Ari Mar 31: Gaining confidence in the Cat 1/2/3 fields. This was my second time racing Prospect Park this year and third time competing in a Cat 1/2/3 field following my Branchbrook races yesterday and Mar 15. In those races I was largely hanging onto the fields but this time around I felt competitive, often being near the front of the pack and helping chase down some attacks.
I entered the last (12th) lap about 10th wheel, exactly where I wanted to be with 5.5 km to go. Slowly I got pushed back however. Most of the time I was surrounded by riders with nowhere to go. Even when I was close to the curb, racers still found a way to pass me going over drain covers. Lanes did open up when the pack was going fast, but it would have take a lot of effort to move up.
But not all was lost. Although I was about 40th wheel with about 1.5km to the finish, I was still in a good position as the field was super compressed with the lead being about 50 meters ahead of me. However, as we were digging up the hill, the field spread out and I didn’t find a good group to draft and my power was somewhat erratic, dropping when riders I followed slowed down, and peaking when I passed. Anyway, I made up a few spots and finished 27th out 88. In fairness, though, some riders who were ahead of me stopped competing when they knew they were no longer in contention for points and did not want to take any unnecessary risks.
I am supper happy with this race and it was a big confidence booster. For the first time I felt competitive in a Cat 1/2/3 race. But not getting pushed back in the pack when the race is near its finish is something I need to work on. Perhaps I just need to be more aggressive, or I just need to develop more raw power to punch it when a lane opens up. Please let me know of any advice you have – my activity is on Strava and the GoPro recording on YouTube.
After my race finished I stayed for another 30 minutes or so to catch up with friends and then had an awesome ride back home along the Belt Parkway with my Star Track teammates Ian and Logan.
I am now looking forward to the Coney Island Crit on Saturday. This is the second time Alex from Verrazano Team Racing is putting it on and it was a fantastic race last year. It’s a three corner crit that is supposed to somewhat resemble the crit course at Jr. Road Nationals later this year.
