Monterey Circuit Race

By Sarah Beaver
Date: March 12, 2006
Category: Women 4
Filed Size: 17
Teammates: None
Place: 4th
Winner: Ann Fitzsimmons, Velo Bella

I had a hard time with this race. I'm looking forward to more intensity in my training to help give me more power and hopefully make racing a little easier. Plus it was about 40 degrees and rained during the race; I think my legs would have felt better if they'd been able to warm up.

The course is a short and hilly with several sharp turns and a flat finish, I think we did about 10 laps. Two women broke off the front of the pack after the first couple of laps, and the pack decided to get into a paceline and take 15-second pulls to reel them in. During one of my turns pulling, another rider suddenly shot around me and I realized that I had dropped the rest of the pack without meaning to. I was able to sprint up to the three riders now in front just in time to catch their draft on a descent.

I knew that I didn't have the power to help sustain a lead off the front so early in the race, and hadn't wanted to break away from the pack so soon, so I found most of the race to be painful. There was a mentor on the course who eventually reported that the rest of pack behind us was fading and knowing that made the race a little easier. I stayed with the lead group until the last lap and a half when I dropped off on a climb, then finished the rest of the race on my own. A rider behind me caught up to me at the final sprint but I saw her coming so I was still able to cross the finish line ahead of her in fourth place.

The course was scenic and would have been even better with some sun. It was a reasonable drive and definitely a good workout. I'm still learning about what strategies work best on different courses and which types of races I prefer. The flat, windy races with lots of visibility seem to be more suspenseful, since early breakaways are less likely to succeed and the outcome of a 50-mile race can all depend on how well people position themselves and sprint in the last 15 seconds. Hillier races with more coverage seem to require more sustained power, since the two hilly races that I've been in were both won with early breakaways. I think I'll cross my fingers for a course that's neither too stressful nor too painful, with a perfect balance of both mental and physical challenge and not too much of either.