Rolling up the power climb at Vacaville
The Norcal District Criterium Championships, Vacaville Gran Prix, had been circled on my race calendar since March. However my head injury over Christmas kept me off the bike and out of competiton for six months. With such a short racing window for 2010 (July – August) I could only peak once, and had to target a short event. So Vacaville Gran Prix, the crit with 8 turns and a power climb, became my goal of the season.
Normally its 100 plus degrees along the streets of downtown Vacaville in late August. However, a freak cold snap over the weekend saw the temprature hovering at a nice 80. Out of the frying pan and into the refrigerator.
My plan for the race was to sit in, get into a late break and launch a last lap hail mary. My power numbers showed that I was on form, however a sore throat revealed I was under the weather. My legs felt great and the race was easy, but my minor cold robbed me of that fighting spirit I need to make anything happen. So I followed my plan and sat in, bored in the back as pathetic pack fodder.
A four man break stuck out the final laps for the victory, as the field sprinted for 4th. I made a push for position on the final hill and sprinted for 9th place. Not a bad placing considering my condition, but I wanted the podium. My performance was so pathetic that Velopromo didn’t even place me in the results. But it was probably pretty hard to see me thrusting across the finish line surrounded by 200 pound sprinters types.
