Downers Grove Criterium National Championships

I am a bit backlogged with my race recaps, so the next several posts are races that capped off the end of my 2009 season, that I never fully finished writing until now. Enjoy!

This was my second year competing in the Downers Grove Criterium National championship weekend. Last year I just competed in the second day, but got caught behind a crash with 4 laps to go. This year I opted to do both days since I have learned my that my body generally responds better on a second day of racing. Here's what happened.

Day 1 - Pro/Am

This was the last race of the day, and the start time was nearing dusk. The race was only 50k long so it was going to be a quick race compared to the majority of crits I had been doing this summer. There were a lot of the pro teams racing, probably for the same reason as I, to get the legs ready for tomorrow which was what really counted. The race started pretty smooth, but my position at the beginning was not very good. I worked my way up and got into a fairly good spot. The race was actually pretty uneventful until the final few laps when the pace ramped up quite a bit and riders started popping off left and right. I think most people were dropping out because they wanted the warm up for tomorrow, but not to go completely into the red zone and save a bit for day #2. Well I didn't really think about this until it started to happen, so I was getting caught behind a lot of riders sitting up. I closed gaps for awhile, but thought it was also best for me not to completely blow myself up. I rolled across the line in the 50s, but gained some great practice riding the course for the real show on the next day.

Day 2 - Elite National Championships

There were T-storms threatening in the distance when the race got underway just after noon. The temperature was hot and humid with a full field ready to go after the title of elite criterium champion. I had great starting position, and rode near the front for the first few laps. There was a huge break that went away in laps 1-2, that actually made me very nervous, but I knew that it was going to be a long day with 50 miles of racing total and lots of people to chase down the break. About 10 laps in i felt the first few drops of rain, and then it was an all out monsoon for almost the rest of the entire race. There were crashes pretty much every lap, sometimes in multiple corners. The killer corners were turns 7 and 8 which were the last 2 left turns before the finishing straight. I focused on staying on the inside of the corners as much as possible to avoid someone on my inside overcooking a turn and sliding into me. The rain made it almost impossible to move up in the field, and it was strung out single file for most of it. With about 15 laps to go the rain started to ease up a bit, and as I made a left hand turn to go up the short hill on the backside of the course, I found that I couldn't down shift. I kept pressing the lever and on the 5th or 6th time I heard a crack and the lever was gone! Luckily I was able to carry most of my momentum up and over the hill. The wheel pit was at the bottom of the next turn and I told the mechanics that I needed a spare bike since my shift lever broke off. They asked my frame size, and quickly measured my seat height and switched my pedals over to the spare rig. I stayed pretty calm, and actually got in some extra water and a bit of stretching while waiting. The crazy thing is that they said it was the second broken SRAM shift lever that day (Possible design problem, or coincidence?) Resting was nice, and even though they had me ready to roll by the next lap, I felt refreshed and ready to tackle the last 14 laps. I got a push from the mechanic, got back into the field and immediately moved as far up as I could. The new bike felt a bit funny, especially since the seat post clamp was a quick release and stuck out a bit, hitting the inside of my thigh with each pedal stroke. The first few laps on the new bike I was cautious in the corners to get used to the tires and pressure, but they were actually the same brand as I run (Michelin Pro-Race), so it was a very quick adjustment to the handling. The final few laps were getting stressful, and I couldn't seem to make big enough moves to be in the hunt for the final sprint. With 2 turns to go there was a big crash, and although I lost momentum, I got through it OK and made the last turn safely into the finish. There was no way I was getting into the top group since I wasn't there early enough before the finish, but I did make it across the line without going down, and in 30th place overall. I was happy with the day given all the craziness, and was pretty exhausted, physically and mentally. It takes a lot more concentration around the corners when it is raining like that with 150+ other guys on the course as well.

I do like the course at Downers, and I'm lucky that the venue takes place there year after year, so close to my house. I'll be aiming for a top 30 placing for next year!