It has taken me a while to come to terms with our failed Vancouver to Portland, four day tour that was to take place at the end of August. Really, four 200km days for three guys with a summer of racing in their legs should not have been that hard. Unfortunately, a freak summer storm, which included 100kph headwinds, brought our planned tour to an early end. We were only able to complete the first leg of our four day journey. As this was my first tour, however, there were a few things I definitely would do differently next time.
1. Don't (Exclusively) Depend on Technology
As I don't particularly enjoy navigating, I figured all of my problems would be solved through the use of a Garmin Edge Touring. The device promised to provide turn by turn directions based on the route I uploaded beforehand. After carefully planning and creating four separate files for each day of the tour, I made two key mistakes. First, I didn't really test the device outside of one short ride. I read online that it can be a bit finicky and it became quickly apparent that it wasn't reading my course files properly. I believe I know what went wrong, so I will hold any harsh criticism of the device at this point, but knowing what went wrong does not help you and your riding buddies when you are lost in a freezing, torrential downpour, in Richmond, about 45 minutes into the first day of your epic tour. The second mistake was not having a handwritten or printed summary of our route. A big mistake which cost us over an hour on what was already going to be a long day, as we worked to create a handwritten map.
2. Don't Pack Too Much
Yeah... maybe just a little too much stuff
Just because your rack can take two, large panniers doesn't mean you need to fill them both up. I brought a lot of stuff on our trip. A lot. Admittedly, much of that was due to the fact that the forecast was for poor weather (they did, however, forget to mention the hurricane), but I still probably could have done without much of it. Panniers make your bike heavy and change handling substantially. This, in and of itself is not a tour-ender, but making your bike as light as possible will increase your enjoyment of the ride. May also help you avoid rear flats. Trust me.
3. Don't Get Caught in a Hurricane
Seriously, it will end your tour. For a local tour like this, I would suggest planning and booking hotels as close to the date of the tour as possible so you get a sense of what the weather will be like. This was supposed to be a relatively easy-going, lightly-geared, hotel-based summer tour. Bad weather, even before the wind, made it into a grind. I also suggest booking hotels that you can cancel with refund on short-notice, that somewhat lessened the blow.
In the end, calling the tour off was the right call. The wind was dangerous, to the point of bringing down trees. After avoiding serious injury through a season of hard racing, the last thing we wanted to do was get killed on our easy-going summer tour!
Adam, Dylan and I have decided to cap off the summer with a four-day ride from Vancouver to Portland. We will be riding about 180km per day, in what looks like the pouring rain, starting tomorrow. Having just completed my packing, I'm ready to get some sleep for our 6am start. I will try to recap each day of our journey; this is the furthest any have us have attempted to ride. Hopefully, our fitness after a hard season of racing will help us reach our destination. That said, I have been focused on track sprinting this season. I'll try not to think too much about that.
Yesterday I suffered through what I find to be one of the
most painful, yet beneficial workouts: the Roller Pyramid. This exercise
increases leg speed and improves the smoothness of your pedal stroke. This
exercise will not only improve your sprinting, but will also help make you a more
efficient racer in general. Roller pyramids are one of two workouts that I feel
almost immediately inject a bit of power into my legs and have a direct impact
on my racing. The other exercise is motor-pacing, but I’ll leave my analysis of
that workout to a future blog post.
The roller pyramid is a form of interval training, involving
riding the rollers at progressively higher 1-minute or 30-second cadence
intervals. You build up to your max cadence, then work your way back down to
recovery. I find the best workouts last about an hour and work through the
pyramid two times. If you are new to riding rollers, you may find it difficult
to ramp up your cadence without bouncing in the saddle. This is an indication
of an inefficient pedal stroke, the more you work on the rollers, the smoother
and less “bouncy” you will get. When I first started with this workout, I could
barely get above 110rpm without feeling like I would fly out of the saddle.
Now, after many roller workouts, I can safely max my pyramid out at just over
200rpm.
Here is an introductory, sample workout for those new to the
rollers. Once you’ve mastered this workout, you can add “steps” to the pyramid
to further increase your target cadence. As you add more steps to the pyramid,
you can shorten the length of the highest cadence intervals to avoid burn-out.
10min Warm-up
3min Burn-out to Z5
2min Rest
1min 110rpm
1min Recovery
1min 120rpm
1min Recovery
1min 130rpm
1min Recovery
1min 120rpm
1min Recovery
1min 110rpm
5min Rest (drink)
1min 110rpm
1min Recovery
1min 120rpm
1min Recovery
1min 130rpm
1min Recovery
1min 120rpm
1min Recovery
1min 110rpm
10min Cool-Down
If you have any questions about this workout, or roller
pyramids in general, feel free to ask them in the comments section!
