Like most of the crits I've been in this year, the average speed was about 25.5mph. But with 7 corners and lots of slowing, this was a harder 25.5mph than what I've raced in wide open office parks. 34 jumps above 600 watts, with 21 of those above 700 watts. Also, according to the thermometer on the iBike, it was 95 degrees on the road. Good thing the race was only 45 minutes. If it were 46 I'd have finished 20 spots further back.
The green power graph is inscrutable, but the magenta HR gives a good read of the day. It was business as usual for about 13 minutes - moving up in the pack after a start from the back row, getting a feel for the course, trying to find the best lines (Ian Morrison remarked to me gleefully with about 6 laps to go, "There isn't a smooth line through any of the corners!"), feeling for the wind. Then you see my HR rise to about 180 as I followed an attack for a preme. It happens again a little later. My objective wasn't to get into a break, but just to follow surges if I was in the front. More often than not though, the elastic snapped and I found myself with daylight behind. Oops. Usually I'd just sit up and let the pack come back to me. You call it wussy; I call it discipline. We had 3 fast finishers in the field and wanted to cover anything dangerous, and otherwise save it for the sprint.
The leadout train is starting to gel, building off of some success at Ride Sally Ride and the familiarity and trust that come from a few months of racing together. For the last 5 laps we were lined up 3 in a row near the front, and made the move we wanted to, when we needed to make it. We didn't get the win but that's my fault for burning a few too many matches late in the race (look at my HR the last 10 minutes - I was revving higher than I'd like). But I've also done precious little sprint training, which I probably ought to focus on a bit more now that we actually have a leadout train and some of the guys on the team are under the impression that I'm a sprinter.
Kudos to Josh Flexman for breaking the sound barrier in the final 200M, again. And to Jose Nunez who nipped me at the line for a podium spot. With a flat tire.
Comments