Book of Chad

Lindsay and I decided that we would start our year with this spring race to shake out the cobwebs and early-season jitters. We travelled over the day before and went straight to the race course from the ferry to see what the course had in store for us. After one lap in the car, we parked near the start line and geared up for a few laps. On the first of those laps, we went around at an easy pace and we could imminently tell the course was very fast despite having 56 meters of elevation per lap. The course is best described as rolling where even though there are what look to be a few good climbs they all have downhill lead-ins. After 2 more laps we were cold and ready to head to the hotel for dinner and a good night’s sleep.

Our hotel neighbours had different plans they were loud and drunk, and they were also not there for long before heading to a bar or wherever they went for the next 4 or 5 hours. When they came back there was yelling and screaming and even a visit from the police. It was not the best sleep I could have asked for.

We arrived at the venue in the morning, signed on and received our numbers. It was really cold and I had a very hard time deciding what to wear for the race. I think I got it right in the end however I did start with 3 pairs of gloves on and had arranged with a friend on the sideline that I would throw them the top layer at the end of the first lap. Now with only 2 pairs of gloves everything was going well.

Near the end of the second or third lap, I tried to initiate a move to thin the herd a bit and as soon as I was done I pull and moved over a group of seven riders past on the left with a pretty large speed differential. The group had all the teams represented and I tried to jump on the back of it and didn’t quite make it. I had pulled out two others and the three of us had a gap behind the rest of the group behind. As I flicked an elbow the red kilo rider behind didn’t pull through, the independent rider behind him came through and I jumped on his wheel with the red kilo rider in tow. The two of us tried in vain to bridge and the red kilo rider kept between us and didn’t put in any effort to the chase. We got within 10 feet of the back of the group but painfully were unable to make contact.

We fell back and I tried several more attempts to bridge the gap 20 seconds on the second try, 30 on the 3rd and 45 on the 4th. Every effort was marked by a red kilo rider and a UBC rider, and that was essentially the end of my race. By the halfway mark of the race, I was out of contention completely.

I was still able to have some fun and work on my group racing skills. I was eventually able to convince the teams’ riders to ride a bit after the gap had gone out past 2 1/2 minutes. So we were able to pick up the speed which split our large peloton in half.

The race had separate women’s and men’s categories that raced together. Four women had made it to the last lap with out group and they were racing for the win in their category. I asked if they want to have their own race and they unanimously agreed they did. I asked the group to let the women go to the front and we gave them a gap so they could have us out of their way. It was actually really fulfilling to see them get their own race as they are alway lumped into our race which often makes their placings more of a game of luck when they get 4 or 5 guys between each spot. They all were very happy and thankful for the opportunity which was great too

I didn’t sprint for the finish. I had no interest in sprinting for the lower placings. When the sprint went off I followed the group’s speed increase but I decided I didn’t want to go full out and risk an incident this early in the year.

Overall I learned some things and I made some mistakes I felt good about the form and fitness compared to the field. Missing the selection was a tactical error and I think that if I had made that 10 feet there could have been a lot more that I could have accomplished. I will get plenty of opportunities this year to do some more learning that is for sure.

RACE: Thunderbird Circuit Race
Distance: 62.6 km
Time: 1:39:11
Avg Speed: 36.6 kph
Avg Power: 238 W
Place: 13th