I'm not going to say that I didn't see this coming. http://sandbaggerkc.blogspot.com/ I qualified cat 2, during my first season as a racer, last season.. and I crashed a few times in the process (four times, two were my own fault from pedal-striking at Tulsa and Springfield). This season, after considering the advice of my peers, I decided I would spend the first few weekends as a 3 and race local with my newly cat'ed up teammates. There isn't a cat 1/2 Spring Fling Crit, and like most everyone who commented on R5's blog already knows, the 1/2 field at the Dam Race is sparse. I have to admit it, yes, some may say that I am sandbagging and they might not be incorrect in saying so. I will say; however, that I didn't know I would be sandbagging before the season started, my form seemed on track during the pre-season, but in most of the races lately (with only muscle endurance intervals under my belt, anaerobic is in the process and power is yet to come) I feel like I can handle the competition unexpectedly well. That's a huge relief for me. Last season, being a neo-racer, I followed what could hardly be called a training program, which barely followed any sensible periodization plan. This pre-season I stressed over thoughts that I wouldn't be as fast as I wanted to be early on; sticking to a well-structured measured plan. Considering how I feel on the bike lately, let's just say that I'm pleasantly surprised that I can do what I can do now, and am eagerly awaiting the fruits of my training in the months to come. I do feel like I got off the hook easy with R5 though.. he's posted some pretty hilarious stuff about other racers. For example.. http://sandbaggerkc.blogspot.com/2010/02/double-baggin.html#comments or this one.. http://sandbaggerkc.blogspot.com/2010/02/buttrball-turkey.html. This guy's blog is definitely worth following.
So, for anyone who is wondering, I will be upgrading to 2 this season. As soon as collegiate gets underway this month, on the 21st, I will submit my request for a cat-up. I'm ready for the challenge of racing as a two and even more so for collegiate nationals in May.
In other news, what's up with the crash 5's this year? Roger Harrison's homepage says it all.. http://www.lanternerougekansas.com/ "Luis is being release from the Hospital on Tuesday, tomorrow!" I hadn't arrived at the Perry Dam on Sunday until after the massive cat-5 pile-up ended in broken forks, bent wheels, and an unconcious Luis being taken to the hospital by ambulance. Honestly this development didn't come as much of a surprise considering that there had been some pretty Bush League crashes at Spring Fling the day before. I'm in no way talking down cat-5 riders, but c'mon guys, pace yourselves. It's a little early in the season to be dealing with broken frames and hospital bills. As to the cause of these crashes, we can only speculate. A word of advice for the cat-5's; focus on riding a steady and solid race, don't try to be a hero. You only need a few mass-starts to cat up and if you move up before you can control your bike the peloton is going to hate you. Crashes do happen however, I was fortunate enough to stave off my first USAC spill until the Melon City Crit in Iowa when a rider went down in front of me.
All in all, cycling is an awesome sport. From the sandbaggers to the dudes who call out the sandbaggers, and from cat-5's learning to hold a line to cat-2's with aspirations of going pro, in my book, they're all great. I'm proud to say that I share a common bond with every cyclist in our passion for sport and as cyclists they all have my respect.
"Christian, this is the life. I don't think it can get any better than this."
"I know. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I took a year off."
"Yeah. What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't."
1 comment:
You did get off easy with r5.
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