I upgraded to Senior 2 this year and the racing has been a big challenge. The level is of course much higher, and the talent goes much deeper into the field, especially in Quebec where a number of strong teams have a big presence at all of the races. Garneau has been dominant this year with Spidertech ineligible to participate as a full team in the FQSC circuit, but the likes of CIBC-Jean Coutu, GTH and Gaspesien have been keeping them honest to make sure they don't completely walk away with the race.
Being in 2 I have felt pretty outgunned compared to the more experienced guys so I have been trying to get in the breaks if the teams are well represented and it might succeed. Without a lot of guidance on the coaching front thus far, I feel like I am lacking any race winning strengths so I have tried to race smart and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.
After some pack fill finishes in Collegiate A, this worked out for me by getting in the winning break at RPI. Unfortunately for me the break was intent on going pretty quick on the climbs and I got separated, riding alone for 2 laps-- It was a very hard ride mentally and physically! 2 riders chased and past me but I brought it home ahead of the peleton finishing 9th.
All was going well as my early season goals included the Tour of the Battenkill (Cat 2), Paris Ancaster and the Hell of the North but the wheels came off when I contracted Strep Throat three days before B-kill, and got a flat in the first 500m of P-A. With P-A and HOTN straddling one week including the Easter holiday, it wasn't too hard to take the time off my Thesis and do some work outside of the lab while I was home. It was nice to ride with the old crew in St Catharines and spend some time with my Family. P-A was a lot of fun despite this as I was feeling very strong and I was able to work my way through the field finishing 90th overall. At the Hell of the North, Colin was kind enough to let me crash with him at his folks place in Newmarket and it all came together. I made the split at "The Trench" and was with a group of 11 for the vast majority of the race. Erik Box made us all suffer on the rail trail working hard to catch Chown and Oz but to no avail. I didn't drink enough throughout the day and about 5km to go cramped my leg trying to jump over a fallen tree and just rode it in hoping nobody else would catch me. I finished 12th which was a bit short of the ambitious goal for top 10 amongst a talented pool of guys. Had I drank a little more, I hope it would have gone better.
After Hell of the North I returned to Quebec to learn about new levels of suffering in the Quebec 1-2 field.
At GP Brossard, I was barely hanging on for my life after staying out too late the night before, and the generally punishing pace set by the boys in pink.
St-Raymond was fantastic as I shared a cabin with some guys from Rockland MD and the forecast of Thunderstorms held off until we were off the road somehow. Day 1 was pretty short for a 1-2 race at 90km so the pace was incredible. I made the mistake of thinking I could use the neutral start to warm up, however it was a bloc from the gun which I suffered from as a result. Day 2 was much better after a few failed attacks, Garneau got 2 guys up the road with a big enough gap that the peleton became apathetic. I got in a chase group of 6 including some guys from Gaspesien and H&R Block with 70km remaining. This move unfortunately fell apart completely when 2 more Garneaus and 1 Spidertech came FLYING by and panic overcame us. I fell off and returned to the peleton, and watched all the others from that move do the same shortly after.
Grupetto Grupetto Grupetto!
I still need to write some reports for Criterium McGill and Charlevoix, which I will do on the next one. Tonight is the first Mardis Cyclistes of 2011. It's going to be big because some guys are here for Coupes des Nations and Tour de Beauce, it should be exciting!
No comments:
Post a Comment