Ed. Note: This is the
first in a series of bike reviews planned for the RRR. Racing Reds team members
tend to be very particular with regard to the bikes in their stables. They are
often thoughtfully put together and purpose built; you will find very few
“off-the-shelf” bikes on this team. Bike reviews will highlight the unique
features of the bikes we ride. The reviews will be largely positive, as we tend
to like the bikes we ride on a regular basis, but we will strive to provide a
critical look at the bikes and the components that comprise the builds. If you
have any questions about our bikes or related components, please feel free to
ask them in the comments section of the reviews.
Bicycle Specifications as Reviewed:
Frame and Fork: Giant TCR SLR Size M/L
Front Derailleur: Dura Ace 9000
Rear Derailleur: Dura Ace 9000
Headset: Giant Integrated
Crankset: Dura Ace 9000 52/36 175mm
Cassette: Ultegra 6800 11-28
Stem: Fizik Cyrano 110mm
Handlebars: Whisky Parts No. 7 Compact Bar 42cm
Brake Levers/Shifters: Dura Ace 9000
Brakes: Ultegra 6800
Hubs: Mavic
Rims: Mavic Ksyrium Elite S
Tires: Vittoria EVO CX III 25mm
Seatpost: Giant Proprietary Aero
Saddle: Specialized Toupe Pro Carbon 143mm
Chain: Ultegra 6800
Handlebar Tape: Fizik Tacky Black 2mm Thick
Pedals: Dura Ace 9000, 4mm extended axle
Power Meter: Stages Dura Ace 9000
When I first bought the Giant TCR SLR, I had intended it to
be my Criterium and rainy day bike. My previous rain bike was an All-City Mr.
Pink. I was somewhat unsatisfied with this bike, not because it was a bad bike,
but more so because I wanted a true “B” bike; something that would be a bit
more responsive and lighter in a race situation, as well as something that
wouldn’t cost half a year’s salary to replace if crashed. I had already owned
and broken one Cannondale CAAD10 and liked the responsive feel of aluminum.
Truthfully, I am still a bit sad over the loss off my first CAAD 10 due to a
crack at the chainstay. In the end, I sold the warranty frame because, frankly,
the colour was not to my taste and I no longer wanted to be part of the CAAD10 “cult;”
it was time to try something different.
A friend and ex-employer from Western Cycle in Edmonton,
Alberta suggested the new Giant TCR SLR. He informed me that it was lighter
than the CAAD10, at a frame weight of 1000 grams, had a proper 1.5” to 1 1/8” tapered
steerer and there weren’t that many in Canada yet, so it would be somewhat
unique. On top of that, I could get one in a M/L size, which is the exact
geometry of the race bike I had previously owned and recently sold, the Propel
Advanced SL.
Aggressive race geometry with tapered steerer
As a bonus, it was black and orange, my favourite colour
combination besides black and red (red is slightly faster than orange, but
sometimes you have to compromise). I got a great deal on the bike and had my
colleague from Edmonton ship it to the Giant Canada headquarters in Vancouver,
BC.
The stock TCR was a mix of Giant branded components and Shimano
105 5800 11 speed groupset. The build was adequate, but I decided to upgrade
the bike in order to improve overall performance. I replaced everything with
the exception of the frame, seatpost, and fork. The groupset was replaced
initially with Ultegra 6800, but I was enjoying the bike so much, that I
swapped out the Dura Ace 9000 mechanical groupset that had adorned my current primary
race bike, a BMC Racemachine, and installed it on the TCR. A carbon bar from
Whisky Components, a Fizik stem, Tacky bar tape and a carbon-railed Specialized
Toupe saddle rounded out the cockpit.
Fizik stem and Whisky bars round out the cockpit
Mavic’s not-too-exciting (nor aero), but
ever reliable and tough Ksyrium Elite S wheels were installed. Some fresh
Vittoria Evo CX tires with latex tubes in 25mm width were chosen in order to
provide just a bit of extra comfort to what I expected to be a stiff frame.
Overall weight with carbon Blackburn cages, Dura Ace pedals and my Garmin 500
was just over 16.5 pounds or about 7.5 kilograms. Not heavy, but certainly a
bit of a porker compared to my BMC Racemachine, which at the time was under the
UCI-legal weight limit of 6.8kgs.
So, how do I describe the ride of this bike? Two words.
Exhilirating and inspiring. Truly, there are few family friendly words that can
describe just how exciting this bike is. Comparing it to every other bike I
have owned, it is far more stiff and lively at the bottom bracket. This is
saying a lot, considering I have ridden Giant’s own Propel Advanced SL, a great
bike in its own right which is marketed as higher-end versus the TCR. Every
push on the pedals felt instantly responsive and amazingly good. When I’m on
this bike I certainly feel like Marcel
Kittel (though my hair is better), despite being a few watts short of his
sprint.
Even more remarkable was the steering response. I was
slightly disappointed when I first saw a carbon fork with an aluminum steerer,
having been promised a full carbon fork on the spec sheet. I was worried about
the extra 150 grams, but it really turned out to be a non-issue. The stiff
steerer paired with a gargantuan headtube and a big 1.5” bottom bearing makes
for stiff and precise steering.
