Book of Chad

This was the race I wanted to do more than any other road race this year. I had only a few realistic goals in mind and a couple dream goals as well. The main goals for me were to finish the race on the lead lap and to participate in the race and not just ride the back. On these two goals, I accomplished everything I came to accomplish in my first BC Criterium championship.

The forecast was for rain during the race however we were lucky when it held off until the afternoon. The course around the parliament buildings is a fairly straightforward 4-corner crit, however corner 3 is less than the regular 90 degrees. The distance from the last corner to the finish is very short, which means that the first person out of the last corner is very likely to be the first person at the line.

The field was completely stacked and there was good representation from the main teams, Victoria Wheelers, Red Kilo, and Lost Boys. From the beginning the pace was inconsistent there were very fast laps and very slow laps for the first half of the race. There was one incident in the early stages of the race where a Cat 3 racer decided to run their front wheel into my right foot between corners 2 and 3. The rider pushed me from the right hip with their hand, and was told by one of the masters riders to “keep his hands on his f***ing bars.” His spokes made an awful sound on my foot but otherwise no real harm.

The next incident came at the first prime, the announcer stated that it will be the crowd prime the next lap. Mike Dawson and Jeff Werner went off the front right away and I chased. As we went through the line the bell rang and a Lost Boys rider came around me. We had made a gap and caught Mike and Jeff just before corner 3. Between Corners 3 and 4 I did my full sprint came out of the corner in the lead and crossed the line first.
The next incident came closer to the end of the race when a triple shot ride (Joji) didn’t quite make the 3rd corner, he hit the curb and was catapulted into the grass. The speed was high at this point and I was a little caught out, but two laps later I found myself in a three-man breakaway. We came out of the final corner to find the commissaire motorcycle stopped at the finish line. As the 3rd wheel in the three-man break as the two guys moved slightly left I raised my head only to have my first glimpse of the back of the motorcycle. I panicked and swerved right to avoid it, at the same time the motorcycle took off and swerved right in front of me.

The remaining few laps of the race is where it started to unravel for me. After this point, I found myself near the back of the group and the pace was very high. With three laps left I decided I needed to be up nearer to the front to play a part in the final laps. A line of riders started moving forward on the inside between turns 1 and 2. I hopped on the wheel of one of the Victoria Wheelers riders and we were moving up quite well when all of a sudden he dropped his chain right in front of me. This pushed me back off the back of the group and I had to chase on again. As we went through the bell I decided I was going to just go full out between corners 1 and 2, I’m not going to win but at least I will give myself a chance to be nearer to the front. As soon as we exited turn 1 I gave it everything, and when I went to hit the shift button I accidentally hit the wrong one causing a hiccup in my pedal stroke and ending any hope I had of finishing near the front.

After the race, I reflected on it and I had easily accomplished all the goals I had set out that morning. On the other hand, I felt like I had a lot left to give, so I wasn’t able to get it all that day. It is encouraging to think that I could get more out of it and I am happy to have gained this experience.

RACE: BC Criterium Championship
Distance: 35.8 km
Time: 0:49:17
Avg Speed: 43.6 kph
Avg Power: 240 W
Place: 16 in Div (Masters A) 25 overall