CT Masters Games Race Report 40+ 5K TT, 10K TT, and Cat 5 40K Crit
Thunderstorms in the forecast. The course was fairly wet, but no rain at the moment. The time trials started by age with youngest to oldest. I was on my road bike, and although I have some clipon aerobars, I didn't mount them since I don't have enough time on them to be comfortable. The course was a little bumpy, with some significant bumps going into the last corner which was a downhill sharp left, and on the straight. The course was closed to car traffic, but there was a walking path that was still open and the walkers were supposed to stay to the inside of the yellow line.
5K TT went reasonably well given that it was my first TT. Each lap was faster than the previous lap. I tried to run it at a higher cadence, and it was okay. I was 2/2 in my age group which was not divided by category, and 44 seconds slower.
For the 10K, I tried to use a higher gear. Again each lap was faster than the previous lap, and the times were very consistent. 3/3 in my age group. 1:34 slower than the leader who was also the one who won the 5K. Riding a road bike in a time trial is like bringing a knife to a gun fight.
I didn't bring much food with me, and I asked a lady from Race CF if there was anywhere to grab something nearby. It turns out that she lived right their and offered me a sandwich. Awesome! By now the sun came out, something that it wasn't supposed to do. The embrocation on my legs was pretty intense in the sun and sweat. While waiting for the crit, which seemed like an eternity, I threw on some sunblock and just tried to stay in the shade.
There were eight in the Cat 5 crit. Brian Collins, Tim Perry, and Matt Halfrey I've all raced against before, but there were several others that I don't think I have. The race started a little quicker than I expected. Tim tried to make an early break, but I knew that it wasn't going to hold. Again, my goal was to do as little as possible. I was the biggest surfing, wheel sucking, glass cranker I have ever been in this race. Someone would be out front, I would be on his wheel. Someone else made a move, I was on it.
There were a lot of mini attacks, but the only one that stuck was Brian Collins - probably around the 5th lap or so got out front, and only one guy chased but we absorbed him shortly after. Brian just ran away like he had somewhere to be. The remaining 7 of us just shuffled around with attack after attack then periods of rest and it was clear that nobody was going to let anything get away. I stayed on people's wheels as much as possible, but when I found myself out front, I was soft pedaling as much as possible. Yeah, it may have given everyone else a chance to rest, but more importantly, it gave me a chance to rest.
Traffic on the course was a little funky. Somehow a car got on and was right at the finish line. A group of larger people were all walking side by side and outside the yellow line and facing the opposite way. On the second to last lap we caught the field that started after us and the pace quickened, however the group stayed together and I found myself in the front. I tried to conserve as much as I could while keeping a reasonably quick pace, but I was pretty spent. Going up the hill in just before the last corner, a few guys got ahead of me and I wasn't able to regain my position. 6/8 with a pack finish. Again, not great on paper, but this was a tough race. 22.5 mph average speed on this course seemed pretty good and no one was giving up.