Jason Lapierre Memorial Weekend

Saturday, Aug 21 - Acme 40k ITT

Not only do you get pleasure of driving way out to the middle of nowhere, but when you finally arrive, you get to torture your body in ways you would not wish upon your worst enemy. Then drive all the way back to civilization!
That said, the course chosen was very scenic, and the roads were in excellent condition (unlike me).
A bit chilly (needed base layer), and some the air quality was quite poor due to forest fires in BC.

Almost too fast for the camera!

Along with Mike and I, a few friends were there entered into the citizen's class; my dad, Simon & his dad, and Minh.
The course was 20km out and back, featuring several medium-sized rollers and one significant climb right before the turnaround.
My pacing was probably too high on the ascents, as I was not recovering quickly enough on the flats to regain the pace each time.
I think I did the first half in about 38 minutes. The overall decline on the return quickened my pace a bit, and overall I finished in 1:06:27.
Not too bad I guess. I would've been happy with this time as I was hoping for sub-1:07, except that for some reason everybody else was killing it that day, not the least of which was Mike, who hammered an amazing 1:01:47!
Eric was not loving the hills + altitude, but said he enjoyed the course and the great workout.

Notes:

• Make sure to check and adjust aerobar length/positioning. Having borrowed Eric's, I didn't know the bars could extend so was riding a bit tucked in the whole time. This caused me some painful moments in the 2nd half, as I was struggling to find a comfortable position.
• Train more for sustained, consistent power output.

Saturday, Aug 21 - Downtown Criterium

With about 3 hours' rest at home, we get back in the car and head downtown for the crit.
This time the whole family comes along, and meet up with Mike's,  Minh's, and Scott's families. The place is buzzing as the MC's and DJ are entertaining, and the concession booths are abundant.
We warmup, which basically involves a lot of light spinning to recover/prepare the legs.

At the startline, Mike and I leadout again, but it's only for about half a block as I find myself at the very front leading the charge.
Don't mind this, as I get some camera time for the family, and get to dictate the pace to my liking.
Mike, Scott Fraser, and I absorb a large portion of the lead for much of this race, with Scott and I coming in 4th and 3rd in one of the primes (can't touch Morgantini - who took it riding on a flat tyre!)
Well, our strategy of laying out some hurt was not really working, as very few riders were dropped.
Instead, on the final lap we were caught by a late surge from, among others, Mike Hoang, who won it. Not far behind was Mike, then me, then Scott rounding out the top 10.
Definitely our strategy did not work on this course. The corners were very wide, and it was easy to pass people anywhere, so no breakaways were going to succeed.
Mike H's strategy of sitting at the back until the final lap was key to his victory.

Sunday, Aug 22 - Bergen Hills Road Race (~50 km)

Billed as a circuit race containing Nepal-like climbs, 2 hours NW of the city, I was NOT looking forward to this race...
The only thing stopping me from bailing was a) having to tell Mike he's now driving solo, and b) this is the last ABA points race of the year.
Well, the morning was a bit chilly again, and the pace of the first lap was relatively tame, with Mike and I doing our time at/near the front. Going into the section of climbs in the 2nd half of the lap, I calmly pedalled through with a high cadence, gauging the competition's fitness.
I knew we were not going to drop many people in this race, nor was a breakaway going to succeed on this day.
Going into the 2nd lap, I decided and convince Mike, to hang at the back of the pack.
The pace seemed slower, maybe just our perception, and certainly my effort level was greatly reduced. Going from a 147 avg HR in the first lap, to 122 avg in the 2nd lap (both way below race intensity!)
I made a decision to make my move from last to middle right before the descent leading into the final climb.

Done!!

That way, I would have a clear lane to descend as fast as I could (without braking), and be in decent position for the climb.
Well, this worked out pretty well, and I nearly caught up with Mike and the front guys. Cresting the hill, I had a bad shift back to my big ring, and just couldn't reel in Mike. Soon he was passed by Mike H, but hung on to increase the gap in front of me. After sprinting for about 200m solo, I was passed by a cyclemeister, but still managed a respectable 6th, and a 6th overall in the omnium.
Congrats to Waldhuber for a killer weekend, taking in 2nd overall in the omnium! And of course, to teammate Mike H for his 1st place in the crit and omnium.