At 10pm on Saturday night, it occurred to me that if I were to use my 39T ring to drive and the 42T to run as a guard, I just may be able to avoid dropping my chain on undulating trail sections. The only issue was properly sized chainring bolts. So I took a bit of a gamble and used the single-ring bolts on the double ring setup. Thanks to my engineering intuition(...), I made the educated gamble that they wouldn't vibrate loose in the 40 minutes of racing the next day. I also re-positioned the chain watcher on the inside. While far from perfect, it was certainly an improvement on the existing setup.
Sunday's course was even less technical than Saturday's, if possible. The only course "difficulties" included an un-rideable sandpit, an extremely steep run-up, a rutted drop off, and a very steep ride/run. All the rest was extended sections on pavement or grass. This course also suited my strengths.
Once again, I got a decent starting position, in probably the 5th row. The first turn would be tight and possibly sketchy, but once we dropped into the field, I knew I could move right up the field. Staged directly next to me was Tyler Sage, the winner of the Chainbiter. At least I could keep an eye on him.
When the starter shouted, "Go!" (and excellent way to start a race) I clipped right in and made a few places in the scramble, only to be slowed by the field through a gravel strewn 90 degree right turn at the end of the paved path. Still, this was my best start to date; things were going well. The first couple corners could have been bad, given the loose gravel, but the front of the pack negotiated it nicely. Following the drop into the field and mini-railroad crossing, I could see that the front of the race was not very far ahead. I knew that I could count on more than a handful of riders starting way too fast- they would come back to me pretty quickly.
I picked up a few places in the grass straights and found myself in the top 10 as we made it to the sandpit. I had attempted to ride it in warmup and quickly found that it would be much more prudent to dismount. Everyone else figured the same, so the pit was the usual mess of wheels and bikes being swung about in random fashion. On the 180 turn, Tyler slid his wheels out, and I moved past, probably in 8-9th place at this point. I did notice that the leader was significantly ahead already. How did he do that?
Our small pack of 4-5 riders remained together for the conclusion of the first lap- through the run up, drop off, and over the barriers. I sat in on the start/finish straight, looking to make my move in the upcoming open field. As we crossed the train tracks, Sarah alerted me to my 8th place position. With room to work and the 6 other riders close-by, things were shaping up rather well. For once I wouldn't have to chase the race from the back. At this point, Tyler made a strong pull to pass the group, and in a momentary lapse of judgement I let him open the gap.
During the following laps, I dropped the grupetto and bridged up to the third wheel. We stayed together, trading leads, with Tyler holding 100m on us through the majority of the lap. However, when we hit the pavement stretch through the start/finish, I pulled around and began my move to catch up to Tyler, now in 2nd. I had moved solidly into third, as the gap to Tyler closed slightly and gap to fourth opened significantly. The chase was on.
The next lap or so followed with me trying to get up to Tyler's wheel, as I very slowly closed the gap. I probably could have mustered a big effort to close the gap quicker, but I was focused on maintaining constant pace and not going under. I knew I could make the catch, and I also knew that I would need a strong effort to make the pass and hopefully open a gap. At this point, the race leader was visible, but had just enough gap to make it seem unlikely that I could close on him in the remaining distance. Nevertheless, the battle for 2nd place drew significant attention from the announcers as we passed by them at several points on the course. I was famous.
As we approached the barriers with three laps remaining, the gap hovering at 30m, I heard the announcer exclaim, "Sage must have made up 4 seconds on those barriers alone." I was too busy avoiding roots to take notice of his apparently smooth transitions. In any case, I knew that I would need a solid run through the barriers to maintain the current gap.