The TCR boasts an exceptionally stiff headtube
This is useful when having to quickly dodge
competitors in a field sprint, MAMILs in Stanley Park, or when carving tight
turns down one of Vancouver’s epic mountain descents. The TCR is truly
point-and-shoot and makes my BMC feel like a rusty bedspring in comparison. When
you combine the tight front end with the super short rear end and Giant’s tried
and true TCR geometry, you get a really mean machine that just begs to be
stomped on and pushes you to attack at every opportunity
Since it is an aluminum bike, there must be a drawback in ride
quality, right? Wrong. After having owned the bike for just one week I took it
on a 210 kilometre ride and it felt just great, even after 6 hours in the
saddle. I can chock some of this up to Vittoria’s supple EVO CX tires and latex
tubes being run at 105 psi rear and 95 psi front. As an aside, I am a big fan
of the new wide tire and rim trend. Though I haven’t convinced all of my
teammates yet, many of them have discovered the joys of wider tires at lower
pressures with no performance detriments. For reference, I am 168 pounds and
when I am training, I have run the front as low as 85 psi and the rear as low
as 95 psi without incident. The 25mm Vittoria’s measure out to 28mm, so I could
probably even go a bit lower too, especially on a modern wide rim. After over
200km’s I was as comfortable as one can be on a race bike with 10-plus
centimetres of saddle to bar drop, which is to say, surprisingly comfortable.
This bike may not be the best option for you if you are
riding multiple, 250-plus kilometre days all year long. If that is the case,
you may want to look at carbon, endurance-style frames that will provide good
performance, but will emphasise compliance over stiffness. For me, taking into
consideration the racing and training rides that I do, I wouldn’t change a single
thing about this frame. Well, perhaps a 27.2mm seatpost would be preferable
over the proprietary seatpost provided, but I’ll let that slide considering the
overall quality of the bike.
I won’t spend much time reviewing the Dura-Ace 9000 groupset.
My groupset has 12,000km on it now and is still as smooth and buttery as the
day I got it. It just works and
happens to still look great with many miles of wear on it.
Interestingly, Giant only promotes this bike in Canada as an
entry-level road bike. With the stock 105 build it comes in at $1,499 CAD. I
think Giant may do well to market this bike beyond first-time buyers who may be
put off by the sharp handling and stiffness of the frame. If they were to instead
offer it with sexier build kits, like Ultegra and Dura-Ace, more amateur racers
would take an interest in it, and really, it is a perfect bike for that
demographic. Low cost, high performance, and good looks; the TCR should appeal
to your typical local racer. Giant could foreseeably challenge Cannondale and
their CAAD series if they market the TCR in this way. Recently, other manufacturers
such as Trek and Cinelli have started offering high-end aluminum race frames
again. With a bike made of a material that is light, cheap and rides extremely
well, I wouldn’t be surprised if I started seeing more local racers on the
Giant TCR SLR.
My final endorsement should show my love of this bike. I
recently learned that I would be going back to school to start an MBA in the
fall. MBAs aren’t exactly cheap, so I have been, reluctantly, selling some of
my bikes in order to help pay for school. I’ve decided that I can only keep one
road racing bike for next year. Which one did I decide to keep over all of the
others? Shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.
This past weekend, I raced in the Alpenrose Velodrome
Challenge in Portland. This was my first time at the event. This is a popular
yearly event for Category 1/2 track racers throughout the pacific north-west,
due to great organization, a diverse mix of events and generous cash prizes for
top finishers. I entered the Sprint events (Keirin, Match Sprints, and Team
Sprint), the Miss-and-Out, 10-Mile Scratch Race and the Flying Lap. Having focused
my training on developing my track sprint since January, I was hoping to
perform well at this event.
Travel Day
I drove down Friday with my friend and coach, Kelyn Akuna.
We intended to arrive in Portland around 5pm and participate in the weekly,
Friday night Sprint Tournament. We figured this would be a good warm-up for
Match Sprints in the main event Sunday. Unfortunately, traffic was so bad
around Seattle, we didn’t arrive until about 9pm. Even worse, after a quick
stop for food on the way down, I ended up with a case of food poisoning.
Overall, I wasn’t off to a great start.
Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge
Day 1
By Saturday morning, I was feeling somewhat better, if a bit
weak. Kelyn and I went for a warm-up road ride with our host, Carl, who was
kind enough to take us on route only a local would be familiar with. This
helped further settle the stomach and even build a bit of an appetite. Our
first race wasn’t until 2pm, so we had time to eat a light lunch before heading
over to the velodrome.
