Today, just for a change of pace (and scenery...), I raced with the 40+ men at the Lombard Criterium. Lombard was the final event of a 4-race series and the top 5 overall positions would be determined today - only a few points separated them so it was sure to be a day of team tactics and good hard racing. The 40+ guys are a group of super strong (and super cool) athletes - lots of them Cat 1 and 2 racers with years of experience. I was riding unofficially in support of Mike Jones (MetLife) who was wearing the yellow jersey at the start of the day.
The course in Lombard is mostly flat with a small rise between curves 3 and 4. I say curves because there really are no true turns - it's a loop through an office park in the 'burbs. There were about 35 guys (and me!) at the line. Someone (who shall remain nameless) remarked that he was surprised to see a "girl" racing with them after noting my ponytail. I just sort of smiled and shrugged. He had no idea what I was capable of. Fool.
Things started out pretty fast - there were guys shelled off the back in the first three laps. I hung tough the entire way - actually bridged a few gaps and even took a flyer off the front at one point. I was ready to do whatever I needed to in order to secure a high place for Mike today. There were 3 other Met guys in the group so things were looking good. A group of 6 had broken away but we were content to let it go since only one of the guys in the break group was a threat to the overall, and a remote one at that. Along the way there were numerous attacks but everything was together with a few laps to go. The Met leadout train got rolling and things were looking good but at the very end it just wasn't quite enough to get our leader to the line in front.
In retrospect, there were a lot of things that could have happened to change the outcome - I could've been third in line in the leadout train and things would have definitely been different. I could have attacked up the side while everyone was looking around in effort to draw someone over and start the sprint early. I could've bridged to the break group early on - I felt good enough to do that. There are always so many opportunties and missed opportunities in every race - often frustrating, sometimes not. I guess that's why we keep racing - every race is a learning experience. There's always something to do better the next time.
As it turned out, Mike ended up 11th on the day (I was 12th) and took 3rd in the overall. While he's surely not satisfied with 3rd after being in yellow at the start of the day, he raced like a champ and I was proud to be a member of the team, if only for a day.
The course in Lombard is mostly flat with a small rise between curves 3 and 4. I say curves because there really are no true turns - it's a loop through an office park in the 'burbs. There were about 35 guys (and me!) at the line. Someone (who shall remain nameless) remarked that he was surprised to see a "girl" racing with them after noting my ponytail. I just sort of smiled and shrugged. He had no idea what I was capable of. Fool.
Things started out pretty fast - there were guys shelled off the back in the first three laps. I hung tough the entire way - actually bridged a few gaps and even took a flyer off the front at one point. I was ready to do whatever I needed to in order to secure a high place for Mike today. There were 3 other Met guys in the group so things were looking good. A group of 6 had broken away but we were content to let it go since only one of the guys in the break group was a threat to the overall, and a remote one at that. Along the way there were numerous attacks but everything was together with a few laps to go. The Met leadout train got rolling and things were looking good but at the very end it just wasn't quite enough to get our leader to the line in front.
In retrospect, there were a lot of things that could have happened to change the outcome - I could've been third in line in the leadout train and things would have definitely been different. I could have attacked up the side while everyone was looking around in effort to draw someone over and start the sprint early. I could've bridged to the break group early on - I felt good enough to do that. There are always so many opportunties and missed opportunities in every race - often frustrating, sometimes not. I guess that's why we keep racing - every race is a learning experience. There's always something to do better the next time.
As it turned out, Mike ended up 11th on the day (I was 12th) and took 3rd in the overall. While he's surely not satisfied with 3rd after being in yellow at the start of the day, he raced like a champ and I was proud to be a member of the team, if only for a day.
