Three races over two days at the Garden State Stage Race (GSSR) taught me that failure can be more valuable than success. The event left me with a mix of emotions and an understanding of areas I can improve on. So I would say, the GSSR has been the most rewarding event of my (short) cycling career. I signed up for the Cat 3/4 that consisted of a 10 km Time Trial and 100 km Road Race on the first day and a 32 km Crit on the following day. Many thanks to all who made this race happen. Was great to have such a well organized stage race in our area!
Acceptable Time Trial
The Time Trial (TT) was the first race of the event. I felt mentally strong but not physically. Prior to the race, I had nausea from the car ride there. I quickly browsed on Google for ways to prevent nausea and found random tricks like humming and holding my breath. Surprisingly, these techniques worked, and after the warm-up, I felt 100% ready for the TT.
Despite my confidence, I didn’t get the result I wanted. While I had a good start to the TT and held a good aero position throughout the race, I under-paced my effort. Prior to the race, I heard from those who had just finished their TT, how hilly the course was and I ended up expecting big climbs that simply weren’t there. As a result I ended up going below my FTP and, not surprisingly, got a low result, 33rd of 35 in the Cat 3/4.
What kept my hopes up was that I “only” finished 2 minutes and 41 seconds behind the leader and figured there would be a chance for me to make up (some of) the difference during the 100 km road race. Or, was I already out of contention for the General Classification?
Fiasco Road Race
Unfortunately I was. I can’t possibly describe how bad this race went for me. First, I messed up the start time, thinking the race would begin 35 minutes earlier than it actually did (13:15 rather than the actual 13:50) despite my dad repeatedly questioning me about it and me stubbornly insisting that I had the right time. When I showed up at the start area about 10 minutes before the time I thought the race would begin, it slowly sunk in that I got the time wrong because no other riders came. So I went back to our setup area which was just a few minutes away. Now with time to spare, I made my second mistake: I shoved spoonfuls of pasta with pesto sauce into my mouth. The idea to eat was good but it was definitely the wrong food as I would find out shortly.
When the actual race started, my spirits were high and I managed to line up very close to the front where I like to be. The first half of the first lap went well as I kept my position near the front. However, as we entered the narrower and more windy sections of the course, riders started to fight for positions fairly aggressively – after each turn people accelerated quickly and I found myself at the back of the peloton. From there on, things got tougher. The course became very windy and hilly and the race became like an accordion, stretching and contracting. After every hill, I had to put in an extra big effort to catch up on the downhill. Evently, I could no longer keep up and got dropped from the field about 4 km before the finish of the first lap. I hopped on a few rider’s drafts who had gotten dropped earlier as they were passing me.
After the first lap, I stopped for a few minutes when I saw my dad. I am not sure whether it was frustration or the stomach ache that made me stop – perhaps the frustration led to the stomach ache. But the oily presto pasta I ate shortly before the race certainly didn’t help.
After the second lap, I pulled out of the race. I couldn’t stand the pain of my stomach ache and the frustration for another 24 km lap. I was disappointed but filled with a need for vengeance. I knew I had something to prove at the Criterium the next day.
Redemption Criterium
I didn’t want to end the Garden State Stage Race without a good result. This was my final chance. I got a long warmup in and had pretty good legs arriving at the start line. The start whistle blew, I clipped in and jumped straight to the front of the group. I generally stayed with the top 15 riders out of the 45 that started for the first half of the race. Attack after attack slowly wore off my legs. During the second half I slowly dropped towards the end of the pack as I got tired. However, with a few laps to go, I managed to move up a little despite all riders fighting for a good position close to 45 km/h per my Strava. With my last fragment of energy, I pulled off a good sprint and finished 23rd.
Yes, obviously I didn’t make podium, but I was still super happy with this race. My goal was to stay near the front for the entire race and I was able to do that for the first half. I fell back during the second half of the race and simply had nothing left to give. There’s nothing I can do about this other than keep training to become stronger. So, redemption? Yes, in my book.
Lessons Learned
First, I need to keep some motion sickness medicine in the car. Also, sitting in the front seat and focusing on the road helps.
Second, I need to study the course better beforehand. Pre-riding the TT course wasn’t easily feasible to me but we should have at least pre-driven it in the car. Moreover, I need to load the routes on my bike computer and also orient myself better according to the distance and amount of climbing left.
Third, I need to triple check the actual start time of races. Period!
Fourth, no more heavy food within 90 minutes before a race. But I should keep earing lighter food that can be easily digested.
Fifth, don’t let frustration get the better of me. When I notice that a race does not go as I want, I need to make the most of out what remains. During the road race I should have turned the remainder of the race into an endurance training ride. However, my stomach was upset and I am not sure whether that would have been possible.
While mistakes were made, I also need to be sure to keep doing the things I did well. I was well prepared in terms of my training, items to bring, having the bike in good working order, etc. Also, I was mentally “strong” before each race.
Max’s Race
Max raced the Cat 4/5 field and had a really good Time Trial (TT), finishing 8th out of 10th who attempted it (there was one DNF). Definitely a great result for a 10-year-old. Over the about 10 km distance he averaged 163 watts per his Strava, a whopping 4.3 watts/kg. But not all went smoothly for Max either. He wanted to warm up on rollers at our parking area but the grass was so thick that his wheels wouldn’t move an inch – luckily there was a side road next to the TT start area which was perfect to warm up. Moreover, while the officials were trying to call up other people to come to the start, Max’s time already started and he went about 5 seconds late; hopefully the officials adjusted for that. Finally, Max was still on antibiotics that day, coming off a fever of 39° Celsius.
After the time trial, things turned worse for Max too. In his road race, Max stayed mid-pack for about the first 5 km. When the field entered the narrow and bumpy sections of the course, he played it safe and stayed about 5 meters behind the peloton. At the time they hit an especially narrow section and a pickup truck pulled out of a driveway causing the pack to instantly slow down which made Max more worried about the race. When the field was towards the end of the first lap on a narrow and busy road, Max decided that this race was not for him. He pulled out when he saw our mom and dad at the end of the first lap.
That was all enough excitement for Max for the weekend and he decided not to race the Crit the following day. But, a good brother as he is, Max joined me and cheered me on for my Crit.
Awesome Cycling Community
Cyclists are just awesome and so supportive, particularly when one needs support the most. When Sylvan from Verge passed me during my time trial (which was obviously not a great sign since he started one minute behind me but ok since he’s a beast), he gave me fist pump. When I got dropped from the peloton during my first lap of the road race, fellow riders who noticed I was upset gave me words of encouragement such as “you win some, you lose some, don’t worry about it”. And, when I finally pulled out of the race after my second lap, my dad and I passed by the feed zone and several of the spectators gave me words of encouragement. This all meant, and still means, a lot to me. Thank you all!
Will Be Back
Hopefully they will have the Garden State Stage Race next year again and I’ll definitely be there. Max is not so sure yet, but a year is a long time, particularly considering that we just have been racing for a little over two years.
