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Iris Stagner Race Report (800W Hero)

February 18, 2013
Racing Team
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[Jack Mott]

A pretty full weekend for this early in the season but how better to test your fitness (and what it will be like in the CAT3 field this season) than going all in. Two days of racing with a 45 min crit and 7 mile hilly TT on Saturday followed by a 2 lap 50 mile road race, with a KOM point on lap 2, on Sunday.

Crit
Technical course, a bit bumpy. Probably a good course to try to get away on, as Brendan Sharpe did in cat 2. Being my first cat 3 race though I just sat in and tail gunned the whole thing. Power file is kind of hilarious, 800 watts, coast, 800 watts, coast, over and over. Normalized power of 250 watts for 45 minutes. Easy. But then I didn’t do anything. Race was nice and safe, no crashes. Next time I need to grow a pair and get up in the mix and actually race. Temps were about 30 degrees at start. Good on us for not crashing even though our hands were numb and not working.

TT
I got to use a cheat code thanks to Don Ruthven at Austin Tri-Cyclist who loaned me his personal P5 for the time trial. I set up the fit coordinates identical to my P3 so that it would be guaranteed comfy. My power meter wheel broke a spoke somewhere during or before the crit, so I had to pace the old fashioned way. On the bright side my backup disc-cover wheel was a LOT lighter and this TT was super hilly. Tons of experience at the Mopac TT was a help here as the distance was similar and I had a good idea how to pace it by feel.

I tried to keep the power up on the downhills but twice I ran out of gear at 53×11 and coasted on the big downhills for a few seconds. A 55T front chainring would be a help here. I stayed in the aerobars the whole time save for a couple surges on the final climb where I got out of the saddle. Hit the steep uphill finish line feeling shattered in 19:32. 9th place in my first cat3 TT which I was pretty happy with. I was even happier when I saw that my time would have decisively won the TTs in cat 4, cat 5 and 35+ cat 4/5, something I never quite managed last year. Training had paid off, and the P5 was legit. Stable on the 40+mph descents and solid on the steep climbs.

Road Race
Not much accomplished here except that I learned some things. Race was easy until about the 3/4 point, after the KOM on lap 2, on a long false flat with nasty chip seal, the race went from volume 4 to volume 11. I latched on to the attacking group and held on for a few minutes but eventually gave up, stupid. I needed to just hang in another minute till the end of the false flat and would have ended up with a decent result. Lessons learned, need more mental toughness, maybe a bit more fitness, and maybe a bit less pointless work early in the race. Good news is I did not feel completely out of my league in the threes, but I definitely can’t be pointlessly playing around up front on lap 1 in the threes either.

Full results are available here: http://www.teambicyclesinc.org/MWTT09.htm

Tour Of Austin Crit

September 10, 2012
Racing Team
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Marc Granberry

“I think I’m calling road season quits”. I sent this message to several of my friends after some disappointing results at the Driveway. My head just didn’t seem like it was in the right place. Oh, you want my wheel? Here, take it. Oh, you want to push into my line through this turn? Alright, just don’t bump into me. Somehow, I had lost the aggressive race mentality that I had had earlier in the season. The season, by the way, has been incredibly long and full of difficulties for me. From a strong start, to breaking bones, to broken bike parts, I haven’t felt consistent all year. Because of all of this, I considered not even racing Tour of Austin, and simply starting base miles and mountain racing.

Somehow or another, I ended up registering myself for the weekend long event, and I sure am glad that I did.

Day 1: The Driveway

The Driveway played out as it typically does. The 4/5 field felt somewhat aggressive and scatterbrained, seemingly unable to decide what kind of race it wanted to be. We were on the full course running clockwise down the corkscrew—my second favorite course. Those of us in the front of the pack would gain some ground in the chicane and more technical sections, but slow as we hit the straights. Within seconds, every single lap, we would be swarmed by the pack once again.

With about four laps to go, a break began to form at the front. Having noted Matt being on the front for a good bit of time, I assumed that he had made it up there. Wanting to give him a chance, and wanting to make everyone else work, I didn’t chase. Neither did anyone else. What’s more, Matt actually wasn’t in the break, and it continued to drift ahead.

