Jiminy Peak (Cat 4)

May 2, 2009

My first Cat 4 race and first race with other BRC teammates. Met up with John S., Julian, and Steven S. at the start line. The strategy was to ride smart and to let the race unfold. John said that breakaways were unlikely on this course.

I kept an eye on those guys as we got underway. I wanted to stay mid-pack as I wasn’t quite sure how it’d be riding with the Cat 4’s. The first lap was fairly uneventful until the climb near the end. I went moderately hard and found myself in the top five going over; however, on the descent I was passed by a ton of riders, at pretty high speed. A whole lot of braking going on all over – not great at speeds in the high 40s. By the first turn, pretty much everyone was back together. On the second lap I moved up toward the front 1/3 of the pack and tried to stay with John. On the climb at the end of the second lap, I took it a bit easier and found myself near the back of the pack after the descent. I worked my way up and soon found myself at the front of the pack. So, I took a few pulls, and stayed out in front way too long. Rookie rider error – I was just thrilled to be up there, and completely forgot about conserving any energy.

As we neared the final climb for the hilltop finish, I was in the top five riders; however, shortly before the right hand turn to begin the climb, the pack came surging from behind and nearly 2/3 of the pack passed me before I knew what had happened. With some difficulty I found a line and started my way up the climb. The legs were feeling my earlier effort, but I was still able to pass a number of riders, and I zeroed in on catching up with John. I ended up finishing 56th, six spots behind John and with the same time. Not a great placement, but for my first Cat 4 race, I’ll take it.