This is what happens when I sprint

Yup, I'm just that strong that I took the crank off mid sprint on the trainer :)

In reality the crank was just a bit loose and I didn't realize it. Plus the crit workout I was doing didn't help matters so it was inevitable for the crank to come off. It has been adjusted, re tightened, and ready to go for this coming weekend's races. Racing twice on Saturday with my Montclair Teammates at Branchbrook Park, then on Sunday heading over to Princeton for some collegiate action with my awesome Stevens teammates.

Other than this little incident my week has been pretty typical, work, school, train, sleep. I'm sure I can find some time in there for some beers w/ the boys before the week is over :)

So the racing continues.....

Since my last post, I have been rather busy training and racing. I completed the Giro del Cielo. I only did the first two stages as I couldn't get the car for Sundays Road Race. My TT went so so, I wasn't expecting anything great. I finished the 4.6 mile uphill course in the 19min range, which was very subpar on teh day. The crit went ok as well, I didn't have a good position and got stuck behind some cat 5s who kept braking through each turn causing huge gaps to open. Being a very short criterium course, this made it very hard to close gaps. This caused me to get pulled about halfway through the race. I wasn't happy w/ that and went home frustated, but determined to better the following weekend.

The following weekend, which was this past weekend I race twice. First on Saturday at the Cadence Cup in Brooklyn then again on Sunday for the Freedom Tour crit. Saturday went much better than my last outing in Brooklyn. Despite not eating or drinking enough, I was able to contest both green jersey sprints. Both times I just missed the points as I had jumped to early and got beat at the line. From that I learned that I need to time my jump better and find a better wheel to follow in the sprint. After those two sprints, I was pretty gassed and finished in the field for the race. I was happy w/ how my race went, as I learned that my sprint has improved enough to contest the sprint in a very tough race. Sunday's criterium went relatively well, first goal was to not get pulled like the previous week. Next goal was to try to contest a top ten. The race went pretty smoothly, I was able to stay up front always in the top 20-30 riders. I cornered well as each I either kept my position or gained a spot or two. I made a tactical mistake by not carrying water for the crit. By the last lap I was quickly running out of gas, w/ no way to refuel. Sprint time came, I just didn't have the gas to sprint and finished mid pack.

All in all, this weekend was clear improvement from last week and my collegiate stint this past spring. Form feels good, and I have some new toys on the way(sans powertap and rollers). I have plenty of races left this month before I wrap it up for the season at Denville. I will be racing again this weekend, will be working on the correcting the mistakes I've made so I can finally contest the sprint at the end of a race.

Here are some pics from this past weekend.....
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/9066083_KDDRH#603615740_nvVWJ
http://teamorganicnyc.org/gallery_090725.html

Good Start to the season

So now that my racing season has officially started, I will be regularly writing race and training reports w/ some ramblings here and there. Today was a good start for my first race of 2009. I showed up to Prospect Park on two hours of sleep after a night out. Nonetheless I still felt ready to race.

This year the race director has added KOM and Sprint points during the race. This may sound like a good idea, but during the race no one really new which lap was a sprint. Naturally the 4 field assumed every lap was a sprint and KOM lap. At least this kept the pace high. My goals for this race were to attack the field at least once, take one pull at the front and be in position to contest the sprint. I have to say that I completed all of them.

Two laps in I attacked about a mile before the start/finish as I thought it was a sprint lap. WRONG, it was not and I went for nothing. But my first goal was complete, and right before I took the front to help reel in a break but I turned that into my planned attack. I stayed up front most of the race, working w/ the two Rutgers who also raced the 4 field today. Coincidentally we ended up working together in the final lap going into the sprint. Here I used the pack position skills I learned last year to get in prime position to contest the sprint. I got a clear view of the winning move and reacted. Unfortunately I did not have the legs to really gun the sprint. I guess that's what happens when you race on two hours of sleep.

I learned today that the 4's are much smoother than the 5's in Prospect and that 4's don't like to work at the front. It seemed today that only 2 teams were working at the front today: Brooklyn Velo Force(won the final sprint in a squirely leadout train) and Kissena. I also learned that there are some cat 4's who should have their licenses ripped up. There were a few wankers who attacked on the downhill and nearly caused crashes. In the final sprint, a few more very small minded racer took creative lines. Causing several near misses at 35mph and totally disrupting the leadout. Finally I saw that I am ready for next week when it really counts at the season opener. Legs feel good, form is good, all is good...