When it became increasingly apparent that the break was going to stick, Paul Abel from UT and I frantically jumped to the front in an attempt to bridge. A decent number of guys from the pack had managed to tack onto our surge, but none of them seemed willing or able to pull through. For two laps or so, Paul and I traded pulls and very nearly made it up to the break. Unfortunately, I blew up at the start of the final lap, unable to push any further. I let up on the power, drifted to the side of the road, and eventually found a nice spot in about 30th place where I’d be able to roll into the finish happy to have not been dropped after my silly tactics.

Rounding the last right hand turn before the chicane, my eyes fell upon chaos. All over the left side of the road, people were skidding, flipping, or bailing out into the grass. Someone had crossed wheels on the left side, effectively creating a roadblock. Luckily, I was on the inside line and was able to sneak past. Thanks to someone’s mistake, I was able to roll across the finish line in 10th place, happy to be unharmed.

Day 2: Belterra

I had been told repeatedly that the secret to Belterra was staying near the front and making sure that the pace stayed high on the climbs. With any luck, this strategy would shatter the field in a lap or two. My climbing fitness is of moderate caliber, so I knew that I’d be able to hang on to top 10 through the tough parts. But how would I ensure that the pace would stay high? Enter Matt DeMartino.
The long climb on the first lap was pretty tame, the only aggressive moves stemming from fighting for a draft. Down the descent, through the sharp turns, and up to the start of the second lap, the pack stayed together. Then, out of nowhere in the second or third lap, Mr. DeMartino decided to come out to play on the long climb. He absolutely drilled it on the front, trading attacks with some other frisky riders. When we made the U-turn at the top of the long climb, I was astonished. The pack had shattered, leaving a group of 15 of us in the front. For the rest of the race, Matt and a few guys at the front would trade attacks, further lengthening our lead on a disorganized chase group.

When it was all said and done, I got a bit sketched out in the final right hand turn at the bottom of the descent, so I wasn’t as aggressive as I should have been while positioning for the final sprint. Despite this, I ended up with a 9th place finish, with my awesome teammate finishing right behind me in 10th. Later that evening, I found out that I was sitting 5th overall—much higher than I ever thought I would be.

Day 3: Stigma

I lined up for this race full of apprehension. This course, while different from last year’s, has a terrifying history of crashes, broken bikes, and hospital visits. Matt had come down with West Nile Virus and would be unable to race that day, and I had recently discovered that the two “one-day license” racers currently on the podium were alleged Cat 2 racers in Mexico. Needless to say, I was nervous.
My plan was pretty much identical to Belterra: stay near the front, follow any moves that the leaders make, and don’t crash. I started on the front line, but quickly lost position in the first few laps, most likely due to nerves. During a pass on the finishing straight, I heard friends on the side of the road reminding me to move up. So, I sprinted close to the front and forced myself into a small slot as the road started to narrow—a strangely aggressive move for how timid I usually am.

Not 30 seconds after I moved up, a crash happened right behind me. As soon as the leaders heard it, the hammer dropped hard. After about 30 seconds of holding onto the move for dear life, I turned around and realized that the entire field was gone, leaving a group of about 16 of us to contend the finish.

The pace never seemed to drop, and my legs seemed to finally feel the last two days of racing. On climbs, I’m generally able to push myself pretty hard to stay on a wheel. On the flats, I tend to have a lot more trouble putting out as much power as the heavy hitters. So, I spent the rest of the race hiding in the draft of the leaders. Once I got guttered in the last lap, it was game over. I only ended up in 14th place, but I was happy with my ability to hang with the front group as I had the day before on a completely different course.

Conclusion:

After a whole weekend of racing, I finished 8th overall. While I wish I had performed better on Day 3, I am proud of my results and extremely happy that I chose to race. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to race, and especially thanks to Matt for burying himself for me during Day 2.

