Catching Up: Tour De Tuscaloosa

The week before Tour De Tuscaloosa was the last big training week before Ouachita Challenge. This meant that this week was going to be a hard one. This was the last week of Build 1. Build 1 did not go as planned. Spring break was the first week which only brought 6 hours of ride time. Did plenty of races in during this time (Rouge Roubaix, Tuffburg and Tour De Tuscaloosa).

The week before Tour De Tuscaloosa:

Monday: off

Tuesday: Two sets 10 min cruise intervals, spent just over 20 min just under LT

Wednesday: Three sets 1X1's, spent over 15 min above LT

Thursday: 3:45 min MTBing the Nox. Went XC race pace the last 20 min (to trick the body into thinking it was a longer ride) climbing up Charlotte's Web.

I think I need a bigger car!

Ready to go!

Three Bridges reroute

Lake Choctaw

 Friday: Recovery Ride (RR)

Saturday: Off (was expose to be leg openers but work and weather dictated otherwise)

Sunday: Tour De Tuscaloosa, 30 miles, Cat 5, Hilly

Tour De Tuscaloosa

Love the design, hate the fit!

 On Friday I talked to Kevin about my race strategy. He suggested I just attack early, attack often and make it fun for myself. It's not like I could win money for it, and it was a C priority race. Well on race day I took his advice, and boy was it fun!

The start was neutralized for about half a mile before the racing started. A mile into the race the biggest hill on course started. Everyone in the group slowed down as they started to climb... That is everyone but me. I got spat out to the front of the peloton and people started to draft off of me. Hum, time to have fun! I attacked on the very first hill of the race! As I neared the top I looked back to see the group stretched out in one big line behind me. Heck yeah! Make them work to draft you.

After this initial climb I rejoined the group and the course flattened out as we rode across the ridge of the first hill. Nothing spectacular happened until we started the decent. The decent had "breaking rumple strips" going across the road. Most people had to check there speed as they passed over these strips, I did not. I flew past several people as I was once again spat out to the front of the group. I decided to just take it easy at the front and see if anyone would pull around me.

To my surprise no one passed me until we turned back toward the start finish line. The section of road leading up to the finish had several medium length steep hills. As we started climbing again, the group picked up the pace, so I sat back in 10th place and waited for a break away to form.

The break way formed just as we crossed the finish line for the first time (10 miles in). I bridged the gap as the group started to climb the big hill for the second time. I rode with the break away, exchanging pulls,  until we reached a small kicker hill just before the big decent. My body decided that my climbing legs were done for the day, so I slipped back into the main field just as we started the flat section flowing the decent.

On this flat section the main group could see the break away. With about a mile before we turned back toward the finish line one rider yelled out that "We needed to pick up the pace to catch that break away." No one responded so I went to the front again and hammered away at LT trying to pull the group back up to the break away. As we turned toward the finish we had caught the break way, except one rider that rode off the front to finish first.

Once the climbing started up again the group passed me and left me dangling off the back. Just survive these next few hills and catch back on before the big climb... Yes, back on! 10 miles left, save some energy early in this lap then finish strong.

I managed to stay with the group up the big climb, then sucked wheels across the ridge. Once again, just before the kicker climb, I was spat out to the front of the group. Killing the climb I had open road ahead of me as we started the decent. The lead moto was having trouble staying out of my way as I dove through the turn at the bottom of hill. I had a couple hundred feet lead on the group at this point and decided to attack the flat to hold them off.

The pack caught me as I was turning toward the finish for the last time. I sat in the group (about 20 of the starting 50 where in this group) trying to recover before the sprint. Topping a small roller hill the finishing straight was slightly down hill. I sprinted for all I was worth and was positioned well to win the sprint (for 2nd) until I spun out my compact crank! Once spun out I had a few people re-pass me as I finished top ten (official results have me at 15th, but the person that drafted me to the finish was placed 13th). Not too bad considering that I attacked early, attacked often and had fun with the race!

Tour De Tuscaloosa HR and Altitude Data