Merco Cycling Classic Stage 3 - McDonald’s Downtown Grand Prix
CATEGORY 35+ 1/2/3DATE March 2, 2013AUTHOR Jacob BerkmanCOURSE DESCRIPTION Just your average eight-corner crit. 32 1.6km laps.
http://app.strava.com/segments/637690
PREVIOUS RESULTS 2012 P/1/2: 101st
WEATHER Sunny and warm, pretty calm winds.
TEAMMATES Hobbs and Oli.
GOALS Finish with our skin, bikes, and GC placing intact.
PLAN 1. "Get to the line early and start near the front" 2. "Stay near the front"
RACE SUMMARY after the women finished I was hoping to do a lap but guys were staging already. so much for plan item #1. hobbs and oli were even behind me.
we start and i was hoping to not be at the back but the first few laps felt really fast and i was not having fun.
oli and hobbs did a great job looking out for me but i was having a tough time. halfway through i was about ready to throw in the towel, but eventually with about 12 laps to go it slowed down a bit and became manageable.
there are a lot of botts dots on the course and most are OK but there are some bigger square ones that are gnarly. i hit one straight on and bottomed out my tire. probably would've pinch flatted on clinchers, and i just hope i didn't crack my rim again.
five laps to go and it picks up a little but oli and hobbs are looking out for me and on the last lap make sure no gaps open up on the finishing straight. that's how the officials saw it so mission accomplished, although the two guys close behind me were in the top-ten so maybe we lucked out there. pack positioning still something to work on for me, but today it was more being at my limit.
RESULTS 39. Hobbs @ s.t. 41. Me @ s.t. 42. Oli @ s.t.
http://www.topsportcycling.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Masters-35+-1-2-3-Stage-3.pdf
GC AFTER STAGE 3 8. Me @ 2' 36" 25. Oli @ 7' 14" 43. Hobbs @ 14' 26"
http://www.topsportcycling.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Masters-35+-1-2-3-General-3.pdf
TAKEAWAYS * i still suck at crits but it's a lot nicer having some teammates looking out for you. * 40% spent in power zone 1, 11% in 5b, and 28% (18 minutes) in 5c. not good for hedgehogs.
NUMBERS Distance: 46.92 km Time: 1h 4' 31" Elevation Gain: 4 m Avg Speed: 43.6 km/h Max Speed: 54.3 km/h Avg HR: 168 bpm Max HR: 176 bpm Avg Power: 246 W (3.96 W/kg) xPower: 255 W (4.11 W/kg) Max Power: 798 W (12.87 W/kg) Relative Intensity: 0.936 (pain) TSS: 99 Suffer Score: 115 (Tough)