Race Report: Seward Park Season End Classic

I love this course.

8/29/2011 9am
Cat 4/5
1k circuit, 50' elevation gain per lap, 22 laps.
8th place of 49 riders

This was the last race of the NW road season, and given the prior day's race was a flop to say the least, we needed some serious redemption. I am a firm believer that every racer has a type of course that suits them perfectly, Seward Park is Ted and I's. The Thursday Night Crit Series takes place here from April - September as a non-sanctioned training race. It's perfect for keeping that "race confidence" everyone desires. It's also a fun weekly challenge because the experienced folk around here swear that a break will never stick on this course. At Seward, the direction can change depending on the weather or how the officials are feeling that day:

Clockwise = "The fast way" single 50' punch climb (dry)
Counter-Clockwise = "The safe way" two 25' steps (raining/wet)

To level the playing field, the last race of the season was to be ridden counter clockwise (so the sprinters would have a chance at victory). Also, after the 2nd lap, the winner of each of the remaining 20 laps would receive a vile of Nuun Electrolyte Tabs. Cool stuff. Since it was only Ted and I that would be racing, we decided to replay what we did at the Tacoma Crit so that I may pay him back for what he did for me. That being, sit in, maybe launch a few small attacks, then with 2 to go, Ted jumps on my wheel as I dump all my gears into the hardest of lead-outs, giving him a solid win. However, Ted and I have sort of a reputation up here for making a seemingly easy race really fast and difficult for everyone else. This was completely solidified when we were stretching by the staging area as we heard 2 passing racers chatting. I waved with a smile (I don't really know them, I was just being friendly) and after they passed, one says to the other "and those 2 aren't going to make things any easier..." Matter of fact, there were countless moments as we were perusing around the course when we'd catch people staring at us and start whispering and what not. Ted looked over at me and asked with a grin "do you think anyone has us pinned?"

Yes. Yes they did.

Whistle blows to start the race, we rock the first 160* hairpin w/o a crash, good, then fly down the hill. At the bottom were the surges usually begin, I'm feeling fresh and overly confident so I drop 5 gears (I have Campy now, it's dangerously fun) and throw the first attack down. Two guys start chasing and catch my wheel at the start/finish line. I pull until the bottom of the hill, then Ted goes. He strings it out big time for a couple laps, then at the same spot I go even harder. Then he goes after I'm caught. Then I let it rip after they catch him. The winner of the LWV #3 (day before) chases me, he catches me after a lap, then its just us. He pulls, and keeps flicking his elbow (that means, "please come around me and take a pull in the wind, I'm tired"). I don't. I just let him burn all his gas 5' in front of me. Then I attack him, he grunts and tries to catch me. We play cat and mouse for 1 more lap, now 13 to go, before the peloton catches us. Just as they swallow him and start to roll up on me, Ted comes blazing by me like I'm standing still and disappears up the hill. Nobody even tries to chase. I sit 3rd wheel and wait for a chase to form. I lead the hill climb, then slow it down big time b/c I can tell everyone is burnt (really, I'm blocking and they don't know it yet, they just think I'm tired.) Finally after 2 laps with no Ted in sight the official on the climb says he's 15 sec up so 4 guys attack, and I counter. For another 5 laps, I play this game where I make everyone go fast where they want to go slow, and go slow where they want to go fast. It works so perfectly because Ted gets to escape, they are tired by the time they get to the "fast" part and most of them don't know I'm doing it on purpose. with 5 to go, this dork on Byrne/Invent p/b MadFiber, informs the rest of the group that my teammate is soloing up the road and that I'm not actually going to do any work to bring him back. Good job, gold star. Ted is now 23 sec up the road. The teams, for the first time this season (in the Cat 4/5's) start to strategize a little team work and form a chase group. I can't have this happening so I bridge the chase group after a speedy recovery and then attack them. This really seemed to piss them off because they just started yelling at eachother not to let me keep doing this.

That made me smile. After the race, some of them even said they thought it was funny I was smiling during the shenanigans.

2 to go. I sit 3rd wheel just incase Ted starts to pop so I can go save him. Nobody attacks, on the hill I ask the official how far up my boy is "20 sec, you guys gonna let him get away?" Nobody responds. But I smile again. Final lap, I'm 3rd wheel then some insanely dangerous/wreckless leadout blows by everyone scatters but doesn't crash, and I chase the field sprint for 8th place. Ted wins. Mission complete. Although, we strayed quite far from the plan ;)

Team B+R takes all primes, Top 10 and a 1st place.