The more observant of you may notice that I skipped the race report for Poor College Kids Road Race and the Mothballs crit. That's because my performance was less than spectacular and I'd rather just move on.
While my softer-shelled compatriots were off in sunny, warm, Arizona racing at Valley of the Sun, I was at the UCLA Road Race on Saturday, rolling around the Devil's Punchbowl course. Sunrise on Saturday morning revealed a spectacular scene of low mountains and rolling hills with a dusting of snow, all without a cloud in the sky. By the time the Men's 4/5 field started at 9:15, though, temperatures were just above freezing, and most of the ice on the road had melted.
I got to the line early and assured myself an excellent starting position. After leading the pack for the first two miles the serious uphill started and I started getting passed. I'm no climber, and this just wasn't my day. I picked up a few people who had passed me, but there wasn't anything organized. In the end, the race was essentially a twenty-five mile uphill time trial. I took thirty-sixth out of a full field of seventy-five.
Sunday saw me in Lancaster for the UCLA Time Trial. A slightly rolling, out-and-back, 23km course, I liked my odds going into the day. Time trials have always been something I'm good at, and this year I have some new equipment. My new time trial bike, a Rudy Project Syton helmet, a bitchin' Liquid Fitness skinsuit, and a rear wheel cover were all ready to go at noon on Sunday.
After getting my start time (12:23:30) at sign-in I headed out to warm up. I stopped by the starting tent for a time check and headed south from there. Despite thrashing myself on the road race Saturday, I felt great. I rolled back up to the line with five minutes to spare and tried to stay loose. I rolled to the line and held the bike steady while the marshall got a grip on my saddle rails. I clipped in and awaited the countdown.
As soon as the starter said "Go," I let go of my brakes and started started cranking. After a hundred yards I tucked into my aerobars and focused on cranking. Throughout my race I focused on keeping my Powertap over 300 watts; everytime I saw it dip I pushed harder. Everytime I felt the pain releave I pushed harder. And everytime I saw a rider ahead of me I made up my mind to pass them. As I passed the 500 meters to go mark I dropped the hammer even harder and poured every ounce of strength into my cranks. I blew across the finish line to post a 29:52, good enough for a win in the Cat 4 race.
The credit for this success goes to my legs and to my Powertap, which gave me something objective to focus on, and distract and motivate myself to fight through the pain. Thanks to the guys at UCLA for putting on a terrific weekend; I look forward to coming back next year.
And in other news, the location for Elite Nationals has been announced as Bend, OR this year. I sense a road trip in my future...
Showing posts with label winning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winning. Show all posts
Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday, October 17, 2008
Motivation
Just in case I needed motivation to train this off-season:
The following request to change your USCF category has been approved and by USAC:
Member: Michael Nies
License: Road Racer
Request to change category from Cat 5 to Cat 4
The following request to change your USCF category has been approved and by USAC:
Member: Michael Nies
License: Road Racer
Request to change category from Cat 5 to Cat 4
Monday, June 16, 2008
Stage 4: More Flats
Stage 4
With three stages survived, twenty-five seconds behind first and a solid fifty seconds ahead of third in the general classification, all I had to do was survive for thirty-nine more miles and an excellent finish was all but guaranteed.
But who the hell wants to drive four hours and work that hard for a boring, second place finish? Not me! So as soon as the race started I began throwing attacks off the front, dropping back a couple wheels and recovering, and doing it again. I was working with Mike Abney again, but we just couldn't get anything to stick. The Buckeye Cycling team was out in force for Sunday's stage, and they were actually doing a good job of protecting their leading man. They were in front chasing down all my breaks, and they held the pace at a comfy 22mph for almost the entire race. On the final lap, the third place rider tried to make a break for it but was pulled back even faster than usual, since half the support he had organized (me) got boxed just as he launched his attack. With around a half-mile to go, a couple guys shot off the front, and I went with them. At one point we had about a five second lead on the field, but then the front guy just stopped working. I screamed at them to rotate the lead, hoping to ride into the sprint straightaway and pour every last watt I could into the pedals, but they weren't interested, so I shot in front and pulled the group through. Three of them whipped around me to sprint for the pay places, and I held on for fourth in the stage, and second in the GC. For my troubles, I added a Rudy Project Kontact helmet to my winnings for the weekend.
