Race 6: Constellation Brand Bristol Road Race

The best way to set the scene is with the forecast for today. The low temp for the Bristol area last night was predicted to be 52. Today's high temperature of 60 was supposed to be reached by 11 this morning and the temperature was then supposed to begin falling. And the winds to pick up. The low for tonight will be around 35 degrees. There was a 60% chance of precipitation. The predicted winds generated the following special weather statement for today: A deep low pressure will pass just to the north and west of the region early Saturday with its trailing cold front sweeping rapidly east across western New York Saturday morning. Westerly winds will increase dramatically following the frontal passage and may reach 30 to 40 mph with potential gusts to 60 mph for several hours from late morning through much of the afternoon before diminishing during Saturday evening.

Had I not pre-registered a month ago, I might not have been too keen on heading up. Luckily the other ladies either had not seen the forecast or were less concerned with high wind warnings than I am. It rained much of the night and things were a bit gusty in the morning, but it was not actively raining and blue sky was visible. The drive up was mostly dry and the cloud cover seemed to decrease as we got closer to the venue. The gust of wind that struck as I got out of the car meant business and I was hoping I would be able to stay on the bike if a gust like that caught me from the side, and being grateful for a small field and the space that would afford us to spread out if the wind made the riding a bit squirrelly. I carpooled to the venue with a local racer who was in the men’s pro/1/2 field.

We didn’t have a chance to drive the course before the race, but doing multiple laps we figured that wouldn’t be too much of an issue. The course was a 17 mile loop that the 1/2/3 women were scheduled to do 3 times. As promised, the wind was out of the west. We started in a park headed east and then after 200 or so meters turned south on Rt 64 for 6 miles of more or less flat road in a cross wind before turning into the wind for the first two mile climb. Then it was back into a side wind for another 4 mile stretch of flat to down and the second 2 mile climb. Then, the final couple of miles with a tail wind and a screaming downhill.

There were 8 women on the confirmed rider list in my field, 6 of us having raced at Hollenbeck’s last week, including the two Full Moon Vista ladies (Chris and Yvette), and Ruth. Originally we were supposed to start at 10:30 and the 4 ladies at 10:50. The directors decided to start all the women together at 10:50, but the 4 ladies would stop after 2 laps and the rest of us would go on for one more lap. The upside to this was starting with a group of 20 or more ladies, the disadvantage was the weather was supposed to start getting bad after noon, and the later we started, the greater the chance of still being out when things started getting ugly.

I took advantage of the big field for the first several miles and inserted myself 2/3 back in the pack, keeping track of the other 1/2/3 (numbers in the 180’s) but riding in with the 4’s (numbers in the 700’s). I paid attention to the wind direction and moved around in the group to keep riders between me and the wind regardless if it was coming from the side or the front. I noticed several of the other 1/2/3 women doing the same thing. Bless the 4’s many were happy to sit in the wind and protect the rest of us. That lasted until the first climb. Then things started to break apart. But the first time up the second climb there were 6 of us together and the rest spread out somewhere behind us. The 6 of us got organized at the top of the second hill and started a rotating double paceline to increase our gap and ensure the others wouldn’t catch on again with the downhill and tailwind. We held our gap and kept working together through the turn on to 64. There was a little bit of cat and mouse and some attacks on the two climbs nothing that stuck, but definitely a way to test the legs of those with us. We did drop one ride on lap 2 climb two, and again the remaining 5 of us organized ourselves again and hit it hard through the turn onto 64 again to ensure she could not catch back on. On the final lap the clouds opened up and we got rained on enough to soak us completely and then it let up a bit. Cat and mouse started in earnest on the two climbs of the last lap and again attacks were tried and all of them reeled in. All five of us were together at the top of the final climb and we were blazing as we came in towards the finish. That downhill was fast and although it had a few slight curves, there was no need to check your speed at all. I tucked and pedaled and spun out my highest gear and tucked some more and coming into the finish I was in 2^nd, and going all out and just before the line a lady came around me – got me by half a wheel. So 3^rd place for me on the day. It turns out I hit 51.3 mph during the race. And the Madone, she was solid.

I am happy with how I managed to keep attuned to the wind and make sure I was as protected as possible, and figuring out what the Full Moon Vista riders were doing for strategy. I did not do well with on the bike hydration – only drank1/3 of a small bottle and I need to stop just reacting to the moves on the road and start making some of my own moves. All in all it was a good day with a strong field and some good cooperation and some real racing.

I haven't seen official results posted yet, or photographs but I will post the appropriate links when I find them.