Marian crit/Purdue road race--Women's race report

Sunshine!!! Spring!!! We were all pretty excited at the prospect of taking advantage of the warm weather, riding outdoors, and getting to work on those lovely bike-short tan lines that have nearly faded from last year.

The Marian criterium was held on the campus of Marian college--a very cycling-centric school (they have their own Honda Element team car...swanky!), which promised much enthusiasm and a big crowd for the race. We decided to drive down to Indianapolis the morning of the race rather than stay in the area (an 11am start time made this seem like a good plan at the time)...but we were all a bit sleepy as we piled bikes and gear into cars at 5:15am. The super-technical crit course was enough to shake the sleep out of us, though--the course wound downhill through a series of pathways on campus towards two sharp right-hand turns, ending with two windy slightly-uphill straightaways on the way to the start/finish. For the women's team, Araba was up first. The Women's B field almost immediately was strung out through the turns as riders grouped together in small clumps of 2-5. Araba found a Marian rider to work with through the race, and they finished midway in a big and competitive field.

I was up next for the Women's A race (saying goodbye to teammates Paige and Araba in Women's B is hard!), and I was a bit nervous about the quicker and more experienced field of riders. The group at the start line was HUGE--and dominated by 8 Indiana University riders, 5 Marian riders, and at least another 5 Wisconsin riders. Having these big teams in the field meant that they would almost certainly determine just about every aspect of the race, so I was hoping to just sit in and see how things shook out. But no dice! The field soon split into a front group of about 10 riders and a larger chase pack behind. The front group sure didn't want to let me just sit in the pack, so I found myself at the back and sprinting hard out of each turn in order to catch back on. One gap too many and I dropped back about 10 ft and found myself with a few other solo riders in no-mans-land between the front group and the chase. It's so hard to see that wheel a mere 5ft in front of you...but...just...can't...get...there...ouweeee! I decided that I would try to catch back on with the front pack--I was making up ground through the corners so, pedaling hard, I thought that pushing it through the technical downhill would give me a chance to bridge the gap and catch the leaders. Well...it seemed to be a good idea at the time--until I started pedaling through the sharpest turn too early, caught my pedal and my bike slid out from under me. A DNF (did not finish), some good road rash and a bent dérailleur hanger to show for my foolish heroics.

Both Araba and I were looking forward to the Purdue road race, though Araba was a bit nervous about a steep climb that race coordinators affectionately dubbed "the wall." The course began with a sharp descent that turned into a gentle rolling climb. Crossing a bridge, the road suddenly appears to go straight up...Up...UP in front of you (and all you can think is "mayday!!! downshift!!!"). After struggling up the wall, the road continues for another mile or two of flat country roads bisected by murderous cross-winds, and finally back towards the descent, with the finish line being at the top of the wall. Despite her nerves, Araba did a fantastic job! Spectators reported that nearly half of the Women's B field dismounted their bikes and pushed them up the hill, but Araba said that her pride wouldn't stand for it and spun up the grade on each of the 4 laps. She found a Milwaukee rider to work with and they finished the race tired but still firmly in the saddle (no cleats harmed trudging up the hill!).

My race started off at a comfortable pace but I was having a really hard time finding a good place in the large group. Riders continually moved around in the pack, trying to move towards the front, find teammates, and position themselves well for when the attacks would inevitably come. I kept thinking to myself that I should move up, but easier said than done as riders jostle their way up the sides and elbow in to the pack. Sure enough, on the second lap up the wall some riders went in an all out sprint. I was way too far back in the group to catch them and ended up again in between the smaller breakaway group and ahead of the chase pack (groan!). Luckily, another rider was right behind me and we worked together well in the flat sections. Unfortunately, the larger chase group (not climbers, but strong in the pummeling cross-winds) caught our little breakaway each time on the descent. After the third trip up the hill (and caught on the backside), we decided that we shouldn't try to stay away and save our energy for the 6th and final hill sprint--or maybe we were happy to have some help pulling into the wind! This was the right move since I finished strong in the chase group in the final grueling effort up the wall--I definitely don't have the physique of a sprinter...unless the sprint is up a 20% grade!

It was great to have such a large crew at the race--it made pulling the corgis apart when they got into tug-o-war fights over their bungee leashes much easier! We of course missed Devon (who was leading UCVC to national fame and glory in a stage race at Redlands CA). Again, I'll let the boys narrate the story of their own triumphs, but congratulations especially to our newer racers for their outstanding results!