Sunday, May 27, 2012

2012 Mt. Hamilton Classic - E2


Matt and I from SquadraSF headed down for the Cat2 race which had about 40 starters, plenty of strong guys to watch including about 6 Metromint riders.

CourseProfile: A true nor-cal classic attracts SoCal cyclists as well, starts with a 18mile climb from the gun with 4000ft elevation gain in basically 3 even sections. Then a sharp decent followed by 40miles flat/rolling terrain with about 3 5min climbs sprinkled throughout.

The Plan: I knew there would be plenty of climbers showing up so my strategy was simple. SIT IN and follow the big moves or splits! In the valley/middle section of the race focus on recovery and nutrition. Then attack or make final selections on the last 2 climbs with 20miles to the finish.

To the Observatory and KOM: As planned I sat in the top 5-15 riders staying in the draft about 98% of the climb. Metromint decided to set the pace from the start. They had 5 or 6 riders with a few strong climbers including Keith Wong who has some crazy time OLH, so they were obviously trying to set it up for him. Fine by me, so they set the pace on the first two sections, Keith attacking at the beginning of the 3rd section. I expected this and again focused on saving energy letting the others chase. The pace picks up a lot due to Keith's move. The group catches Keith about the time you start to see the observatory. With about 10min to the KOM, there are only about 15 guys left. With a few KM to the KOM some accelerations start happening but no all out attacks. When we make the last hairpin there are about 5 of us up front and a JR obviously going for the KOM puts in a real attack. After some hesitation a Helens rider and myself start to bridge up to him. There is actually more climbing after the KOM so I am careful not to bridge it too fast. We catch him 100m before the KOM. The JR attacks again, the Helens guy throws in the towel and I decide to not burn a match here but continue to  motor over through the KOM as the JR sits up after getting the KOM. I hit the decent first with a solid gap and conservatively descend. At the bottom I am at the back of a lead group of about 7.

The Valley: The lead group keeps the pace relatively high, since the Helens rider is off solo after a impressive decent. But the cross-headwind causes the group to swell to about 20 by 2nd feed zone. The climbs after the feedzone split the group again. At the top of the last climb of the race It was just me and 4 others. We were all committed to working and staying away, but again it was not to be after about 5miles we were caught by a group of ~10.

Finish: The finish comes about 1 mile after a long fast decent. We hit the base with about 12 riders. Everyone was anxious, there was a strong headwind, roads very narrow, and the finish is hard to see since it it after a little rise. At the 1KM sign everyone was stacking up near the centerline or gutter trying to find an open lane. I was kinda stuck in the middle but only a rider or two back from the guys in on the front, so I figured it was better than fighting for a spot on the outside which was in the wind. I waited patiently. One rider jumped from the front near the 200m sign and the rider to my left hestiated. Seeing the lane open I jumped immediately sneaking through and claiming my 1/3 of the road up against the centerline. I couldn't see the line over the small rise and just tried to keep my gear spinning up and over the hump. I gained ground on the rise and crossed the line first with enough room to throw an arm up, but still in shock that that gap opened up for me and that I just Won Mt. Hamilton Classic! 
Strava File

Placing: 1st 

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