The course at Concord was changed this year because a rotary was put in at one of the intersections. The already narrow road was made even tighter and the radius of the turn was sharper as well. To keep things safe the course was run backwards. Instead of bombing through the rotary at 30 mph we went much slower at the end of the short ascent. This made the back side of the course fast and thrilling. The finish line was moved to the opposite end of the straightaway to discourage aggressive riding through the fast turns.
The old course was one of my favorites mostly because of the downhill before the sprint. I tend to do best in races where I can take some tension off of my legs shortly before the sprint. As long as the finish line was kept on the bottom of the hill I figured this new course would suit me well.
Since coming back from Europe I’ve been having some digestive issues and my weight is now down to 164 pounds. That’s about 6 pounds lighter than where I’ve been racing at for most of this season. I wasn’t sure if this decrease was due to the digestive issues, eating habits, or a combination of both. I haven’t noticed any decreases in power output so prior to Concord so I was thinking I’d just be extra strong.
Race day was hot. I was well prepared for it and brought a gallon of ice water for my bottles as well as Gatorade mix. I did my usual combo of one Gatorade and one water bottle. Drank another bottle of Gatorade while watching the p12 and 35+ fields race.
We had right around 45 or 50 starters. NEBC had 3 in the race including Keith, Joe, and myself.
On the first lap or two we went extra slow around the corners as we felt it out. It was almost painful. The worst was going around the downhill switchback turn. No one swarmed and we just crawled around it. We got faster as we settled in but we still went way slower than I think we should have.
The first prime bell rang 3 or 4 laps into the race. Mark Theeman (Green Line Velo) was at the front and took a flyer. I wasn’t far back, maybe 10 or 15 wheels, when Keith moved up the inside so I grabbed his wheel and went to the front. I was hurting when we got to the highest point of the course and Theeman was still way up. No one was really pushing the pace until a pair of riders attacked. Theeman took the prime with these two other dudes right behind him.
After the prime lap there were a bunch of counter attacks and the pace stayed hot. I was hurting and am a little uncertain about exactly how it happened, but I think that one of the two guys that attacked on the prime lap snuck away here. It could have been someone involved with the counter attack, but I’m certain that after another lap or two there was one rider up with a 25 second gap.
The gap hovered around 25 seconds for a couple of laps. After maybe 4 laps or 10 minutes it wasn’t coming down, and the field showed no signs of organizing itself. A few individuals would take strong pulls, but not enough people seemed interested in bringing it back. We were slowing way down for turns, hammering out of them, and then easing up again.
I typically shy away from breakaways, but with the snail space around the turns I thought I might have a chance to bridge. Trouble was I felt absolutely horrible. I floated way back in the field thinking I would get a good rest in for a bridge attempt, but I kept feeling worse and worse. My legs didn’t really feel too heavy and my breathing seemed pretty under control. An aching feeling spread throughout my entire body and every pedal stroke sucked.
With 9 or 10 laps to go I couldn’t take it anymore and pulled out. Other than p123 “fitness” crits that were my second of the day, this is the first crit I’ve DNF’d in a long time. I think that this digestive issue that I’ve been having may be catching up with me and the heat may have made the side effects worse. Hopefully I can work these issues out and find some decent racing form in time for GMSR.
