2010/2011 Brief race analysis

Compliments of istockphoto

Meant to do this at the end of the year, but finally got around to documenting a brief synopsis of what went right or wrong in each race, over the last 2 years.

skip to 2011 

2010

Champions Relay Duathlon (40km bike leg)

Pro: Despite heavy winds, steel frame, I felt good and passed a ton of aero-nerds and college kids. Astrid and I, FTW!
Con: Never worked on longer sustained (FTP) efforts before.

Prairie-Roubaix

Pro: First bike race. Finished strong during the last lap.
Con: Fell off the pack during first lap, bike was not well maintained and gearing cludgy. So were the legs! Big ringed the first big climb which burnt a match.

Pigeon Lake

Pro: Massive peloton, held on, stayed upright. Tried a couple of attacks. Managed a good sprint on uphill finish to pass a dozen guys.
Con: Sprinted from too far back, unable to maneuver through the peloton very effectively.

BBF prologue (HC)

Pro:
Con: Borrowed tire, not properly installed. Late to Banff, no warmup. Lacklustre performance.

BBF ITT

Pro: Leveraged my dissappointment from the HC to put 100% effort into ITT. First time trial, managed a very respectable 10th out of a large field.
Con: Again, no FTP training going into it.

BBF Crit

Pro: Studied the results and tactics from previous years. Kept a strong pace going the whole race and didn't get lapped. In fact, ended up 8th for my first ever ABA points!
Con: Missed the break and could not bridge the gap.

TdB RR

Pro: Hilly circuit race, but held on to the selection of 15, despite thinking I was going to die each lap.
Con: Didn't know when the last lap was upon us in order to contest the sprint. In fact, when accellerations began, I packed it in thinking oh gawd, we still have another lap to go!

TdB HC (3-up)

Pro: Paired with Andrew Paul, we managed a fun little sprint at the end.
Con: We were sprinting for 28th! Fat and heavy bike, plus poor CP4 were the culprits. Also I think the grouping makes a big difference.

Tdb Crit

Pro: Stayed with pack the whole race.
Con: Suffered from the yo-yoing of poor cornering, falling out of the stream. Not much of a final sprint. Got passed by Mike in the last 50m!

Provincial RR

Pro: Felt really good, made it up the one major climb in the top 8. Formed a breakaway and tried to organize the group to echelon-it. When caught by peloton, spent much of the time at the front, reducing exposure near the finale to conserve my legs for a sprint.
Con: 300m from the finish, sitting between first 2 riders. Hope was that no matter which one of them surged, I'd have a wheel to lead me out. Instead, got a bit boxed in when surges happend around them. One of them veered inside and clipped my front wheel... down I went.

JayLap ITT

Pro:
Con: Cold day! See above about FTP training. Also had a problem with the clip-on aero bars not being the right length.

JayLap Crit

Pro: Drove the pace, lots of time in the spotlight! Decent sprint for top 10 finish.
Con: Too much time at the very front of the race, except when it counted!

JayLap RR

Pro: Better positioning throughout the whole race. Mike and I sipping champagne at the very back. Good kick on final climb and sprint. Good tactics on being aggresive on the final descent into the last climb.
Con: Should have moved up sooner to hang with Mike H and Dale Hildebrand.

2011

CB&I Tri

Pro: First Tri! Quite happy with my run split and the fact that I finished the swim.
Con: Terrible swim time, and not happy about the bike split.

BBF prologue (HC)

Pro: equipment and warmup went better
Con: Still suck at hills, and VO2 max is low.

BBF ITT

Pro: First race with Orbea!
Con: Poor pacing, and poorer fitness.

BBF Crit

Pro: Hung on to chase group.
Con: Not motivated or inspired at all in this race. After a crash, I missed the break group and spent the remainder of the race in chase group, again.

Stampede RR

Pro: Hung on for one lap with the big boys! First race featuring ~100kms. Also met & rode with some good guys from Bicisport.
Con: No match for the cat 1/2/3's driving the pace in this race. Couldn't position myself in a wind-safe spot in the rough cross-winds. Also, no motivation in group I was with to complete the 5th lap.

TdB RR

Pro: Hung with speedsters Jordan Bryden, Anthony Killick, etc through the first lap, including the "big climb". After forming a chase group, managed an attack with >1km to go, passing a rider up the road and holding the rest of the chase group away.
Con: Didn't have the juice to stay in that lead selection. Suffered from a cold all week and was phlegming up the whole race. Tactically sound.

Tdb Crit

Pro: Great starting position on front. Hung in with leaders for entire race. Cornered very well and virtually eliminated yo-yo effect on the final turn by properly placing behind someone.
Con: Timing in final lap, not in position to contest the podium, passed in sprint by Callum.

JayLap ITT

Pro:
Con: Forgot my HR strap, so couldn't pace on HR. Also no FTP fitness (see above).

JayLap Crit

Pro: Sat pretty the whole race, somewhat contesting the one and only prime (3rd), and also somewhat contesting the final sprint (6th). Good accelleration at the end.
Con: Poor timing and didn't put myself in a good position to truly factor.

JayLap RR

Pro: Sat in nicely. Had a teammate in the 3-man break so we had to do no work. When the attacks happened, I strategically outsprinted 3 guys I crested the final climb with.
Con: Couldn't hang on to the chase group in the final 10k. Couldn't bridge that group later either (not without trying).

Provincial RR

Pro: Strategized a lot over this race. Recognized the importance of cresting the KOM near the front. Worked my tail off to try to make that happen. Pushed hard to bridge once I missed out on the selection. Continued to push hard the remaining 60k, and a solid sprint to authoritatively claim 7th place.
Con: Could have gotten closer to the front before the climb to allow more drift. Obviously needed more sustained power to either keep with that group, or bridge after the crest.

Blowstreet SuperCX

Pro: First CX race. Had Fun. Finished strong, even sprinting for 35th place! Even passed a bunch of people.
Con: Weak start. Not at all aggressive in first quarter lap, where the race is mostly decided.