The two events I was entered in for the day were the Keirin
and the Miss-and-Out. I decided that since I was still somewhat weak from the
food poisoning, I would skip the Miss-and-Out if necessary to better recover
for what would be a much busier Sunday. There were several Keirin heats, with
the top two from each advancing to the finals. Those who did not advance in the
first round would have a second chance in the repechage race, where the top
finisher would advance.
I was in the second heat with, as I would soon learn, some
very strong sprinters.
Intensity builds sitting behind the motor*
I was sitting in third spot when the motor pulled off
and what caught by surprise when the riders behind me jumped immediately. Track
awareness, something which is critical in bike racing in general but even more
important in sprint events specifically, is something that I am continually
working on. I still struggle to keep track of the other racers in the Keirin
and this was made worse by my lack of familiarity with the Alpenrose velodrome
as well, which is very technical in the turns. I was, perhaps, a bit too
focused on holding my line into the turns, so much so that I missed what the
other racers were doing. All of that aside, the other sprinters were very
impressive. The physicality of what I was seeing in front of me was something
that I was not used to. With the riders in second and third position throwing
elbows and leaning into each-other, I was sure I was about to witness a
high-speed crash. The skill and experience of the other racers, however, helped
to ensure that the race finished without incident. I was the second-to-last
finisher in my heat though; off to repechage for me!
I intentionally took the back position in the repechage
heat, hoping to be the one to lead the attack and catch the other racers
unaware. I believe I timed my attack well, but I hesitated as I approached the lead
rider, coming alongside him as I mistakenly didn’t want to take the lead
position.
Almost, but not quite committing to my attack*
I know now that if I’m attacking from the back, I will need to fully
commit and take the front. I may not be able to hold the front all the way to
the finish, but my attack will have a better chance of success versus trying to
hold the higher line at speed. In the end, I didn’t make the Keirin final, but
it was valuable to have raced against that calibre of a field. Kelyn did make
the final after he managed to control second position in his first heat. He
ended up coming fifth overall, after being well positioned in the final rush,
but he hesitated momentarily and let the eventual race winner, Steven Beardsley,
escape being boxed-in.
The Keirin is an unforgiving, but extremely intense,
high-energy race. It is probably my overall favorite type of bike race, on
either the track or the road.
I decided to skip the Miss-and-Out due to the tough Keirin
racing and afternoon heat. I wanted to be fully rested and recovered from my
food poisoning heading into Sunday. The sprint field was looking very strong
based on the Keirin and I knew I would need to be at full strength for Match
Sprints.
Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge
Day 2
The weather forecast for Day 2 of the Challenge was the same
as Day 1, extreme heat. Luckily, we started a bit earlier, with Match Sprints commencing
at 10am. One of the biggest challenges for me would be the Flying 200, which
was to be used for seeding the event. The Alpenrose velodrome has an unusual
geometry, with extremely steep banking in the turns and very shallow banking in
the straights. This is compounded by rough surface patches scattered over the track
surface. Before leaving for the event, I finally broke the 12 second flying 200
barrier, riding an 11.9 second 200 at the Burnaby velodrome. I knew I would
need to ride one of my best 200s to seed well in this strong field. To make
matters worse, it was announced that there were 13 riders entered in the Match
Sprints and only the top 12 would qualify to race. My flying 200, unfortunately,
was not my best time. My wind-up began too late, and my descent line was too
high heading into the start. My back wheel skipped in both turn 2 and turn 3 of
the velodrome, scrubbing speed. My time was 12.6 seconds; I wasn’t sure if I
would be racing Match Sprints today. I managed to qualify in the 12th
spot. Looking back, though they announced 13 starters, there may have been only
12 that actually started, as that is the total number listed in the official results.
Either way, I was last seed.
Qualifying in the 12th spot meant that I would be
facing the top seeded racer. I was up against Stephen McLaughry, a talented veteran
sprinter who had recently set a sub 11 second personal best Flying 200 in Colorado.
He was riding in a large gear and was known to attack with an aggressive, hard
jump. I took the lead and tried to razor him, increasing the speed throughout
the sprint without taking the sprint lane, in an attempt to eliminate his jump.
I was not, however, able to raise the speed high enough to eliminate his jump
and he was able to come around me in the final lap. I was once again to face
repechage.
My second sprint was in a group of three, with the top rider
progressing to the quarter finals. I found myself in-between the two other
racers. I attacked in the second lap during a moment of hesitation by the lead
rider. The racer behind me also attacked and ended up taking the lane. Speaking
with Kelyn after the race, he told me that I should have taken the lane, as my
attack was good and I had quite a bit of space on my competitors. In the
moment, it seemed like the rider behind me actually got the better jump and I
didn’t have space to get in front of him. Once again, this proves that I need
to work on track awareness. I closed on
the lead rider’s wheel, but was unable to take the win and stay in the
tournament. Official results have me finishing 9th of 12.
Congratulations to Connor Klupar for winning the event.
