Madison Criterium #2 Race Report

Today the gang headed out to the People's Republic of Madison for another criterium bicycling race.

Overcast skies and windy conditions greeted the 63 riders who wheeled up to the starting line. Our group was well represented with The Boss, Mike, Darin, Russ and myself.

Before I get too far into the report let me come clean on something; since crashing in a race last fall I've been overly nervous about racing in large group criteriums. Today was no different. I worry that I'll crash, break a collar bone and wreck my summer. This is no way to race. I've always said that 50% of bike racing is psychological and the other half is in your head. And therein lies my problem. My legs were good, my lungs were fine. My head was not. Instead of wasting time at the back of the pack and riding while squeezing too hard, I decided to do what I was told never to do, quit a race. I pulled out at half distance as a test; if quitting the race leaves me feeling bad, I can use that feeling to get myself back in the game. If I'm OK with pulling out then I'm probably better off just racing in road races and time trials. We'll give this a week and see how it feels. In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if any of you could share similar experiences or any positive advice by clicking on the "Comments" link at the bottom of this post or by clicking on the "Contact" tab at left. Thanks in advance.

Back to the race; with high winds, solo attacks were not likely to succeed as trying to buck a stiff wind all by yourself usually proves too difficult. But predictably, that didn't stop a couple of guys from trying. Each breakaway was caught in less than a lap by the thundering pack. After 40 minutes of racing and with 3 laps to go the pace quickened. Here's a shot of Barry putting the hammer down (I did my best to be a little useful by taking some photos and some video);



The fast pace and the jockeying for position always makes for an exciting finish. Riders are fighting and bumping to get into a good spot for the final sprint while pedaling at 26 mph and turning sharp corners just inches from each other. It's a war out there.

With a long, uphill finish the key, the crux, the magic as it were, was to hit the gas early enough to move ahead without hitting it so early that you couldn't finish strong enough to hold your position. A number of racers, The Boss included, tapped that magic and finished well in a furious flurry. See for yourself by clicking the 'Madison Crit Finish' tab under 'Elvis' Blog' at left.

You can click on the pause button (looks kind of like this; II ) while viewing the movie to stop the action. Then, move the little dot back and forth along the timeline to fast forward, slow down or stop the movie anywhere that you'd like.

Isn't technology cool? As always, turn the sound down if you view the movie at work. And honestly, we all know that you're doing this at work, don't we?

Our team did well with The Boss finishing third overall, Mike 9th, Russ 15th and Darin just behind. When the official results are posted I'll update this with category placements.

UPDATE - OFFICIAL RESULTS

Barry 1st in category, 3rd overall
Mike 2nd in category, 12th overall
Russ 5th in category, 15th overall
Darin 19th in category, 41st overall
Elvis DNF