Tunis-Roubaix Race: Day 2 - Criterium

RUCT Racers: David, Peter, Georgia, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Mark(left to right)

Criterium

The starting field for the crit this morning was, once again, 40+ riders. Unlike yesterday, however, when we set our tires on the line the weather was perfect: 70 degrees, sunny, dry pavement, and clean turns. Ideal racing weather. 

The race started with a tentative first lap as everyone got acquainted with the turns, then settled into a nice 22+ MPH pace. Cruising along. Everyone would string out in the turns, then bunch back up on the long straightaway. David had to drop due to cramping. A few minutes later, one of the riders hooked handlebars with another and several men went down. The field mostly escaped, though, and the race continued. 

About 10 minutes into the race, the bell jangled and "PRIME LAP!" rang out. The field accelerated through the turns, and up into the straightaway. My legs were feeling good, so I moved up the pack, and onto the front. Three of us were lining up to contest the sprint, with several more lurking in the front of the pack. We came through the last turn toward the line, and everyone went. I tucked into the drops, and gave it the 'ol college try. One by one, riders fell off my wheel. Whizzing across the line in 1st, I thought to myself, "Well, at least something went according to plan this weekend!"

Then I realized we still had 20 minutes of racing to go. I fell back into the pack to let my legs recoup a little. The laps clicked by. An A&M rider hit a cone and rolled onto the pavement. Then it was "ONE TO GO! ONE TO GO!"

Coming out of the last turn before the straightaway, I made a fatal strategic error. I'd fallen too far back, and was drafting the last rider out of the turn, from UNT. He made an effort to grab the back of the lead group, but his legs failed and we fell back. By the time I realized what was happening, a 20 foot gap had opened. I bridged the gap just before the final turn, but toasted the last of my energy to do it. Going toward the line I sat up, knowing a top 10 finish was out of reach.  

I finished 14th, far down the field. Today was an object lesson in how important it is to race smart, not just hard.

Results from RUCT:

Men's C

Mark - 14

Peter - 16

David - DNF

Women's B

Sarah - 4

Georgia - 7

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Disclaimer: the events reported here are what I did and/or saw today. This is in no way intended to be a full race report.

Tunis-Roubaix Race: Day 1 - Road Race, TTT

Disclaimer: the events reported here are what I did and/or saw today. This is in no way intended to be a full race report.

Road Race

The road race started a bit after 9:00 AM this morning with the whooshing of tires as a large (>40 rider) field sorted themselves out. Within a mile or so we were in the 'Roubaix' section of the course. Rocks, gravel, and more rocks. Peter's tire blew, knocking him out of the race - fortunately without injury. I almost lost my front wheel on a sandy bit; when I didn't crash the guys behind me cheered, although more for their safety than my bike handling. The field fell apart rapidly, and by the time we hit pavement again only about 10 of us remained. Two guys, or perhaps three, had made it off the front - it was hard to be sure. Soon, a rhythm was established - the Texas riders moved to the front, and did a very thorough job of controlling the pace. A few A&M riders challenged, but the overall pace remained low - perhaps 20 MPH or thereabouts. We had a leasurely hill climb back to the starting line, and started in on a second lap. Shortly after entering the Roubaix section again, I saw a truck blocking the right lane - directly in my line. As I tried to move left, over a rough portion of the rode, my front tire blew sending me  - and my chances of a good finish - skidding to the edge of the gravel. For the first time in my career, I rode SAG back to the starting line. At least I was in good company, though - half of the racers in Men's C flatted out.

David Kao, however, was not one of them. He rode his bicycle with distinction to a 7th place finish. Pedro, racing in Men's D, put in a solid performance for Rice and also took a 7th place slot.

On our girls team, racing Women's B, Georgia flatted out and Elizabeth - during the Roubaix section - managed to lose both contacts. It was actually just that bumpy. Solid efforts by all, though!

Team Time Trial

The team was (in order): Mark, Peter, David, & Pedro. We headed out strong, directly into a vicious headwind. Then there were hills. Wind and hills. Pedro, racing up a cat from D, ended up having to drop about a mile into the race. Instead of turning around, however, he went ahead and solo'ed the rest of the TTT course. Beast. So, we get to the turnaround and catch an OU rider - which was exciting, since the TTT teams leave with 60 second gaps. Catching a rider means you're 60 seconds ahead of them. We waved as we passed (he's a nice guy!) and put our heads back down into the wind. Wind which, inconveniently, kept moving around. That nice tailwind we'd been counting on when planning our race strategy? That turned into a pesky side wind. There were a few more miles of pedal, pedal, pedal, then David Kao charged to the front to drag us up the last big hill. With his last pull complete, David sent us on our way. We came to the 10 mile mark where we were expecting the end of the 10 mile race. 'twas not to be - the course had magically become 11 miles by the time we rode it. Still, with the end in sight we charged onwards, depositing ourselves over the finish in in ~30:10 +- 15 seconds. 

None of us were particularly in form, but everything came together for a great race. Results aren't available yet, but we feel like winners - and isn't that what really matters?

Also, our average power over the 30 minute race was 309 W, which was enough to set a new PR.

Powertap data (click image to enlarge)

UPDATE (3/4/2012): Our Men's C team got 4th place in the TTT, our Women's B team took 3rd! 

Race Resume 2011

Uphill sprint at the end of the Cat C Baylor Road Race
(Photo courtesy of Michael Sheehan)

Cougar Roundup, Collegiate MTB race - October  8-9, 2011
Cat B, Cross Country - 1st!
Cat B, Short Track - 4th
Cat B, Omnium - 2nd (based on XC and short track)
Team Relay - 2nd

team: Sam Tannenbaum, Jenna Emerick, Matthew Charles, Mark Knight

Dave Boyd Huntsvile Classic XIV - October  1-2, 2011

Cat 3, M19-34 (MTB race) - 7th

Texas Tech - Conference Finals (collegiate) - April  15-16, 2011

Cat C Team Time Trial - 2nd

     team: Peter Hokanson, David Kao, Tim Drayna, Mark Knight

Cat C Road Race - 6th

Cat C Criterium - 11th

Baylor Race Weekend (collegiate) - March  26-27, 2011

Cat C Criterium - 4th

Cat C Road Race (RR) - 8th

Cat B Team Time Trial (TTT) - 4th

     team: Sam Tannenbaum, David Kao, Tim Drayna, Mark Knight
Cat C Omnium (crit & RR results combined, not a separate race) - 4th

LSU Invitational (collegiate) - March  19-20, 2011
Cat C Criterium - 1st!
Cat B Team Time Trial - 3rd
     team: Matthew Charles, David Kao, Tim Drayna, Mark Knight
Cat C Road Race - 3rd

The Warda Race - February 27, 2011
Cat 3, M19-29 (MTB race) - 3rd

UT Race Weekend (collegiate) - February 26, 2011
Cat C Team Time Trial (TTT) - 1st!
     team: Sam Tannenbaum, David Kao, Tim Drayna, Mark Knight
Cat C Road Race (RR) - 8th

Dirty Dozen / Frozen Six (Warda) - February 5, 2011
6 Hour Men's Sport (MTB race): 1st!
(9 laps / 67.5 miles, time: 6:18:03)

Series: 2011 Hill Country Bicycle Works Marathon Mountain Bike State Championship Series
Men 19-29 MTB Marathon: 5th overall
(based on the Excruciation Exam and Fat Chuck's Revenge

Excruciation Exam (Warda & Rocky Hill) - January 8, 2011
Men's 19-29 Marathon (MTB race): 6th
(~80 miles, time: 5:42:46)

Excruciation Exam
Photo from Rocky Hill Ranch