The 10-Mile Scratch race was up next. After hard sprinting
in the morning, I knew this would be a tough event. $3 for 1st place
and $2 for 2nd place in each lap was on offer for this race,
ensuring that the pace would be high. My goal was simply to take a lap and earn
a modest $3! When it came time to go to the rail, I didn’t end up in the best
position, starting near the back of the pack. As expected, the pace was fast
right off of the start. Though the tempo was high, it actually wasn’t too hard
to simply sit in the pack. My plan was to sit-in during initial attacks that
were bound to occur, while everyone had fresh legs. I was hoping to attack
around the half-way point in the 60 lap race and take my lap. Unfortunately, I
was not to be successful in achieving my goal. The heat was so extreme at 38
degrees Celsius that I began to feel physically ill about 20 laps in. I was
seriously worried about potential heat exhaustion and I just couldn’t continue
once I was close to 30 laps in, I had to pull out of the race. Several racers
pulled out of the race around the same time; it was an impressive feat simply
to finish. Steven Beardsley took the win after a close sprint with Zach
Kovalcik; an exciting finale.
The Team Sprint was my last major event. Kelyn and I had
decided to enter as a team, but we needed a third rider. We were able to
recruit Steven Beardsley to ride with us.
On the start line of the Team Sprint*
I was to start, Steven was to ride
second and Kelyn was to ride as anchor. We were the first of three teams to
ride. We had a false start on our first attempt, as Kelyn pulled out of his
pedal. Our second start was clean and I was able to execute one of my better
standing starts. I heard the announcer say that a sub 1 minute time was a good
team sprint time for this track. Our finishing time was 56.92 seconds. With no reference
point, I thought this could be a competitive time. Unfortunately, we ended in third
after strong rides by the other two teams. Though we may have finished last, it
was still third place, and I won a cool $15 for my effort. At this point in the
weekend, I was willing to count that as a success.
The weekend ended with the unofficial event, the Flying Lap.
I was exhausted, but happy to have competed as I was able to find better line
on the track versus my Flying 200 earlier that morning. I will use that
knowledge when I return to Alpenrose.
Overall, this was a very challenging weekend. I did not get
the finishing results I was hoping for, but it was worthwhile to compete in
such a strong field of sprinters. The jump from Category 3 as an endurance
rider last year to Category 1/2 as a sprinter this year on the track has been a
large one and events like this help to show me what I need to work on to improve
as a racer. I look forward to returning to Alpenrose, with a little more
training and experience, in the future.
*Note: Asterisked photos provided by unknown photographer, publicly shared in the Facebook event page. Please contact me with your name so that proper credit can be attributed.
Chris Jameson represented the Racing Reds at this year’s
Gastown Grand Prix, his first time entering this race. The Gastown Grand Prix,
which started in 1973, is arguably the most prestigious race on the BC race calendar,
drawing top professionals from across North America. This is a very popular
races for spectators as well; hundreds of fans line the cobbled streets of
historic Gastown, cheering on the racers with cowbells and by pounding the
resonate signage plastered across the race barricades. Needless to say, this raucous,
gladiatorial environment results in fast racing; the pros jockey for position
up front, pushing up the tempo and stringing out the peloton. For the local Cat
1/2 racer, it is a major accomplishment to simply finish the 50 lap race. The
attrition rate is high and many racers who dominate in local criteriums
struggle to hold on to the main pack.
A Gentleman’s Wager
In order to encourage Chris, our Directeur Sportif Derek
Ulrich decided to provide some financial incentive. After some heavy
solicitation, which included the garnering the support of our great sponsor Kissing Crows Cyclery, Derek had
gathered a total offering of $25 dollars to Chris per completed lap. This wager,
on one hand, showed support for Chris by our DS. In a Tinkoff-ian twist, however,
it also suggested that our DS may not have had the highest confidence in Chris’
ability to perform in this race.
Chris’ Payday
I met with Chris as he warmed up on the rollers. Looking
somewhat nervous yet determined, he spun his legs under the shelter of the
Gastown Cycling team tent.
The Gastown Cycling tent, waiting for Chris' arrival
Joining him was a lean Rob Hargrove, having joined a
Équipe SU-MB this season to pursue cycling full time. Having gained experience racing at major
North American UCI events this year, Rob’s quite confidence could only serve to
help calm Chris’ nerves in the face of his upcoming challenge.
We watched as the cyclists arranged themselves at the start
line. We saw some of the best Canadian and American cyclists, and Chris,
mentally prepare themselves for the race. We positioned ourselves up the
finishing straight, in a great position to cheer Chris on. The race began and the tempo ramped up immediately,
Chris quickly positioned himself just past mid-pack and looked strong. Now it
was Derek’s turn to look nervous.
Pure determination
The first few laps were full of
high-intensity attacks off the front of the field, and still Chris hung-in.
