Kalamazoo Criterium, Cat 3

While visiting my wife’s parents in Western Michigan, I headed to Kalamazoo to race a crit. The course was on the campus of Western Michigan University on lightly traveled roads. There were some rollers over smooth pavement, and the wind was strong. Because the course was a loop, the wind was hitting us at some point from every direction, making positioning crucial, particularly coming into turns.

I hadn’t raced a loop course in this much wind for many years, so it took me a number of laps to get the timing right so that I was best shielded from the wind as the mini-echelon of the group shifted after each term. Under these conditions, the group was twitchy, and there were a few near crashes. About halfway through the race, I was on the outside left of the group as we approached a right turn, after which the wind would be coming hard from the right. I was positioned so that I would be immediately protected coming out of the turn, but the guy to my right swung wide, forcing me into the storm drain and briefly onto the grass outside the course. By the time I got back on the course—luckily avoiding a crash—the main field had a gap on me, along with a few other riders. We chased for a short time and rejoined the group. Whew. This took enough out of me that I decided to sit in until the final lap.

With a few laps to go, I gradually started to move to the front of the field. Going into the final corner, I was around tenth, but a guy a few places in front of me clipped a pedal trying to drive through the final turn. A few of us swerved around him, avoiding another crash, but I lost my momentum and finished 20th out of around 40 starters.