I approached the barrier in typical fashion, kicked my leg over, placed my hand on the top tube, and prepared for a very professional dismount. However, at this critical time, my left pedal was not in the business of releasing my foot. Frantically, I jerked my foot and the bike and managed to release before crashing head on into the barrier. However, I was left in no position to take this section smoothly. For some reason, I lifted the bike with only one hand, pulling the front wheel right into the barrier, causing it to flip wildly to the side. My body was over the first barrier but the bike was flailing over the top. As I continued over the second one, still lacking control of the bike, I slammed the rear wheel into that barrier, causing another wild bobble. Then, in a spectacular final display of agility, I tripped over the bike and came crashing to the ground.
All through this, I hear the announcer (Alan Atwood) alerting the crowd to my unfailing grace- "Lawney is having quite a bit of difficulty and has fallen...good thing the announcer wasn't there to see that!" As I remounted, I could hear him remark that I "looked like a gazelle over the barriers." Normally I feel that would be a compliment, but in light of the fall, I imagined a gazelle in this situation:
In any case, I didn't lose too much time and the fall forced me to regain my focus. Over the next half lap, I pulled him in at a faster rate and made the catch right after the sandpit. I suspected he was starting to drift back to me in fatigue. Or at least I hoped he was, since it would make the final laps easier on me. I sat in for about 10 seconds, then perhaps foolishly I passed on the paved section before the big run up. He didn't have much trouble grabbing my wheel and we came into the dismount together.
Tyler sat on for the next lap and a half as I intentionally took really poor outside lines in an attempt to make him come by and pull, to no avail. I also may have been taking bad lines just because I couldn't see out of my left eye...because my contact lens fell out AGAIN! Two days in a row. At this point, I had abandoned the idea of riding him off my wheel and was content to let the race play out tactically. First place was out of contention and 4th was at least a minute behind. I figured it would come down to a drag race, which I was fairly comfortable with. I don't have the speed I had in the summer, but I feel like I still have something left. As we came to the final lap, we were together, with me in front.
The final lap played out without much incident until the ride/run-up out of the lower field. I had managed to ride this every other lap, which I was pretty pleased with. However, with waning power in the legs, each subsequent trip up became more difficult. Additionally, I couldn't mess this one up too badly since it was so close to the finish. This final time up, I came off the good line and spun my rear wheel in some loose dirt where people had been running the hill. Damn. I was close enough to the top that I just had to grind out the remaining 3 feet at 20-30% grade, but it wasn't easy. I practically pulled a trackstand on the cusp of the hill as I fought my gear over the top.
Even though I didn't intentionally screw up the ride/run-up, it was exactly what I was looking for. This had to force Tyler to come around, and he did. The announcer loved the drama- as I struggled to complete the hill he was quick to proclaim that I had "bobbled near the top!" and that I "left the door open for Sage!" It took me a few seconds to catch back on as we hit the annoying rooted section in the trees. The only other thing that would mess me up was the approaching barriers, placed not more than 800m from the finish- the announcer reminded the crowd of my fall.
We both had relatively uneventful trips over the barriers, and I set up on his wheel in the winding section approaching the final straight. As we made the sharp turn onto the final stretch, Tyler slid his wheel a bit in the dirt to pavement transition. Luckily he stayed up, since a fall would have made for a lame finish. There was nothing left in the race but a 300m straight paved path. The sprint was engaged.
I shifted down a few gears to gain some speed and stayed behind and to the right. Unaware of the actual finish location, I hesitated a bit in a visual search for the line. Still couldn't place it. Once we began to spin up, I clicked into my largest gear (39x12) and we were both standing in full flight with probably 150m left. I began to pull up and almost got even, but I was spun out and the line was approaching far too quickly. As we hit the line, both bikes were thrown, with mine being half a wheel too late. 3rd.
Suffice to say I'm a little disappointed I couldn't win the sprint for second, but I'm also really happy that I placed so well at a Verge series race. I think this is my last big 'cross race of the season, but I'm excited to sandbag some 4 races next season before upgrading to the B(cat 2/3) class.
1 comment:
I was not expecting the gazelle pic. I lol'ed.
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