BLVD and Red Trolley - E3

BLVD Race Report
In the 3s we had (5) Swamis. Myself, Mario C., Jason H., Ryan D., George Z.

Well the weather was perfect for the first time in many years, so spirits were high in the Cat 3 field of about 50-60.

Lap 1: We started on the decent and got stuck behind a semi which was a little unnerving but Jason H and a few other went to the front and slowed the group down and the truck turned off a mile or so up the road. Then about 1KM or so from the right turn onto La Posta someone attacked was way off the front, ooooops he missed the turn onto La Posta so the group was back together again. Everyone knows how hard BLVD is so the pace was not killer this first lap, but 2/3 down La Posta it bunched up at a cattle guard and I heard a ride explode and some riders go down behind me. Later Ryan made his way up to say that George caught his front tire in the gap in the cattle guard (the one at the center line) Luckily George is alright but his front wheel was trashed. Several Swamis moved up at the end of La Posta to ensure we don’t have to close any gaps on the climb. The pace on the HW 80 was pretty good on the first lap and we dropped a few riders.  

Lap 2: No Chaos this time on the decent of La Posta because Mario stuck to the plan and rode on the front to keep it steady and keep breaks from going. He pulled most of the decent and most of La Posta. (2) riders did jump clear on the decent, but Mario kept the riders at the front rotating and they never got too far away. The pace on La Posta was got pretty heated and several riders fell of the back on the La Posta rollers. Again Swamis rode smart and everyone stayed near the front so we didn’t have to burn any matches to close gaps into the headwind on La Posta. Once on HW 80 it was all together again and one rider (US Navy kit) got on the front and just drilled it. Not really an attack, but just high tempo. By the top there was about 25 riders hanging on. Ryan, Jason, and I managed to stay right near the front. Mario called it a day at the feed zone and did his job for the team knowing the last lap would not be fun up that climb after all the work he had put it.

Final Lap: On the decent about 15 riders caught back on and one or two riders when off the front and got a pretty good gap. La Posta again was brutal, riders started to attack and then were brought back shrinking the group again to about 30. When we hit HW 80 one rider was still of the front but within sight. Just after the turn a few riders attacked and the pace was pretty insane. I came into the turn 1^st wheel so that I could drop back a bit and tucked in about 5^th after the attacks started coming, I don’t really recall the play by play but from the initial attacks on HW 80 the pack got shredded to 20 or so and then the pace remained pretty high tempo. Ryan and Jason got gapped slightly at this point and now were in the wind. I managed to stay tucked in and riders began to get antsy with 3km to go, I stayed in the top five the entire way but the pace was getting to me. This pace also caught the lone rider off the front. With 1KM to go I attacks started to come again, I just followed the wheels on the first few and then it died down again, then with 300m to go a rider made a small move up the road I jumped (not too hard or so I thought) just to get on the wheel and keep in the top 5, but as we hit the final kicker up to the finish I got out of the saddle to follow the wheels and go for the line then realized there was no snap left in these legs. So I gave it a go and limped in for 16^th. Ryan and Jason, didn’t lose much time on the group and finished a few places behind me. Not what we hoped for, but I think we rode a smart race and have a few cards to play on the upcoming races.

Red Trolley Race Report
In the 3s we had (5) Swamis. Myself, Mario C., Miles, Dulie, and Troy.

Report: Red Trolley we had some sore legs sit out and some fresh legs show up. So again we had a small but good group racing Sunday with a pretty big field of 70-80 riders. My plan was to sit-in for the first 2/3 of the race (hopefully my legs would come back from the dead) and Mario and Miles were going to attack, try to get in a break, and grab some primes in the middle third. The wind was blowing on-shore as usual and we have a pretty good headwind onto the front straight. Swamis was active going off the front and trying to get something to go but nothing stuck. As planned I followed a few moves in the last third of the race and launched one or two moves on my own. 

In every move I was in there would be 2-3 guys pulling and 2-3 guys just sitting on disrupting the pace. Here is a short video clip Steve from Platinum took of one of the moves I tried to initiate, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtlIwPNCzzU 

So with 6-to-go I was fed up with the negative racing and decided to wait of the inevitable field sprint. The pace was pretty high and people were hitting it hard on the climb and it would get strung out on the front straight then dwell on the backside. With 2-to-go I was in the top 5 and two riders really hit the hill as if it was the final sprint (some on the sidelines though it was due to how these guys were going) I was on these guys wheels so I decided I want that draft so I hit it hard and stayed with them just in case they get a gap and want to tow me around….but they sat up on the back straight again and then I was gassed and the strung out group swarmed once more. I got swarmed from both sides and I assumed I would not have much of a sprint left so I didn’t fight too hard to keep position. Halfway down the back straight I decided what the f*** I will give it a go so I moved up about 10 spots before the final turn now sitting on the inside line in about 20^th position I follow the wheels up the hill and start to open up my sprint to see a wall of riders in front of me hitting the wind, I look left and see there is a open road between the front group of 15 and the second group of 15 so I give it full gas and make sure my rear wheel is clear of the second group and get a free lane with about 75m left…I passed about 8 riders that were hitting that wall of wind to come in 7^th. I was happy with my sprint, but was pretty upset that I let the pack swarm me towards the end and was sprinting from way to far back....This weekend put some confidence back in my legs so now I just need to race for the Win.