My last post was about winning. This time it's about getting dropped. It's happened twice this year, both times at Floyd Bennet Field, both times in the 1/2/3 race, on the backstretch near the old finish line. It was on very windy days.
The backstretch is completely flat but on windy days I should approach it like a steep hill. When a little gap opens up, it's just as tough as being on a steep hill. It's the kind of challenge where dropped riders churn a 39x17 at 70rpm into the wind while the field pedals away in a 53x19.
The first time it happened, on the 9th lap of a 12 lap race, I chased for about 3 minutes and gave up. After the race I looked at the results and there was only one cat3 rider who finished. Even if I'd finished last I would have been the 2nd place cat3. So when I got dropped on 8/18, after trying wildly to avoid this, I decided to motor on. How did I finish? DFL. But out of 33 starters I was the 18th and last finisher. This reminds me of the first bike races I did in 2005/2006, where I got dropped the first few times.
I'm actually happy about it. It feels like a challenge, and I like challenges.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
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1 comment:
'Well done. It's the right attitude to finish races even though you've been dropped. It sounds like you are having a bit trouble at crosswinds, but maybe the competition is just stronger in this race.
Thans for sharing you experiences.
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