I agreed a few weeks ago to drive some friends out to a race in Lancaster county. This would be their first road race. Kirkwood.
I did this race last year. I took maybe 15th out of 40. Had good positioning coming into the final 1k, then found that I didn’t know how to sprint.
Anyway. Its cold, its ridiculously windy, and its my friends’ first race. I get them there early. They go out on the course. The best advice I think I gave them was: ‘Its windy. Make sure to always put someone between you and it.’
These guys have great base fitness. They barely stopped riding all winter.
One got pulled off the course in a miscommunication with the official( he probably would have finished top 30), the other finished with a bunch of stragglers. In short, it was a shit show.
The last mile and a half of the 7 mile circuit is wide open. No trees, no walls, no embankments. Just farm fields, the road and the wind. It was very gusty while they were out there. The guy who didn’t finish made the mistake of jumping to catch a break. He went out into the wind and well…that was that.
To add insult to injury, he watched the break that he jumped for fold back into his group after he exploded.
The guy who finished with stragglers was part of a group that got gapped early on. I blame his result mostly on poor positioning (ie he wasn’t in the front.)
But like my HS rowing coach used to say, ‘When you’re loosing, you’re learning.’
Both of these guys are in better shape then me. And I have my first race( the Lower Providence Criterium) in 3 weeks. I’m thinking there will be lessons.
I think I can already hear the school bell ringing.
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