Monday, June 18, 2012

A major race, a run of bad luck, and some continued improvement

I went in to the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic with high hopes based on the training and racing I've been doing, as well as the recent wattage gains I've seen based on my relatively limited PowerCrank training.  During the weeks leading up to Mt. Hood I had primarily been seeing sub-5 minute power improvements and I was hoping that would help me during the first stage as well as the crit.  Here is how it played out:


Stage 1 - The road race started out fast from the gun and I nearly set a 5 min power record on the first climb and unfortunately got a flat shortly after the start of the 2nd lap and never caught back on after getting a neutral SRAM wheel.  Luckily for me one of my teammates was in a chase group and we finished the stage together.  If he hadn't I'm not sure if I would have made it.

Stage 2 - Scary is how I would describe the Stage 2 Time Trial, which was highlighted by 30+ mph side gusts throughout the 18+ mile course.  I love Time Trials, but I don't love wind like that and I was off the road twice and am lucky I didn't go down.  Still, I was surprised by the fact that I set a 40 min power record (~340 watts), because up to that point I hadn't been seeing larger improvements in my longer power efforts.

Stage 3 - The downtown Hood River crit is always an experience and culminates in a downhill hairpin corner that always claims a few riders each year.  The race was fast, sketchy at points, and everything a typical Pro 1/2 crit is.  During the race I noticed less fatigue than I normally have with those types of efforts and I could really feel my legs "pushing over the top" during seated accelerations, which is something relatively new and I would associated with my PowerCrank training.  During the crit I set a 50 min power record, which meant I had two longer power records within one day.

Stage 4 - The final stage of Mt. Hood is beast of a stage capped by 4 hard climbs, a bunch of hairy descents, and only a few moments to catch your breath.  I've rarely had good days during Stage 4 and this year I went into the stage feeling better and fresher than normal, but was caught behind/in a small crash during the 1st KOM climb (about 4k out) and was never able to catch back on.  Dang, both road stages affected by bad luck...that's stage racing for you.

Summary - Bad luck sucks at Stage Races, but I'm starting to see power gains beyond 10 minutes.  Hopefully that will continue to improve as I get more targeted PowerCrank training time during the next 5 weeks leading up to Cascade.

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