University Oaks Men’s 3/4: The Definition Of Teamwork

April 19, 2012
Racing Team
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[Jordan Patik]

team
[teem]
n
(plural teams)
2. cooperatively functioning group: a number of people organized to function cooperatively as a group

The second installment of the University Oaks Crits took place last weekend and the Ghisallo Cat 3 riders looked to practice racing as a team (see above). The teamwork began in Austin, hours before our 9:45 start time, when Andy graciously picked Zak and I up at our respective homes and drove us south on the pleasantly empty I-35. We didn’t discuss tactics much on the drive, but I could tell Zak and Andy had an unspoken understanding of what needed to happen.

After a short warm up, the three of us toed the line with approximately 30 other central Texas Cat 3’s and 4’s. Within 2 laps, I could tell that Scott Kinsel and Chad Springer of Jack and Adams were going to be the major animators of the race. I jumped onto Springer’s wheel as he attacked in the opening laps. I knew it wasn’t going to stick, but I felt Ghisallo needed to keep up appearances and represent ourselves in any break attempts.

Attacks continued to come and Zak, Andy, and I took turns covering them. Most of the teams fired shots. Kinsel and Springer each made attempts for Jack and Adams. The always persistent Ali Sobhani of Austinbikes tried show off his new team kit with multiple breakaway attempts, sometimes two in one lap. Bike World was represented well with Phil Nava doing most of their attacking. It seemed as every other team had the same plan we did.

Finally, with about 15 minutes remaining , Andy bridged to a group containing Kinsel and two other riders. They quickly gained a gap and I turned my attention to covering any attempts to bridge. This was ultimately my downfall. It turns out I wasn’t looking at the lap cards. Bike World, not represented in the break, took it upon themselves to chase. Nava went as far a sitting up and signaling his team that now was the time to work. I immediately jumped on Aaron Nelson’s wheel as he attacked off the front of the peloton. After half of a lap, he abandoned his effort and I congratulated myself on doing such a good job for my teammate up the road.

What I didn’t realize was that the next lap would be the bell lap and I had totally wasted my energy. Fortunately, Zak was sitting comfortably in the middle of the pack when I made my fatal error. He knew that Andy’s group didn’t have enough time on the pack, so he launched an attack with three quarters of a lap to go. When he went, I regretted not being able to get on his wheel as it would have been the perfect lead out. Alas, it was not to be as I mustered all my remaining energy to get an 8th place finish. Zak’s last lap flyer saw him finish in a commendable 4th place behind Nava, Dave Ryther(Kelly‘s Team), and Springer . Andy rolled home in the pack as his valiant effort fell 500m short of the finish.

This was only the second race this year that all of the Ghisallo Cat 3’s have raced together. After coming up empty handed at the brutal Come and Take It Road Race, we came out swinging at University Oaks with a goal of functioning as a team. Though we did not win, each one of us played a pivotal role in the outcome of the race. As a team, that is all you can really hope to do.



University Oaks P/1/2/3: A War Of More Than Words, 37 Men Enter Battle And Only 17 Survive

April 18, 2012
Racing Team
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[Zak Hardage]

At about eleven o’clock A.M., Andrew Erickson gave Jordan Patik, 2011 Novice Central Texas Cup Champion, command of the Ghisallo fire ravens, appointing me his acting Assistant Adjutant General. The fire ravens took arms at once, and moved rapidly through the field of riders. It was not long before we began to hear the dull booming of riders crashing in turn one, and as we advanced, from many an eminence or opening through the wheels, we could look out upon the torn and oil-slicked lyrcra strewn throughout the not-too-distant field of blood.

At these sights and sounds, the men looked more serious than before and were more silent, but they pedaled faster, and straggled less. At about twelve o’clock P.M., as we were riding along at the head of the column, we met a medical caravan, accompanied by two or three deputized officers—we knew them to be staff of Mr. Drew Akin—their faces told plainly enough what load the vehicle carried—it was the bodies of our former fellow riders. Very early in the action, while seeing personally to their own team formations, they would slide out, right-side down, spokes askew, shifters shattered, their podium chances killed almost instantly. Their poor fortunes at this time affected us much, for they were, each and every rider, one of the soldier Generals of the peloton, a man whose soul was in his team’s work, which he did with high honor and fidelity.

[Based on Haskell's account of the Battle of Gettysburg]