The best experiences are often the ones you least expect. I learned this lesson today at the Gotham Cyclists Crit in Phillipsburg, NJ. The high chance of rain and low registration made the race initially seem unappealing. But everything changed as we arrived. Friendly police officers were already blocking off traffic from the course, volunteers were sweeping the turns and putting hey stacks in the corners, and there was a nice crowd at the registration desk because of numerous day-of registrations. Pulling into the parking lot, we were greeted warmly by the race organizers. It became obvious that this was one of the most well-organized races we’ve been to.
The course itself was a thriller. It was a fairly round 850-meter-long course, with roughly eight meters of elevation per lap. The backstretch had a grueling headwind, which played a key role in how my first race unfolded.
My first race was a 30-lap Cat 1/2/3 points race. The points race feature required me to be sharp at all times. Throughout the race, I made critical mistakes that depleted my energy by the end of the race. During the strong crosswinds in the turns, I was riding on the unsheltered side of the riders in front of me. I also found myself pulling on the headwind section of the course in my drastic efforts to keep the race fast. I managed to be in contention for points each sprint lap until a breakaway group of three riders rode away with 10 laps to go. I’m not sure where my result stands, but I believe I finished in fourth place.
Up next was Max’s 20-lap Cat 4/5 race. I rode up to the start line to catch the first lap of his race to see it in pieces. A rider attacked and the riders started getting dropped in groups of one or two. Max found himself solo for the race and I believe he finished the challenging race in fifth place. You can find the GoPro recording of Maxi’s race on YouTube.
After that, my final 40-lap Cat 1/2/3 points race was up. I didn’t think this race could be any harder than the previous one, but I was instantly proven wrong. In the opening laps, I felt that I had no snap in my legs. Moreover, two strong riders weren’t in the previous race which made this race much faster. This required me to use my energy efficiently. I wasn’t able to contest for the top points, but occasionally managed to grab one or two.
This experience reminded me that there is no such thing as a bad race even when it doesn’t seem promising beforehand. Thank you very much for the wonderful time Gotham Cyclists. Coming from New York City to Phillipsburg, NJ is a bit of a hike for us but we’ll definitely be back! Not for a while though as Max dislocated and broke his pinky finger while playing soccer afterward, so I’ll compete in the local races for the next weeks.
