go, guys were fighting for position mid-pack and a crash on the right side of the road took out 5-8 riders. Fortunately I was on the yellow line side and avoided that nasty pile up. When we passed 1k to go, I was surprised because my computer said we had only gone 38 miles (the race flyer said our race was 41 miles). Instead of being at the front where I should have been I was trapped in the back third of our now smaller pack. Things got really sketchy with guys swerving and I became more concerned with staying upright then sprinting for the line. I never did get a sprint out and finished 14th out of 17 in our group, and out of 50 riders who started the race.

Great race in the cat 5. We had three Cycle U riders in the top 10:
2nd - Tim(3) W.
5th - Chad S.
10th - Greg S.