Tour of the Catskills
Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 9:43 pm
I marked this as an A race on the calendar earlier this season and was liking my chances more and more after coming onto some good mid-summer form. With an uphill TT, two hilly road races, and no crit, it's also right up my alley. Then in June the uphill TT was suddenly changed to a standard time trial stage, not good for a guy who has done a) one time trial this decade and b) own zero time trial equipment. Suddenly on the fence about registering, a realization! I race 'cross! I can go really hard for 45 minutes and own a skinsuit! Besides, I have a month to practice TT efforts. Then last week came. I hadn't practiced any TTing. Jeremy kindly lent me his TT helmet and clip on TT bars. All the edge I'd need. This is probably what Chirs Froome does the week before the Tour. Catskills isn't about the time trial, it's about the two road stages.
Stage 1 - TT
Having dialed in my expert TT position on Jeremy's clip ons for two rides I was ready to top the leader board on the opening day. They really did make a difference though, and I was off, rider 349, feeling relatively relaxed since rider 350, a KMS kid announced "I can't TT for shit!" at staging. He started 30 seconds after me. He passed me four miles later. I drafted his wheel for a moment. No one saw. I was pissed and passed him. This is stupid, I thought, he passed me again. Teenagers.
Another rider passed me, then the KMS kid who was in sight. How is this happening? I'm averaging 25 mph! I ignored it and just stayed within my target heart rate of just below the point of blowing up. With such limited TT experience this seemed logical enough. I could have gone harder for the last mile or so but was afraid of completely imploding and wrecking myself before two very hard road races. My time (29 minutes+) put me back 3' in the GC. Catskills isn't about the TT, it's about the two road stages. I slept OK!
Stage 2 - Windam Mnt Road Race
Four letters sum up this stage: LOST. Nothing noteworthy happened until the first KOM about 20 miles in. It was a brutal climb made up of several steep steps that went of for like 6k. It started with a wall that split the field in two almost immediately. Out of the saddle, sprinting, dudes at the front very eager to get it going. I was gassed but with the front group. A 5k marker was painted on the road. Not good! The grade eased up but the pace didn't. 4k, I'm hanging on at the back of the group. There's 20 of us. 3k, a few guys are going backwards. I'm one of them. It got steeper, I don't remember much else other than the feed zone and the top of the climb. I was in a chase group of 12. The front group had maybe 30 seconds on us. We were working pretty well together. Bryan McGill of CRC and a younger Backbay rider were the only guys I recognzied but our chances seemed pretty good here especially since we were now descending. The road split but naturally turned left as the yellow line was faded to the right. There was no marshall to be found. A sign said P/1/2 and pointed left. There was no sign that said "everyone else right." We were either going too fast or too hard, but either way we missed the turn. 20 minutes later we were back at the start. Race over. We rolled up to the officials and explained the situation and apparently the same thing happened in a few other fields. Sigh. Let's just say this hasn't be a good year for Anthem Sports, who has the reputation of charging high entry fees but questionable product. See: Tour of Dragons, Longsjo Classic (previous version), and depending on who you ask, the Battenkill. I'll take some of the blame for the wrong turn, but piss-poor course management here, period. The best the officials could do was give all 15 of us the time cap +1 min. This put us back 38' on the GC. So much for that. At least we'd be able to compete the next day. One guy complained to the director for a refund to no avail. I'm not surprised. One minute you're chasing down the leaders of the race, the next you're completely out of contention. Oh, bike racing.
Stage 3 - Devil's Kitchen
This isn't really the name of the stage but it might as well be since it's the most critical part of the stage race. If you don't know, it's the very appropriate nickname for Platte Clove Rd, 2.5 miles of pain and anguish that winds its way through a dark forest. It's a narrow road with several absurdly steep pitches, some of which are extended sections. The steep parts are over 20%. The flat parts aren't much better. According to Strava it's a 10% grade. I saw two people with bib numbers off their bikes walking it. I saw another guy stopped at the top. The climb arrives around mile 50. It's around a 5 mile descent back to the ski resort for the finish.
