The course started at the CSU stadium, and consisted of a flattish / rolling start for about 10 miles, followed by a series of painful ascents and steep descents, before completing four laps in a 10-mile loop around Masonville. The finishing stretch involved another series of painful climbs followed by a chaotic, painfully steep descent consisting of a couple 180 degree switchbacks.
Chris Aten and I lined up among the field of 130 or so riders ready for a day of pain. The race started chaotically as every collegiate rider collectively freaked out at the idea that they were racing nationals. Imagine the sketchiness of the Men's D race at Depauw - only at 30 mph and with 130 riders.
I got involved in a crash early on, but luckily I didn't go down. Unfortunately, I had to chase back to the pack, and given my minimal warm up (since nobody really warms up for a 70 mile road race), my legs were hurting pretty bad. I recovered near the back of the pack, while Chris rode like a champ at the front.
The back-of-the-pack positioning proved to be a bad idea because once we hit the first climb of torture I had to ride around a bunch of fatties. By the time we reached the first peak, I could already see the main field approaching the bottom of the descent. For some reason, I didn't think that when you have a pack of 130 riders, the time from the front to the back of the pack can be over a minute on an ascent. Even if you're a great climber, if you start in the back, you're going to get dropped. I drafted Owen from Lindenwood as he bombed down the descent.
As time went on, we caught some riders, and others caught us, to form a chase group of 10 people. The group worked well, with some crazy 35-40 mph, 53x11 at 120RPM rotating pacelines in the tailwind sections. We eventually closed the minute gap to Chris's group of 10 riders. I sat in near the back of the group, trying to recover from the hard chase effort while Chris Aten and Chris "Umberti" from Purdon't pushed the pace.
I survived with the group for about 10 miles until we reached the feed zone where a bunch of riders put in some attacks. The elastic of the group snapped and I found myself dangling off the back of a group of 3 or 4 riders, digging deep into the pain cave to try to get back on. My legs were so blown out from the earlier chase that every pedal stroke brought more and more pain and lactic acid. As the small group slowly pulled away from me, I yelled in agony (literally) and threw in the towel. In retrospect, I should have kept riding, especially given the fact that there were still 30 or so racers behind me, and since I could have caught onto a group behind me. However, in my oxygen-deprived state, such logic escaped me, and giving up seemed like the better option.
Chris was able to hang with that group until the end, but had little energy remaining to sprint. He rolled across the line for a very respectable 61st.
Criterium:
The criterium course was a pancake-flat, figure-eight-style course in downtown Fort Collins. Before our start, we saw one of Marian's fatties take the win in the D1 Women's race.
Cory Dubrish, Chis Aten, and I lined up in the giant field. The race started out really fast at first as everyone tried to gain position. Chris went to the front and followed some attacks. He briefly found himself in a breakaway, but the charging field wouldn't have it.
Unlike last year's criterium on the same course, which involved 10+ crashes and multiple trips to the hospital, this year's race saw zero crashes (except for one dude that rolled off the course - but that was his own fault). Last year, the finishing straight involved a giant gap between two concrete slabs running parallel to our line. That gap was responsible for most of the crashes last year, but this year the trusty road service patched it up for our safety!
As the race went on, Chris moved back a bit to recover. Before he knew it, there were only 10 minutes left and he couldn't move up in the aggressive pack. He ended up 32nd by the end. Cory also rode strong in the pack and ended up 58th. I was still pretty tired from the day before and didn't race smart (dangled in the back for a while) and ended up in 82nd.
Overall, nationals was a fun, yet humbling experience. The great part about competing in races like these is that you get to see exactly where you need to be fitness-wise to hang with the big guys.
After the criterium, a bunch of us Midwesterners banded together and rode up Rist Canyon, which ended up being a ridiculously long climb. I finished the day with 80 miles total.
Here's a picture of us at the top of Rist Canyon (ripped from Chris "Umberti"):
Since Sunday, Cory, Chris, and I have been hanging out in Boulder, CO. Cory and Chris leave for Michigan Wednesday morning, and I'll be hanging out in Boulder until the end of May.
Full results are at: http://usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2009-1300
Picture of Cory before the criterium start: http://velonews.com/photo/91829
Picture of Chris in the criterium: http://velonews.com/photo/91840
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