Around lap 10, when a crash on the back stretch split the field, Chris worked
to bridge back up to the main group. The race continued an Chris still held his
position; he looked almost as if he was smiling as he passed by. I looked over
at Derek to see him sweating harder than any cyclist in the field.
In the end, after a valiant
effort, Chris was able to hold on for 17 laps before the combined might of the
Canadian and American pros proved too much.
Now Derek just needs to find a way to tell Hannah why they
won’t be able to afford the ticket for her return flight back from Quebec.
Congratulations to Ryan Roth and Denise Ramsden for winning
the Men’s and Women’s races with panache.
This past
Saturday, five of the Reds participated in the Category 3/4 Brenco Criterium, part of the Tour de Delta, in
downtown Ladner. This crit is part of BC Superweek,
the biggest annual race series of the summer in British Columbia and the week
that your typical local racer aims to peak for. Last year, this crit was one of
the major highlights of our race season. Not necessarily because of
performance, though Adam did finish in the top group, but due to the fast
racing on a technical, 4-corner course with cheering crowds encouraging the
racers. Overall, it is a very well organized event. Leading into this event, we
reminisced about racing there last year. John, during a short business outing
to Ladner, had taken the time to walk the course a few weeks before the event.
Running his hand along the smooth tarmac, John mentally prepared himself for
the coming challenge. This year, with five team-members in the starting
peloton, we were hoping to not just enjoy the race, but deliver a good result
for the team.
Our
dedicated leader for this race was Adam. He had been racing very well in recent
weeks, the best among our team members, consistently finishing among the top
ten in the A field at our weekly criterium races. Furthermore, Superweek
conflicted with a few weddings and had been causing a bit of domestic strife
for Adam; a team leadership role would help smooth things over on the home
front. How could his girlfriend possibly be mad, knowing that he had been
appointed team leader? The plan was fairly simple in theory: Chris, Dylan were
to control the pace at the front as best they could and reel-in any break-away
attempts, while John was to stick with Adam, serve as his Mark Renshaw, lead
him out to a sprint victory. I was a bit of a wildcard; due to my training
focus on track sprinting I had raced very few cits this summer and I was
worried that my endurance and tactics would be lacking. I told Adam I would try
to ride up front, provide him with a lead-out if possible and act as a back-up
in the unlikely scenario that I was the only one left near the front at the end
of the race. I figured that if I could get to the end, I could employ what I
have been working on all season, a fast 200 meters. We had a plan. With nervous
anticipation, we lined up to race.
John’s Race (As written by John)
Having learnt a few important lessons last year and going in
with a plan, the team felt we had an opportunity to do well. Unfortunately, after
rolling up to the start line late, I already knew I had some work to do. This
was compounded by getting stuck behind a team mate who was struggling to clip (L - Ed.) in as we tore
off the start line #TeamEditionSpeedPlay. I quickly managed to get myself to
where I wanted to be, just off the front, and sat in. Although the initial pace
was high (48kph on lap 3), I felt better as the laps passed by and knew I had
the legs for the end game. I was ready to lead Adam out for the win, and we'd
just come together in time to get on with the business end of the race.
Unfortunately, that was all about to change as two riders collided and hit the
tarmac right in from of us on lap 13. The realization that I had nowhere to go
played out in slow motion and I braced for the impact.
Luckily, I normally
bounce pretty well and did so on this occasion too; I didn't even rip my bib
shorts. The bike even looks to have survived as well; I sad to say that wasn’t
the case for all bikes involved. Though Adam didn't hit the deck, he was left having
to chase back onto the pack and the dream was over. Looking forward to giving
it another go next year when I think we'll all be stronger and even better prepared.
Adam’s Race (As written by Adam)
Last year's Brenco Criterium was a learning experience for
me. It was fast and aggressive and I never felt comfortable. Bumping elbows
with 45 other adrenaline-fueled dudes at 50 km/hr wearing nothing but Lycra was
not on my resume. In 2015, with a few more races under my belt and
improved fitness, I felt ready to go for the win. After a lackluster finish to
the road season, where I felt my form was off after an early peak, it felt like
I finally had my legs back. We had a good showing for the race - 5 Racing Reds
bent on working as a team to win.
With the other riders committing their support to me for the
race, I knew I had to stay cool and keep my legs fresh for the finish. After a
frantic first couple of laps, I was feeling cool as a cucumber. My heart rate
was low and John and I were easily patrolling the front lines and keeping an
eye on the action. A few easy attacks went off the front and were subsequently caught,
but I held back, preferring to not attack this race as I normally do. The
course was as bumpy, resulting in a race as awesome as last year, with a couple
of spots where the road narrowed, delineated with barricades. Having 25mm
tubular tires at 90PSI felt great on the bumpy parcours. After 15 laps, the
pace was still fast and riders were still on edge (I had now watched two riders
clip barriers, and one clip a pedal), but I was feeling fresh. I let myself
drift back a few positions, not fearing any race winning breakaways at this
point. Cruising down the back stretch, I must have had my head down for a
second. When I looked up, it was complete mayhem! Seven or eight riders were down, and
unfortunately I was headed right into the middle of them. I had little time to
make a decision- Go left? Bad idea, might run over John. Turn right? Barriers.
