Tuesday was a pretty busy day - I worked a full day then threw all my stuff in the Jeep and headed to Arlington Heights to race. I was tired before I even got there! Based on results from the previous races it appeared that the field size wasn't huge (maybe 30-40 each day, max) and that Colavita-Sutter Home and HUB were pretty much controlling everything. Having no teammates, this is the ideal situation for me - I can key off of those two teams, work when I need to and maneuver as much as I like without being marked as a threat.
The Arlington Heights course is about .7mi long with 8 corners in an hourglass shape. There was a fair amount of bumpy pavement on the back side and the 8th turn had a pretty gnarly manhole cover but a long sprint straightaway made it possible to make up any earlier lost distance.
Racing started a bit late due to some scheduling miscommunication but once we were underway things were pretty much 'go' from the gun. There was a fair amount of attacking but nothing stayed away for very long - maybe 2 laps at the most before getting hauled in. I was happy to work with Colavita and probably did a little too much early on but I was feeling good so it wasn't a problem. HUB, LipSmackers, UltraLink and Altarum were pretty aggressive and the point sprints every fifth lap were pretty animated. I even got in on the action and managed to snag a few points, just to test how things might go down at the end.
With about 4 laps to go HUB started kicking up the speed and stringing things out quite nicely. I was hoping it would stay that way - easier for me to sprint - but it was not to be. With 2 laps to go things were getting bunched up and I was amazed to see a slew of asses in front of me I'd not seen the entire race. Again, just lazy I guess. I had but one option coming into the final sprint when I found myself sitting about 20 spots back (dumb!!) - hammer up the bumpy gutter between turns 7 and 8, pick through the holes and sprint my guts out as soon as I saw daylight.
I ended up 7th - it's abundantly clear that I need to be more aggressive in the later stages of a criterium. Poaching my way into the Colavita or HUB leadout train would have been the smart thing. Positioning is everything and had I been smarter earlier on I surely could have finished better. Hindsight...
Up next is Thursday evening at the track and a weekend of road racing and time trialing out near the Quad Cities then some more Superweek next week. I'll be missing the Evanston GP this year but that's okay - I'm planning to do at least Kenosha and Racine, maybe Whitefish Bay or the Chicago Crit. There are so many options I can pretty much pick and choose at this point what works best with my schedule.
The Arlington Heights course is about .7mi long with 8 corners in an hourglass shape. There was a fair amount of bumpy pavement on the back side and the 8th turn had a pretty gnarly manhole cover but a long sprint straightaway made it possible to make up any earlier lost distance.
Racing started a bit late due to some scheduling miscommunication but once we were underway things were pretty much 'go' from the gun. There was a fair amount of attacking but nothing stayed away for very long - maybe 2 laps at the most before getting hauled in. I was happy to work with Colavita and probably did a little too much early on but I was feeling good so it wasn't a problem. HUB, LipSmackers, UltraLink and Altarum were pretty aggressive and the point sprints every fifth lap were pretty animated. I even got in on the action and managed to snag a few points, just to test how things might go down at the end.
With about 4 laps to go HUB started kicking up the speed and stringing things out quite nicely. I was hoping it would stay that way - easier for me to sprint - but it was not to be. With 2 laps to go things were getting bunched up and I was amazed to see a slew of asses in front of me I'd not seen the entire race. Again, just lazy I guess. I had but one option coming into the final sprint when I found myself sitting about 20 spots back (dumb!!) - hammer up the bumpy gutter between turns 7 and 8, pick through the holes and sprint my guts out as soon as I saw daylight.
I ended up 7th - it's abundantly clear that I need to be more aggressive in the later stages of a criterium. Poaching my way into the Colavita or HUB leadout train would have been the smart thing. Positioning is everything and had I been smarter earlier on I surely could have finished better. Hindsight...
Up next is Thursday evening at the track and a weekend of road racing and time trialing out near the Quad Cities then some more Superweek next week. I'll be missing the Evanston GP this year but that's okay - I'm planning to do at least Kenosha and Racine, maybe Whitefish Bay or the Chicago Crit. There are so many options I can pretty much pick and choose at this point what works best with my schedule.
