Superweek update -women and men

Hello VRC!

Today is your U25’s first sanctioned rest day and I’m happy to report
that all we have done is make a costco run for food and air
conditioning… we bought an air conditioner. Thank you costco return
policy ;)—see attached photo

Yesterday’s race:
Race 4 of a possible 17.
Arlington Heights Criterium – 7/14/09
Day 4 of the women’s racing at Superweek, a .7 mile figure-8 shaped
course in downtown Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Who: Jen Jo, Julia

Day four and I’m starting to embrace day after day of 60k criteriums in
the humidity. Arlington Heights was a bit of a throw-back to what we’re
used to, it was only 40k… The fact that an hour crit with some fast
women felt short tells me I’m becoming accustomed to Superweek-style
racing 

With only me and Julia in the race, we decided to race a bit on the
conservative side, letting the other teams chase each other down until
the end, unless a break looked promising, which turned out to be the
right strategy as no breaks stuck. Coming into the final laps, I
positioned myself toward the front of the field in position to jump on
any attacks. With two to go, Julia came by me and tapped her hip
signaling me to get on her wheel for some protection and perhaps a
lead-out, but the field checked us into the curb and I do what no bike
racer should do, I lost her wheel. The rest of the race feels like a
blur of a swirling field and finally an attack that strung it out on the
last lap going into the tight figure-8 turns.

Came in around 20th , disappointed, but starving for more racing and
podium placing…

It’s been said before, but thank you again to all that made it possible
for us youngins to make it out here.

Next up: recovery spin

-Jen Jo

Da Boys:

Who: Nick, E. Bennett, Flying Dutchman

Most racers are familiar with the concept of the sweet spot. That place
far enough forward in the field that accelerations out of corners are
muted, but you don’t have to follow attacks. This race really didn’t
have one. Attacks were flying throughout the top twenty, and unless you
were top five wheels you were part of the accordion. Bennett got taken
out on the technical section of the course (he’s fine, just a tiny bit
scraped up), while Michael suffered from the rough, technical backside
of the course (and probably also form his 5th straight day of racing).

The finishing straight began out of a tight corner with a slight rise
into a descent, out of a technical section that strung the field out
single file. If you weren’t at the head of the field, the leaders had
hit the descent, guns blazing, by the time you were sprinting uphill out
of the corner, desperately trying to hold the wheel in front of you. I
spent some time right at the front, following the constant surges, but
let myself loose position when riders would sit up and we would be
swarmed. Stuck twenty or thirty wheels back, I suffered. A break of
nearly twenty rider s rolled away a third of the way into the race, and
as they dangled off the front, I found myself near the head of the
peloton as riders dug to bring it back. I pulled through, only to look
back and see that I had pulled clear with another rider. An ill-advised
two-up bridge attempt later, my eyes were rolling back in my head as a
clung to the pack for dear life. A few laps later, I was toast. Blown
out the back. Crap!

Lesson: Sometimes you need to be at the very head of the race to survive.

-Nick