Union vale 2004
Usually after Fitchburg, I've been racing since Feb/March and training to peak racing shape for a lot of May/June. Last year I was starting to get back into it after abandoning at Fitchburg with flu, and got shelled out of the Union Vale Cat. 3 group on the 4th lap, before even reaching the big ass-kicking final climb.
Since Fitchburg this year, I've only done short easy rides, excepting the Kissena Rte. 303 ride July 11 and have done some drinking. I didn't have great expectations for Union Vale, but figured it would give me decent baseline info for starting to train again. Perhaps I would be fresh after a couple of weeks off, and I could do well since the finishing climb suits me.
I felt pretty normal during the first lap -- great to see Mark at the start line again!
The Garneau development team had 3 at the front near the end of the first lap, and sent one away on the steep climb with the other two setting the pace at the front. I had seen these guys set up a strong winning break in this type of race before (Bear Mountain) and didn't want to see it happen here. No one was doing too much about it though. I thought I could animate something of a chase as well as test myself at a breakaway-type pace so went off the front near the top of the steep climb and soloed across the top, then down thru the S/F and around the rotary. No one came with me, and the self-test showed I didn't have a lot going on at my top end, and I didn't even get up to the solo Garneau. When the group brought him back, the other Garneaus countered a few times and drove the 2nd lap around pretty fast, and I felt bad going fast up some of the lower-grade grinder hills after my adventure off the front.
I felt bad enough to think about bailing and wondering how I would get up the finishing climb. Interestingly, I felt worse going up the grinders than on the steep climb before the descent into the S/F. For the rest of the race, if I was up in the bunch, I used the "hill fade" technique of drifting toward the back of the group during the climb, meaning I was getting up these and staying in the group while riding a notch slower than the rest (NOT a good technique if you expect attacks on the climb, because you will miss the move!).
I resisted the temptation to bail and told myself to just get the race miles in. I could see from the steep climb that on a good day, I could beat most of these guys up the finish-line hill.
I was near the back for most of the second half of the race. I think there was a fair amount of attrition going on because the group didn't seem very big and on most of the course, you could see what was happening in front from the very back. The attacks became fewer and the few that went gained little ground. On the last lap, my morale improved since the end was coming, and I actually felt better going around. I didn't try to jockey for position or move up much, just thought about conserving for the finishing climb - at that point I figured I could get into the top 20 but wouldn't have the speed to ride up with the best climbers. I hit the base of the finish climb near the back. The group became more linear but didn't explode. The hill is steepest at the bottom and I knew a lot of guys would soon pop as they tried and failed to keep the leaders' pace.
I kept my pace pretty steady at the bottom because I know that if I have decent legs and don't blow up early, I will get stronger and faster the more time I have to find my climbing rhythm. I accelerated out of the saddle after a few minutes and started passing people. The grade eased a little and I sat and shifted up and passed more. By the half-way point (I think this climb is about 2 miles), guys were all over the place in small bunches and ones and twos. Someone came by me going fast, and I got on his wheel, shifted up and cruised as the grade eased some more. He slowed, I went around him and he couldn't stick. The grade eased some more, the tent at the finish came into view and there was a group up in front of me. I shifted up and hammered, sprinting by a few of them at the line.
I ended up 15th, 53 seconds off the pace set by winner Mark Alden of CRCA-Axis, who's been racing strong since June. I was pretty happy with things overall, since I mainly went to get things started for the 2nd half of the season and wasn't expecting great results. Ride through the bad patches and never give up!
Jon
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