The first hour of the race was fast and pretty aggressive. It starts off with a good amount of climbing, with the first KOM around mile 20. This KOM was cake compared to the one from the previous stage and I was quite comfortable near the front of the group. Then I dropped my chain 1k from the top. Seriously!? It was jammed so I had to get off the bike and fix it. Meanwhile the support car pulled over with the the mechanic giving me a nice push forward - PRO! I chased like hell and picked my way through the carnage until reaching the descent, a beautiful 1,000 foot plunge into town. I've never descended so fast in my entire life. In fact, I got one of those funny downhill KOM s and apparently rode 40mph for like 7 minutes! I was able to pick up a wheel here or there too which helped me pick my way to the pack again. Saved! What also saved me was the fact the the next hour was basically a group ride to Devil's KItchen. Everyone knew what was coming. A break of 3 went up the road but no one reacted (they blew up on the climb). We hit the climb and although I was near the front, I now realize I wasn't close enough. The inevitable happened in front of me - dropped chains, swerving bikes and just like that a gap opened up. It's hard to close gaps on a climb like this and that group ended up being the one to be in. It's hard to say if I could have maintained the kind of effort they were putting in, but I quickly realized there was no other group to stay with and I was riding in my own private world of darkness. Twenty minutes later I was at the top, don't ask what happened because I remember nothing except a man in a chicken costume on the side of the road next to a pick up truck. There were five guys around me and we formed up to chase back on. The front group was in sight - 30 seconds maybe? The descent down Platte Clove isn't a pure descent it turns out, and a series of rollers as well as a brief downpour interfered with our efforts. I was with Bryan McGill once again, A young Kelly Benefits rider, a Farm Team kid, two other dudes, and some dead soul from another field who was hanging on the back of the group but not doing anything (eventually someone gave him a good Smudgering and he coasted off the back in shame). The six of us were working OK together but it was pretty obvious some guys were toasted. I felt surprisingly good and did quick but effective pulls. The bad news was our efforts weren't working because the front group was now out of sight. We reached to bottom and now it was a 5k flat run into the Hunter Mt ski resort. Bryan and another guy made a dash off the front at 3k but no one else went with them. Our group was suddenly 12 as more riders latched on. I think they were gassed though because they were sort of just sitting on the back. 1k and we caught Bryan and companion and then came the left hander into the ski resort. The finish is a shortish big ring climb. I think I got 3rd in our bunch. We lost a minute and a half to the lead group. I felt really good at the end and wished I had been able to mix it up with the front runners, but there's always tomorrow (or in this case next week).
I'd classify my ToC experience as disappointing for sure, yet I had fun. The area is an awesome place to spend a long weekend as well. In order to have a good GC here you need to be at least a decent TT guy and a strong climber, particularly on the 15-20 minute stuff. Hopefully they straighten out the course management issues because it really is a cool event.
Stage 1 - TT
Having dialed in my expert TT position on Jeremy's clip ons for two rides I was ready to top the leader board on the opening day. They really did make a difference though, and I was off, rider 349, feeling relatively relaxed since rider 350, a KMS kid announced "I can't TT for shit!" at staging. He started 30 seconds after me. He passed me four miles later. I drafted his wheel for a moment. No one saw. I was pissed and passed him. This is stupid, I thought, he passed me again. Teenagers.
Another rider passed me, then the KMS kid who was in sight. How is this happening? I'm averaging 25 mph! I ignored it and just stayed within my target heart rate of just below the point of blowing up. With such limited TT experience this seemed logical enough. I could have gone harder for the last mile or so but was afraid of completely imploding and wrecking myself before two very hard road races. My time (29 minutes+) put me back 3' in the GC. Catskills isn't about the TT, it's about the two road stages. I slept OK!