This is likely my last race before I move to California, unless I can find time to hit the state time trial in Groveport next week. Not a bad way to end my Ohio racing career. Hopefully my California days will see some glory, too.
With three stages survived, twenty-five seconds behind first and a solid fifty seconds ahead of third in the general classification, all I had to do was survive for thirty-nine more miles and an excellent finish was all but guaranteed.
But who the hell wants to drive four hours and work that hard for a boring, second place finish? Not me! So as soon as the race started I began throwing attacks off the front, dropping back a couple wheels and recovering, and doing it again. I was working with Mike Abney again, but we just couldn't get anything to stick. The Buckeye Cycling team was out in force for Sunday's stage, and they were actually doing a good job of protecting their leading man. They were in front chasing down all my breaks, and they held the pace at a comfy 22mph for almost the entire race. On the final lap, the third place rider tried to make a break for it but was pulled back even faster than usual, since half the support he had organized (me) got boxed just as he launched his attack. With around a half-mile to go, a couple guys shot off the front, and I went with them. At one point we had about a five second lead on the field, but then the front guy just stopped working. I screamed at them to rotate the lead, hoping to ride into the sprint straightaway and pour every last watt I could into the pedals, but they weren't interested, so I shot in front and pulled the group through. Three of them whipped around me to sprint for the pay places, and I held on for fourth in the stage, and second in the GC. For my troubles, I added a Rudy Project Kontact helmet to my winnings for the weekend.
This is likely my last race before I move to California, unless I can find time to hit the state time trial in Groveport next week. Not a bad way to end my Ohio racing career. Hopefully my California days will see some glory, too.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Summer Solstice Update
Just a quick update before I go bolt the aerobars onto the bike in preparation for tonight's time trial. The Summer Solstice Race goes well. I took second in yesterday's stage, and ninth today. The GC is still very close, and tonight's time trial is likely to be decisive. The 5/Cit pack is definitely one of the faster I've been in, and no one seems to mind working. Now back to the bike!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies.
Once again I have been lax in my blogging. I'll be posting a review of the Cervelo Soloist Carbon shortly, but first I shall describe the riding exploits of late.
Thursday afternoon I went out to the Chippewa course with Matt T. for some climbing practice. We did a modified loop of the race course, starting at the bottom of the Valley Parkway and going all the way to Brecksville Rd. before looping back around Parkview Rd. to rejoin the course. We did three full laps and climbed the hill one last time before turning around and calling it a day, after I bonked on the last hill. All in all we wound up with about 1400ft. of climbing over 27 miles, and an average speed of 15.4 mph. About ten minutes after we got back to the cars, the skies opened up, dropping a blinding rainstorm. Fortunately we were safe and dry by this point.
On Saturday, Matt and I drove down to the Malabar Farm race, where we met up with Dave S., Pete S., and Chris B. Dave, Pete, and Chris raced the 3/4 pack (Dave took fifth, Chris took ninth, and Pete finished in the pack), Matt raced the 4/5 pack and finished with them, while I raced the 5/Cit pack and managed to hold out for the win. I guess all that climbing practice on Thursday paid off. So now the plan is to head out this Thursday for another gravity based torture session. See you on the road!
Thursday afternoon I went out to the Chippewa course with Matt T. for some climbing practice. We did a modified loop of the race course, starting at the bottom of the Valley Parkway and going all the way to Brecksville Rd. before looping back around Parkview Rd. to rejoin the course. We did three full laps and climbed the hill one last time before turning around and calling it a day, after I bonked on the last hill. All in all we wound up with about 1400ft. of climbing over 27 miles, and an average speed of 15.4 mph. About ten minutes after we got back to the cars, the skies opened up, dropping a blinding rainstorm. Fortunately we were safe and dry by this point.
On Saturday, Matt and I drove down to the Malabar Farm race, where we met up with Dave S., Pete S., and Chris B. Dave, Pete, and Chris raced the 3/4 pack (Dave took fifth, Chris took ninth, and Pete finished in the pack), Matt raced the 4/5 pack and finished with them, while I raced the 5/Cit pack and managed to hold out for the win. I guess all that climbing practice on Thursday paid off. So now the plan is to head out this Thursday for another gravity based torture session. See you on the road!
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