Benicia Town Race 2
The Skinny
Tenth out of seventeen starters. Seth held a strong position throughout the race and finished a very close second, though he could have gotten first if he held out a quarter lap longer on for the sprint. Chris won the 4s after a disappointment at the Giro on Monday. Timmay! and Federico rocked it hard in the 4s race as well.
The Report
Set in a combination bay side downtown and suburb the first annual Benicia Town Race was a four corner criterium with the most variety in a course I’ve seen yet. The slightly downhill smooth start/finish leads into a typical 90 degree corner and onto slightly rougher pavement for the flat leg of the course. Corner two kicks off onto an abrupt uphill about half the length but the same height as the “hill” in the Giro. Just over the first hump is a little dip and another slight hump leading into turn three and ending the “rollers” leg of the course. Turn three leads into a slight uphill and enough of a headwind to slow any leader down significantly before turn four and the sprint.
Seth and I (and Ashley) arrived on scene, in an overcast and windy Benicia set for making the Roaring Mouse presence known in the inaugural race.
With only seventeen starters, most of whom had already gotten a good look at the course, the race started off quickly. However after a couple laps it was clear that the pace wasn’t going to get much hotter until the finish. I was pretty happy to sit in and see what happened.
A few laps in a guy in a Team Michelin jersey tried a brief solo flyer but quickly drifted back into the group after the hill on the back stretch. It became pretty clear that while it didn’t require much of an effort to get through the back stretch it was also a great place to move up and start positioning for the home stretch. As the race progressed it was also pretty clear that most of our small field couldn’t corner. I admittedly took corner three a little wide a couple times, but several other riders were consistently cutting straight through the pack and then turning very suddenly, especially on the first and third corners. I was doing my best to steer clear of those riders but I kept ending up behind the same two squirrels for several laps.
About 10 minutes in I started to get worried about hanging with the pack because I’d always lose a few positions on the flat stretches, but my anxiety subsided as I realized I could easily make up those spots if not more on the first hill on the back. Most riders seemed to stay in a fairly high gear while I tried to down shift considerably and spin right past. Maintaining a position mid pack I was also able to keep clear of some of the idiots in the corners. Halfway in I had developed a good rhythm of moving up on the hill, avoiding poor handlers in the corners, and maintaining my position on the flats. Watching Seth hold a pretty solid position up front for the entire race also made be feel pretty good even if I wasn’t able to provide any assistance.
All was good, even as the officials put up the lap cards and the pace heated up a bit. Michelin man tried another flyer without success. Seth had also been drilling it pretty consistently: with three to go and Seth on the front I tried to yell up the hill for him to hang back, but my lungs couldn’t handle riding and hollering at the same time. Larry, taking photos on the sidelines tried to get the same message across. It took this time and Seth looked pretty good for a sprint going into the bell lap.
One of the aforementioned squirrels took the first corner of the last lap wide cutting me off as I was still pedaling through the corner – correcting, I caught a little road with my pedal. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to throw me off my rhythm and before I knew it I was down several spots and had a bit of a gap going into the rollers. With no easy wheel in sight I new I’d be toward the back of the pack with a bad position going into the last corner. The wind didn’t help much on the stretch between corners three and four. However I did see one guy trying to pass me before the home stretch – instead of trying to hammer and maintain my position I let him through and immediately hopped on his wheel.
The Finish
Up ahead I could see the pack closing down on the finish in groups of two or three, with Seth still in the mix after trying to break away on the back stretch after the hill – a little early, but he still had the guns to put away 2nd place just as I was putting my head down for a sprint.
Since the pack had usually been recovering on the downhill before the finish I wasn’t quite sure of the best place to go so I may have gone a bit early. As soon as it leveled I took the inside line, clicked up twice and hammered. My leader was probably expecting it since I let him have the corner so easily and went as well. I took 10th by about a wheel. I probably could have let him do a little more work.
The Reflection
Had my corner on the first turn of the last lap been clean that 10th could have easily been at least 6th. But while 10th isn’t anything to write home about (especially since only 17 started), I’m generally pleased with how I raced, perhaps only wishing I’d stayed further away from some of riders who couldn’t take the turns, especially on the bell lap. I’d say it was my best race to date, it was a blast, and, hey, at least I out sprinted one guy.
In the end it turned out to be a fantastic day for the Mouse. Seth was rocking the entire race, and took second (and could’ve had first if he waited just a bit longer); I got a top ten (well, out of 17), and got a semi-legitimate sprint and pack finish in.
Not to mention…Chris, Tim, and Federico killing it in the fours with Chris taking the win in an awesome sprint! Congratulations Chris! It was an awesome and well deserved finish.
Also, it wouldn’t have been a race without Larry on the sidelines taking action shots and shouting encouragement. Thanks for all the tips Larry!
Afterward, Seth, Timmay!, Ashley and I celebrated our relative successes over large plates of various breakfasts down the street from the reg tents.
The Photos
The more of Larry’s work I see the more I am impressed: here’s some shots from the Elite 4 race that Chris won, and from the Masters 35+ 1/2/3 (no mice, but great photos).
