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.
Brenco Criterium 2015 Team:
Dylan Wiwad
– 21st
Adam
Holcombe – 28th
John White –
DNF
Chris Walls
– DNF
Bradley
Dean – DNF
Chris
Jameson – DNS (Cat.1/2)
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