Through the middle then! I locked up my rear brake and did a slight hop,
catching a bike (or rider?) for a moment and coming to a short stall. The pack
stormed away. I gunned it and chased, to no avail. While I managed to match the
pace of the peloton for 3 or 4 laps, today was not going to be my day. I put in
a few more laps at a decent pace, shrugging off the suggestion of the pace car
that I pull out. At the end of the day, I finished 28th, got a great workout
and was happy not to have gone down.
Brad’s Race
My brother
grew up playing baseball, eventually playing college ball in California on a
full scholarship. Baseball is a very technical sport, though he was an
extremely skilled player, I remember times when he would go through hitting slumps.
These were stretches where he was mentally defeated whenever he stepped up to
the plate. Reflecting on this race, a batting slump is probably the closest
analogy to my frame of mind. Essentially, I had lost the race before I even
started. All I could think about was how few crits I had raced this year and
just how much I didn’t want to crash, as I had to race on the track in the
Alpenrose Challenge the following week. I started poorly, struggling to clip-in,
and I was far too hesitant when I should have attacked to move up in the field.
I struggled on the back, getting caught up behind a small crash on the first
lap, and never really recovered. I ended up pulling out after only a few laps.
I know, from other riding and races, I had more fitness than I displayed in
this race. I was disappointed that I couldn’t contribute more to the team
effort and will need to focus on entering races with a positive mindset going
forward. Working a few more actual crit races into my training plan, which
still focuses on track sprinting, should help with my performance going forward
as well.
Chris and Dylan’s Race
Chris and
Dylan are the latest additions to the team, and have had some great results in
Category 4 this season, moving up the ranks from Category 4 to 3 leading into
this race. Chris put in a strong effort
during the race, unfortunately he suffered a mechanical which made it difficult
to reposition once he rejoined the race. Dylan was in the best position coming
out of the mid-race crash and held on to finish with the main group; ending the
day as the Red’s top finisher.
What Happened to Chris Jameson?
Chris
Jameson was scheduled to start the Category 1/2 race, as a lead into the
Gastown Grand Prix. Unfortunately, after a business trip to Toronto, he
returned to Vancouver late last week stricken with what could only be described
as Avion-Flu, thus he was unable to start this race. Hopefully he will be
recovered and ready to race Gastown.
Overall
As is often
the case with bike racing, everything did not go as planned. The team has had
some good results this season; unfortunately we did not deliver at this
criterium. The team, however, was able to learn from the race and will continue
to work at implementing better strategy going forward.
I’ve been thinking a lot about handlebar reach recently. Probably
a bit too much; but this is the kind of topic I really like to geek-out on. The
reason this has been on my mind was due to my new race-bike build, just
completed by the talented guys at Kissing
Crows Cyclery. This bike was built with a very specific purpose: to
replicate my track bike for local road and criterium races. I primarily train
as a track cyclist, having made the switch from endurance racer to track
sprinter in January. Due to my focus on track sprinting, my road racing has
been pretty limited this year; basically I’ve only competed in road races
without a lot of climbing and in our weekly crits. My road training has been
dialed back as well, with long rides limited to 2-3 hours max. Since I spend
most of my time on my track bike and I’m quite comfortable with the fit of that
bike. Furthermore, since I knew I wouldn’t need the comfort for long distance rides
and races, I decided to replicate my track bike for the road. I started this
build with a Cinelli Experience frame. I’m quite happy with how it turned out,
as I feel it really captures the feel of a track bike. I’ll post a full review
of this bike soon, but today I just want to focus on the handlebars and their
reach. We can talk a bit about drop too.
The bars I decided to go with for this build were 37cm Nitto
B105AA. Nitto is a fantastic company; they make high quality components for
both modern bikes and also for more traditional builds. They also make a number of components for the Keirin racers in Japan. On my track bike, I use the
traditional CroMo Nitto B123 track bars. These bars are also 37cm. I know this
is quite narrow from a road perspective, but it fits with a shift in recent
years among track sprinters to using narrow bars. There are several arguments
for this, including narrowing the racer’s profile to increase aerodynamics,
allowing the racer to take smaller gaps, and allowing the racer to release more
explosive energy in a forward motion due to the highly concentrated focal point
created by narrow bars. I find all of these arguments compelling to varying
degrees, especially the final point. Since I personally have a relatively
narrow body frame, I find a narrower bar allows me to propel my energy in a
forward, in particular during standing starts. A standing start, where a racer
explodes out of a gate from a dead stop to top (or near top) speed as quickly
as possible, is a necessary skill for a track sprinter to develop. My start has
improved since I’ve switched from a 40cm bar to my current 37cm bar. I now feel
like my arms envelop the bar; that I have more control and dominant power in my
starts. Since I often practice standing starts on the road, from a slow roll or
track stand instead of from a gate, I decided that my first priority when it
came to bars would be to find bars of the same width; the B105AA fit the bill.
