Steel City Endurance Racing

My first Masters Nationals was in Louisville KY in 2003 so I was looking forward to being back there as I had good memories of the races and the town.  If nothing else, I wanted to eat at Lynn’s Paradise Cafe  and satisfy my espresso cravings at Days Coffee.  Oh yeah, and do some racing, too.  Unlike Park City, where the altitude was the principle factor in who prevailed and who was left gasping for air and Seven Springs where the race was decided based on who could survive the long steep climbs, Louisville offered up challenging and interesting courses where fitness, smarts and luck were the deciding factors.  Which is to say  it made for some great racing.

The TT course was the same as 2003 – a rolling out and back along the Ohio River.(at least, I think it’s the Ohio) – a good course for me.  The wind picked up throughout the morning so by the time I went off, at 11:43:30, we had a blustery cross/tail wind on the way out and a cross/head wind on the ride back.  I was flying along in my 52/13 and even the 12 on the downhill sections zipping past farms and fields counting pedal stokes, from one to a hundred then starting over again.    After the turnaround I passed a few riders from my group and had a steady ride back, and gave it everything in the last 2 kms.  I couldn’t see the clock at the finish but I heard them call my name and give my time – for a brief moment I thought I had gotten 2nd but then realized the announcer was working backwards and I had managed a 4th place spot less than a second out of third!  Dang. A smoother turnaround, a little harder push on the pedals, not brushing that bug off my forehead and I would have gotten 3rd.  I was still pleased with the result – in the last year I have won time trials by one second or gotten the last payout spot by one second, and at the same time, been one step lower on the podium at Nationals by less than a second.

My road race was Wednesday so I had a chance to take a breath, relax and recover on Tuesday and get my legs back.  I did my usual pre race tune up ride along the river on a nice flat road and then checked out Bristol Bar and Grille for dinner.  Then sort of early to bed to be ready to rumble at 8 am.  It took forever to get to sleep, between the noise of traffic by the hotel, the A/C unit kicking on, and my own brain, visualizing the sprint finish, or the attack that established the key break, or the right spot to begin the sprint.  It made for a very drowsy breakfast.  My race had the biggest fields of all the master womens’ races – 20 starters – all of  us wanting a podium spot.  I thought for sure a small break would form by the halfway point but despite numerous attacks and counters, no one got away and heading into the last lap, we were groupo compacto.  I was in good position heading up the one long climb looking to be through the tight left downhill corner in top five or so when Ann Marie Miller attacked over the last little rise and was gone in a snap.  One rider managed to get on her wheel with 6 or so of us chasing.  We caught Ann Marie and Linda mid way up the climb up to the finish and I went from being out of contention to being back in the race.  There was no time for me or anyone to take a deep breath as Ann Marie kept the pressure on, full gas, all the way to the top.  It’s a bit of a blur now, but my recollection is that the pace was high enough that you just couldn’t make up any ground and whatever spot you were in at the point we all came back together is where you were when the climb ended and the 150meter final sprint ensued.  I sprinted as hard as I could up and over the last part of the climb and to the S/F and came in 9th.  Ann’s attack and the hard effort to the finish split the group and I was the last rider to make the selection – the remaining 10 or so riders came in several seconds or minutes after the main field of 9.  I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t make the podium or finish a place or two higher which would have gotten me points for the Best All Around Rider, but  I am pleased with my race:  I rode as hard as I could, I made the final selection and got to race one of the most competitive national road races yet.

After a couple of days of rest, being a tourist, and checking out the espresso and bagel options near the hotel, it was time for one last pre race ride and another 8 am race start.  The crit course, held in the infield of Churchill Downs, was a half mile long with rounded corners and a quick left/right that was described as a chicane.  We started with 14 and it was fast from the gun and never let up.  We turned some of the fastest laps of the women’s races – once again Ann Marie went hard at the front to keep the pace high and when she wasn’t at the front someone else was taking a turn or attacking.  I tried one attack mid race when things had settled down a tad, one rider came with me, but the field shut us down within a half lap.  After that, it was all about getting in good position.  One lap to go, I was a decent spot and on a good wheel, when just out of turn one, someone went wide and cut off Nancy whose wheel I was on and me - we had to grab brakes and went off the track onto the grass.  By the time we got back in and up to speed we had easily lost 3 spots and were chasing instead of getting ready to sprint out of the last corner.  We did sprint, but for 10th and 11th.  So no podium, no points.   But as with the road race, the crit was a good hard crit with no clear winner until the final sprint - worthy of a national championship.