Irvine Final Urban 'Cross Race- W35+ and W123,Lori Whynot, 12-03-06
W35+
5 starters
NEBC: Lori 3rd
W123
8 starters
NEBC: Lori 7th
Final 2006 Southern California Urban ‘Cross Series Standings: W35+: Lori 3rd place out of 10 overall
HI all!
Yesterday, I drove just over an hour north from San Diego to race in the last of the “Urban Cyclocross Series” races. I missed a few but did several of them this Fall, usually placing.
In previous Urban “Cross races, the conditions were less like a traditional cross race and had elements more like a mtn bike course, which I really don’t like.
This time the promoters put together an AWESOME course on the grounds of Orange County’s “Wild Rivers” theme park. It had all the makings of a UCI series race: lots of grassy twists and turns, a short steep run-up, a sand (volleyball pit), a short bridge crossing, a shallow gravel pit, and a fast run at 3 UCI regulation barriers in sequence. The only exception was the warm sun and 81 degree temperatures!
(how am I going to fare next Sunday in Warwick, and then at Nats??? I hear there was snow in Boston this morning…brrr.)
The AM race offered cooler temperatures than the W123 at 11:30, and in fact I needed arm and knee warmers while doing my warm up laps before the 35+ race. There were only 5 women in the race, but in the mix were two women- Debbie and Carol- the former being the uncontested Urban series leader and skilled mountain biker, and both having beat me by a big time margin in previous races. I set my goal to stay as close to them as possible, feeling confident in my abilities on a TRUE cyclocross course.
At the whistle, I aggressively shot off the front as hard as I could to get a gap and make the others have to work to get around me. Within the first few twisty turns around the rolling grass and interspersed trees, Debbie and Carol were hot on my heels, and the other two women were way off the back.
There we three stayed, cruising around the course, each taking turns at the front, beating the crap out of each other. I stayed in 2nd or 3rd spot, taking the lead for a short time, but kept tight on the wheel of whomever was in front of me at the moment. Over the narrow wooden footbridge in lap one, Debbie turned, slid out, then got up FAST, and I almost went down with her but managed to squeak around her. We two pushed up to Carol and then again we were three again. I was on the rivet the whole time, but felt great knowing I could hang with these two. In fact, Debbie at the front slowed in lap 2 and I contemplated attacking (we all were suffering), but thought the wiser. My tactical decision here was to not blow myself up with 2 more laps to go, knowing that both women could probably catch me and then I’d be too toasted to hang in until the finish. I decided the win would be determined by the better sprinter, and was confident I could outsprint them both as long as we stayed together. I spent more time wheelsucking on the fast grass sections to conserve some leg strength.
In the second to last lap, Carol almost biffed it at the top of the short, un-ridable run-up, and I came around her.. hanging out on Debbie’s wheel for the rest of the lap, and Carol catching on within seconds.
We do-see-do’ed some more in that lap and then on the same run-up in the final lap, I blew my remount; the bike slid from under me as I jumped upward, and BAM! I came down hard in a knee-elbow-face plant, almost taking Debbie out with me.
Ignoring my knee pain, I jumped up and remounted, then chased the duo the rest of the final lap, gaining on them with each turn. They were just out of reach as I hammered through the last barrier run, and remounted, and headed down the grassy straightaway before the final U turn back in the reverse direction to the finish line. However, Debbie and Carol started into their sprint before I could catch- so close but just too far- so I ended up with 3rd place. All -in-all a good race for me, and it assured me that I am coming on form a bit (finally!) despite my pained neck and difficulty with training this Fall.
I iced my knee with the pack in my cooler, and took a short spin on my trainer, setting it up in the shade. The sun was getting hotter and the air thickened with each half hour. I had poured everthing into the 35+ race, but signed up for the additional workout in the 11:30 W123 race, despite my feeling of pending doom, my sore, bruised knee, and the increasing challenge to breathe. My chest cold from 2 weeks ago still has lingered, so coughing and hacking has become a regular state of being. Post race asthma was not helping.
I socialized with some friends as I sat and spun, and sucked on my inhaler a few times. To race or to just pack it up and go home… that was my momentary mental struggle.
I got on the start line with 7 other women, most of whom I feared could beat me, having seen them do damage last week at the Prestige Series W123 race in Glendale (where I did the 35+ race). Carol and Debbie were there again too, so I figured I should try to stay near them. The young 15 yr old junior ‘cross phenom, Coryn Rivera was there and I knew she would soon dump all of us and come close to lapping the field in this race.
My tactic was to go out hard for good position and try to hang in there for dear life, looking for Debbie or Carol’s wheel. At the whistle when I stood to sprint off the line, my legs and lungs immediately said, “Listen, B*#@h, you must be smokin’ a crack pipe to think we’re in this for another 50 minutes!!” And thus it was decided. I rode hard, just not fast enough to hang onto the bulk of the field. I slowly slipped backwards, just ahead of me Carol popped off the back of the string of racers within the first lap, and I just tried to keep her in my sights ahead of me. I got close enough to almost overtake her at one point, but my legs and lungs refused to cooperate. I passed one other suffering woman in my race, and there I stayed in 7th position for the remaining 3 laps. I almost quit mid-way, but decided to keep a steady pace, focus on my skills, practicing hitting each technical spot with the best line, or with the best form I could. Just before my last run through the barriers, Coryn passed me and went on to win with a HUGE time margin. No other 123s were in sight for many long minutes.
I headed home with some swag (santa claus socks!!! too) and took a much earned nap. I don’t know if 1hr+ 30 mins of cyclocross is a good or bad thing.
See all you ‘crossers next weekend in Warwick (Sunday). By the way Coryn is is coming to Nationals and is registered in the juniors and the Women Bs. Watch her because she is the wheel to follow.
-Lori