Poor College Kids was my first cat 1/2/3 road race– a 58 mile two-lap race.
Unsure of what to expect, Vikki and I went out with a plan of just trying to stay in it and not making many moves. A few attacks early one kept us on our toes, but the group mostly stayed together for the better part of the first lap.
There was a breakaway of 6 that ended up succeeding, and while it looked like it kind of started in slow motion, I soon realized that there was someone from nearly every team in it (not us unfortunately), so the field had no intention of ever catching them. The pace remained on the slow side with no major attacks or pace changes after the breakaway.
Part way through the second lap, I decided to see if the group would care if I put in a small attack as an attempt to ride between the main field and the breakaway. Since the break already had a good gap, there wasn’t much threat of catching them. However, my attempt was covered quickly, and at that point I decided to sit in for the remainder of the race. Vikki pulled out of the race around this point, as she wasn’t feeling too good after being crashed out on a training ride the day before.
I’ve been having leg cramping issues for the past year and a half or so during races, and they were a major issue in this race as well. Midway through the second lap, I could barely pedal, but somehow managed to get through by stretching, changing the way I was pedaling, and going as easy as possible.
Going into the final turn, I was in a decent position. Another cramp put me back a but, but was able to bridge up behind somebody. I was unable to get out of the saddle in the [new for PCK uphill] sprint due to cramps, but pushed as best as I could and went around a couple of riders.
I ended up 6th in the field sprint, 12th overall, and the top cat 3 rider of the group.
Field Sprint (Photo: Christina Ting)