Stage 2 - Windam Mnt Road Race
Four letters sum up this stage: LOST. Nothing noteworthy happened until the first KOM about 20 miles in. It was a brutal climb made up of several steep steps that went of for like 6k. It started with a wall that split the field in two almost immediately. Out of the saddle, sprinting, dudes at the front very eager to get it going. I was gassed but with the front group. A 5k marker was painted on the road. Not good! The grade eased up but the pace didn't. 4k, I'm hanging on at the back of the group. There's 20 of us. 3k, a few guys are going backwards. I'm one of them. It got steeper, I don't remember much else other than the feed zone and the top of the climb. I was in a chase group of 12. The front group had maybe 30 seconds on us. We were working pretty well together. Bryan McGill of CRC and a younger Backbay rider were the only guys I recognzied but our chances seemed pretty good here especially since we were now descending. The road split but naturally turned left as the yellow line was faded to the right. There was no marshall to be found. A sign said P/1/2 and pointed left. There was no sign that said "everyone else right." We were either going too fast or too hard, but either way we missed the turn. 20 minutes later we were back at the start. Race over. We rolled up to the officials and explained the situation and apparently the same thing happened in a few other fields. Sigh. Let's just say this hasn't be a good year for Anthem Sports, who has the reputation of charging high entry fees but questionable product. See: Tour of Dragons, Longsjo Classic (previous version), and depending on who you ask, the Battenkill. I'll take some of the blame for the wrong turn, but piss-poor course management here, period. The best the officials could do was give all 15 of us the time cap +1 min. This put us back 38' on the GC. So much for that. At least we'd be able to compete the next day. One guy complained to the director for a refund to no avail. I'm not surprised. One minute you're chasing down the leaders of the race, the next you're completely out of contention. Oh, bike racing.
Stage 3 - Devil's Kitchen
This isn't really the name of the stage but it might as well be since it's the most critical part of the stage race. If you don't know, it's the very appropriate nickname for Platte Clove Rd, 2.5 miles of pain and anguish that winds its way through a dark forest. It's a narrow road with several absurdly steep pitches, some of which are extended sections. The steep parts are over 20%. The flat parts aren't much better. According to Strava it's a 10% grade. I saw two people with bib numbers off their bikes walking it. I saw another guy stopped at the top. The climb arrives around mile 50. It's around a 5 mile descent back to the ski resort for the finish.
The first hour of the race was fast and pretty aggressive. It starts off with a good amount of climbing, with the first KOM around mile 20. This KOM was cake compared to the one from the previous stage and I was quite comfortable near the front of the group. Then I dropped my chain 1k from the top. Seriously!? It was jammed so I had to get off the bike and fix it. Meanwhile the support car pulled over with the the mechanic giving me a nice push forward - PRO! I chased like hell and picked my way through the carnage until reaching the descent, a beautiful 1,000 foot plunge into town. I've never descended so fast in my entire life. In fact, I got one of those funny downhill KOM s and apparently rode 40mph for like 7 minutes! I was able to pick up a wheel here or there too which helped me pick my way to the pack again. Saved! What also saved me was the fact the the next hour was basically a group ride to Devil's KItchen. Everyone knew what was coming. A break of 3 went up the road but no one reacted (they blew up on the climb). We hit the climb and although I was near the front, I now realize I wasn't close enough. The inevitable happened in front of me - dropped chains, swerving bikes and just like that a gap opened up. It's hard to close gaps on a climb like this and that group ended up being the one to be in. It's hard to say if I could have maintained the kind of effort they were putting in, but I quickly realized there was no other group to stay with and I was riding in my own private world of darkness. Twenty minutes later I was at the top, don't ask what happened because I remember nothing except a man in a chicken costume on the side of the road next to a pick up truck. There were five guys around me and we formed up to chase back on. The front group was in sight - 30 seconds maybe? The descent down Platte Clove isn't a pure descent it turns out, and a series of rollers as well as a brief downpour interfered with our efforts. I was with Bryan McGill once again, A young Kelly Benefits rider, a Farm Team kid, two other dudes, and some dead soul from another field who was hanging on the back of the group but not doing anything (eventually someone gave him a good Smudgering and he coasted off the back in shame). The six of us were working OK together but it was pretty obvious some guys were toasted. I felt surprisingly good and did quick but effective pulls. The bad news was our efforts weren't working because the front group was now out of sight. We reached to bottom and now it was a 5k flat run into the Hunter Mt ski resort. Bryan and another guy made a dash off the front at 3k but no one else went with them. Our group was suddenly 12 as more riders latched on. I think they were gassed though because they were sort of just sitting on the back. 1k and we caught Bryan and companion and then came the left hander into the ski resort. The finish is a shortish big ring climb. I think I got 3rd in our bunch. We lost a minute and a half to the lead group. I felt really good at the end and wished I had been able to mix it up with the front runners, but there's always tomorrow (or in this case next week).
I'd classify my ToC experience as disappointing for sure, yet I had fun. The area is an awesome place to spend a long weekend as well. In order to have a good GC here you need to be at least a decent TT guy and a strong climber, particularly on the 15-20 minute stuff. Hopefully they straighten out the course management issues because it really is a cool event.