The Rochester Twilight Criterium just keeps getting bigger each year. This year the race moved up to a UCI 1.2 grade event. The crowds seemed bigger and the action in the pro race was fun to watch. The Downtown Rochester course is one of my favorites with the various twists and turns. Its just plain fun to ride through.

My race this year was the Master’s Men 35+ whch included some very tough competition. The Maxpowercycling contingent featured Scott Grimshaw, Rob Walters and myself. At the start line I heard the pack was something around 80 riders. My other choice to race was the Cat 3/4 race which I found out was closed since they reached the 100 rider max.

Before this race I broke out the trainer. It was the first time in all my racing that I warmed up with the trainer ahead of time. Usually I would spin around various areas and try to get a decent warm up. This never had a great effect since I would cool right down at the start and not be ready to jump at the gun which most races such as Crits require. This time the warmup seemed to be very effective. I was able to spin up and get my legs going while doing sprints and such.

Last year at Rochester I raced in the Cat 5 and the announcers described the pack as “first timers” getting into racing. This year with the Masters Men 35+ and we were described as the veterans, guys who have been around bike racing for a long time. I must be one of the younger members at 36 years of age, but age does not matter since most of the guys racing there are fast period.

Brad/Turbo is number 621, ouch nasty crash.

One advantage of racing most Master’s races is when they limit the field to Cat 1-4 only. This cuts out any newbies and usually makes for a safer race. Add to the experience of the racers and it is a much better race overall. Racers handle their bikes better, they don’t get into crazy crash inducing situations since they are a little older. Hence the comparison with the Cat 3/4 race which had around six crashes to the Masters race which had no crashes that I know of.

The Masters races started fast. The first lap had an average speed of 27mph. Guys were unable to keep the pace and gaps formed everywhere. Before I new it I was gapped off the back of the group and chasing frantically to get on. Once you have a gap it is very difficult to get on especially in the windy conditions. As I raced to get back on I was able to work with another racer and do a paceline. I did not like how he went through some of the turns since it seemed that be braked too early. I was trying to go flat out in the turns and sling shot around them and not lose any momentum. I would rarely touch the brakes. The road were wide and if you picked a good line you would not have to touch the brakes much at all. My favorite part was slinging through the Baush and Laumb double turns.

So I chased and chased and could see the gap to the field growing slowly. After I don’t know how many laps a Preferred Care guy comes up. I thought that he was gapped at the start and I raced to get on his wheel. For some reason a motorcycle ref was with him, but it did not click with me since I was in oxygen debt trying to get back on. After all in bike racing you never give up. You never know if a crash or some slowdown may occur that would bring the race together. So I kept fighting.

Turns out the Preferred care guy was in a break, and the moto-ref was signaling me to back off and not work with him. So I backed off, gave them a few feet but enough to use them as motivation. Like a carrot to the bunny, I kept the motorcycle in my sites for as long as I could until the pack finally caught me for a lap. As they raced by I felt the effort of pushing in the wind for most of the race and did not have the extra speed to latch on. Gradually they passed me until I was through the pack.

In the end I was placed 42nd out of 60 or 80 something racers. Rob Walters stuck in the main pack for most of the race until he was gapped after a preem sprint. He decided to bag it after that since he was way over the redline for most of the race.

The first Crit of the year is out of the way, but I think I may be in a good situation to do well in upcoming races. I have the speed, but need to make sure that I don’t get behind gaps that form to the main group. Starting near the front of the field is key to avoid the extra work of working through the shredded remnants of racers with their tongues wagging. I am probably in that group anyway.

After the race I hung out with my brother and watched the other races. The pro race was exciting to watch as pro racers would get shelled off the back of the pack. Many of them looked spent from the all out effort at the Crit. A breakaway of six racers featuring defending champ Hilton Clarke lapped the field. The end of the race had a one lap shoot out between the six that was won by Clarke after his Navigators team helped to set him up for the win.

The Kodak Gallery team are one of the few if only teams to be using the new SRAM Force gruppo on their bikes. Back in June during the Rochester Twilight Criterium, I was able to get a closer look at the gruppo. Walking by the Kodak mechanics I started fiddling with one of the spare bikes. I ask the mechanic how the riders like the new “double tap” shifting. He replied saying that it was easy to use and tried to explain how it works. It was difficult to understand without actually riding a bike to test out the theory.

I then asked if there was a learning curve and if it was steep. The mechanic replied saying that it did take a while for the riders to get used to the system, but once they got the hang of it, it was second nature.

Later on I was able to snap a few pictures at the start line as a KodakGallery riders parked right in front of me.

Last Saturday I raced in the Rochester Twilight Criterium. The race circles around downtown Rochester with several corners, and uphill and downhill section that are not very difficult, but get worse as you are going around at full speed. My race was the Cat5 over 30 competition which had a field of around 50 guys. The Cat 5 field was split between over 30 and under 30 probably to keep the fields smaller especially for Cat 5 fields which tend to be sketchy. The race started out with a bang as I was near the front of the group at the start of the race.

Through the first set of S turns a crash unfolded right in front of me as two guys touched wheels. The result was a mass pileup as riders were riding into the crash. I was able to avoid the crash and was lucky enough to not be right behind it. Unfortunately, the crash caused enoug of a gap that I had to chase back on in the downhill section, but the CCY team was controlling the front and keeping the pace resonable for a few laps as a three man break formed with a CCY guy in the mix.

This even pace allowed me to be in the front group for a bit. I was surprised after the first two laps to be in the front group which was down to around 25 or 30 guys. The crash and initial pace cut down the field to a resonable size. On each lap I was in the group, but could not stay near the front. Being in the back was tough as the accordian affect makes you use up more energy than necessary because you are either speeding up or slowing right down.

In the back section there is a figure 8 where I would be able to gain position which is just before the hill. Each lap, the hill would wear on me a bit and I would be dangling off the back of the group. Finally after I don’t know how many laps the rubbar band snapped. I just felt that I lost power at that point. Maybe I needed a breather, but I was just not fit enough to go the distance with the front group. I kept chasing, and was within sight of the front group for a few laps, but could not manage to get enough speed to get back on.

The race was eventually won by Brad Crosby a potential new Colavita teammate. His win allowed him to move up to Cat 4, a move that could have come much sooner since Brad has been tearing up the Cat 5 ranks this year placing no less than 3rd or 4th in most races.

As for my season, I feel like I am getting fitter, but am not anywhere near my best cycling form. This is the first season of full racing as the most races I’ve ever done in one season was two. This year I’ve done four races with mixed results. The form is coming along, the weight is going down, so it is only a matter of time before the ftiness comes together for a good result.

Next up may be the Glenns Falls Criterium on June 9th. Before then I may ride a century this weekend with my club to get a few miles in between the short Crits.

The Abs Diet Update
The Abs Diet is going well as I am into the second week. The weight is coming down, but it is hard to gauge since I use different scales which give me various results. The scale at the gym shows I lost about 5 pounds. I got a body fat scale which is all over the board. Overall, my pants fit looser and I did get some compliments on looking thinner. My belly seems to be a bit trimmer too. Watch for more info on this soon.

Rochester Twilight Criterium on Vimeo