Crit'n it in Boulder

Today I rolled down to CU for the p/1/2/3 criterium. I was planning on racing the 3/4/5 earlier in the day but race filled up. Little bummed b/c I was going for it today. But nevertheless I had a sick experience in the p/1/2/3 field. 70-80 starters. I got a real good warmup riding in from niwot and then doing some high intensity sets on Colorado Ave before rolling down to the start. I figured this being an in-town crit and Boulder being the capital in the US for top professionals, I was going to be in for a good ride. I wasn't disappointed. Toyota-United was the main protagonist. I think they had 8-9 riders, including the rainbow wearing UCI-B world champ and all-around race animator, Ivan Stevic. Also, former top-10 Paris-Roubaix and 3rd in le etape du tour du france. Basically, sick firepower. Also had the likes of all their other top-domestic riders. Tom Danielson of Slipstream-Chipotle along with Healthnet, Jelly Belly, and THF. Local amatuer squads well rep'd were Rio Grande, Vitamin Cottage, Horizon Organic.The course was good for me, no sharp turns which means the pace would stay high the entire time and likely keep it together for the most part. There was a slight SE breeze so I made sure to position myself accordingly. Pre-race chat with Shawn went well. She kept me assure of myself and my skills. the plan was to always exploit and only try to follow a serious move. The responsibility to shut down the low moves were on the hands of the bigger teams. Riding as an independent has its advantages and disadvantages. With no teammates and with several big squads rep'ng then the burden falls on them. I prerode the course when the 3/4/5 went out so I knew what to expect. When the allowed us on the playing field, I went right to the line. I've had bad lane assignments for a while now. If you want to race great, you must give your best prep and your best in the race this includes a good start position. The pace I knew would be going from the gun. No sunday chatting for us. And it didn't dissapoint.

We rolled out and I immedaitely got into a top10 wheel. Toyota rolled around and I started following some Toyota wheels. I knew these wheels would be good. Slipstream rolled up shortly later and caught onto TD. The first 15min were pretty hard. Not sure how much we shelled but I think it was probably a good number. After 15, 3 toyota riders were off the front with Jelly Belly and Healthnet. This was good. Slipstream tried to bridge along several VC and Horizon guys. Nothing was able to stick. Toyota was covering everything and was damn good at it. It was educational to watch. B/c there would be two toyota riders and a rider would go up the gutter and immediately the toyota rider would drill it. peloton would react and it would be game over. With several toyota riders in the peloton they were able to counter most moves. Racing was pretty tight. Got some good bumpage and a little yelling at me when i opened a gap. I think it was a a pro. I can understand but he makes the money and I don't so...Pace never dropped. I was pretty anearobic the first 15min but afterwards I found a good rhythm and was feeling good. No problem staying connected. With 2 laps to go I started making my way up front. Unfortunately a dude slowed on the last lap's backstretch and I had to re-plan my attack. Able to make it to the inside of the sweeper and came out with good position. Just needed and extra 100m and I would have picked a lot more riders off. Finished top-25 i think. Passed a toyota rider at the end.

I was really stoked about the ride. Definitely a little nervous at the beginning but once we were racing, legs took over and I knew I belonged. Thinking about the training ride I did the other week with Randy and the pros gave me added confidence. I heard that it was a pretty hard ride so I'm confident in my skills and progression. Mixing the training up a little bit this week. Going to work more on burst efforts within threshold intervals. Should give me some added ammo for those surges in the crits and attacks on the climbs.
Race data:
60min
296 avg watts
28.7mph avg or 46.2km/h
Definitely the fastest I've ever done but i really felt good the whole time, never in the red. good things to come?


And a big thank you to my roommates, Kelly and Kelly along with Pre and Aggie. They all showed up and watched. Kelly and Kelly are #2 and #3 for fans/friends who have come to watch me race, thats not counting the crusty dude from Beligian who took my photo at the race. So everyone needs to step it up and check out my race calender. Its great having people around to watch and cheer you on. They also took these great pictures for me. I'm still rocking the Bike-Rx kit.

chow,
Matthew