Always super exciting to come to the CRCA Central Park road races. I was competing in the B (Cat 3/4) field and my goal for the day was to get in a breakaway. Should that fail, plan B was to launch an attack near the end of the race and the final backup, plan C, was to position myself well for the field sprint.
The race distance was only 45 km (short for a CRCA Central Park race) which meant that those 45 km were going to be quick. I was in a decent position until we hit the descent of Harlem Hill on the second lap; I was drafting wheels and suddenly was passed on the left and right by riders at higher speeds so that I couldn’t just swing out and join them. As the course narrowed, the field got stretched out, sending me even further to the back. Meanwhile, three riders in the front launched an attack (which stuck for the reminder of the race) and there was simply no way to join them from where I was. So much for plan A.
I aborted plan B during the race. It became clear early on that successfully breaking away from the field near the end of the race would be difficult for me. For one, the race was fast because of its relatively short distance, and two, the lead-in to the West 91st finish is extra fast.
To pursue plan C, I needed to be aggressive and strategic. It was critical to be amongst the top ten down Harlem Hill and to maintain that position till the finish. Approaching the descent of Harlem Hill, riders from the back of the peloton surged towards the front, pushing me backward. I sprinted around the field and slotted in at around the 15th wheel. Then I prioritized moving up on the hill until I was in a suitable position to sprint. I started my sprint at around 5th position in the field, but unfortunately had to temporarily press the breaks as a rider swerved in my lane (as you can see in the fourth picture below). I sprinted hoping I could make up some ground but ultimately finished seventh in the field-sprint and 10th out of 60 overall.
This race was indeed fast (for the B field in Central Park) as my speed averaged 42.7 km/h over 1:05:01 per my Strava. The GoPro recording of my race is on YouTube.
Thank you so much to CRCA for letting us juniors race for free in what must be the (or at least one of the) most iconic parks in the world. I learned a lot and can’t wait to be back for club race #4 May 10.