I was so concerned with width, I didn’t actually think too
much about the other dimensions of the bars. I did give some consideration to
drop, again, in an attempt to replicate my track bars. I wanted a deep drop and
at 135mm, I figured these bars would work. What I didn’t think about, until
Josh and Adam from Kissing Crows pointed it out to me, was that these bars had
a very “old-school” long reach at 95mm. We discussed the fact that in recent
years, manufactures have shifted to making bars with shorter reach, as head
tubes have shortened and hoods have lengthened. The bars I was putting on my
bike were of similar dimensions to what you would have last seen in the 1990s. Having
overlooked this critical element of my carefully considered new build, I was
very concerned! With a bit of further research, I uncovered a 2011 article
from Bicycling Australia by renowned bike fitter Steve Hogg, titled “Get a
Grip.” In this article, Hogg addresses to role of reach in handlebar fit. Hogg
is an advocate for shorter reach bars, as he says this helps riders avoid
hitting their forearms on the tops when sprinting from the drops. He also advocates for short reach combined
with short drop benefiting the overall fit of both flexible and inflexible
riders. Needless to say, this wasn’t reassuring me.
I decided to still go ahead with these bars, as they were
still the only bars I could find in the width I was looking for. On my first
ride, I was ready to see if I had made a big mistake in my bar choice! I
initially spent some time riding on the hoods. As anticipated, I was a bit more
stretched out in this position due to the long reach. My extension, however, was
not as extreme as expected. Furthermore, I discovered an unexpected benefit
which Steve Hogg didn’t address in his article. The longer reach allowed me to
get my forearms a little lower on the bars, into the hoods. I believe this
could provide an aerodynamic benefit in races, especially in small-group and
solo breaks where a steady-state aerodynamic position is essential. That said,
I could see my position on the hoods being somewhat uncomfortable on very long
rides and races, but, as I’ve said, this is not what this bike was built for.
After some extensive riding on the hoods, I decided to experiment in the drops,
as this is the position that was most important to me. It would be critical to
have a good position in the drops both for my sprint workouts and for racing in
crits. I’m happy to report that bars ride amazingly well in the drops. Since
the bars are narrow, my forearms are actually somewhat angled outwards during
an out of the saddle sprint which helps avoid forearm contact. Furthermore, the
bars have a relatively deep drop which also helps to keep my forearms away from
the tops. I have not had any forearm contact with the tops during hard sprinting.
These bars feel very similar to the bars on my track bike; for my purposes, I’m
very happy with this setup.
Forearm contact is something, unfortunately, I have
experienced before. My “secondary” bike, a steel Torelli, is currently setup
with 42cm FSA SLK carbon bars. These bars have an 80mm reach and a compact
125mm drop. What I now realize is this is essentially the worst of both worlds
for a sprint-focused setup. The longer reach and compact drop virtually ensure
sore forearms after a sprint; these bars would benefit from adopting the
shorter reach advocated by Steve Hogg.
I am by no means an experienced bike fitter, but I think for
my admittedly particular bike build, I’ve found an unusual cockpit setup that
works well. Overall, at this point I’m pleased to have the longer reach for
better aerodynamics when riding on the hoods, and the deep drop for sprinting
out of the saddle. These dimensions are great for a sprint-focused, full-out race
bike.
My Nitto bars, ready to sprint
Interestingly, I think one of my biggest discoveries is how ill-suited my
FSA SLK bars are for my riding style on my “secondary” bike. In fact, that I’m
considering replacing those bars. I think I may take some of Steve Hogg’s
advice this time, however, and use a shorter reach bar. I ride that bike longer
distances, spending more time on the hoods, so I think this will result in a
more comfortable setup and better overall fit for this bike. I will still look
for a bar with a deeper drop though, as a deep drop is both my preferred
sprinting setup and that bike, being older, also has a longer head tube. I’ll
report back on how that setup works out in a future post.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts about handlebar
reach, please leave your comments below. 1,300 words are simply not enough on
such an important topic!
On a side note, you may have noticed that this is only the
second post on this blog and the first post in almost a year. It’s been a slow
start, but I hope to post to this blog on a regular basis going forward.
Hopefully, you will also start to hear from some of our other Reds as well.
This blog will contain a mix of information, from race reports to gear reviews
to the type of tangents and niche analysis you see above. Anything that could
be important to a grass-roots bike racer will be addressed!
References: Get a Grip - https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/GET-A-GRIP.pdf From Wide to Narrow: Professional Track Racer's Bars - http://theradavist.com/2010/12/from-wide-to-narrow-professional-track-racers-bars/
