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The Twilight Criterium in Boise, ID. I was in the Cat4/5 class and it was a 45 min. race. It was freaking hot!!! About 95 degrees. I vowed to myself to work harder than last week's crit. Last week I thought I was really working hard because I was at 105-107% of LTHR most of the time. Today I would have been very happy to have my HR at 107%. It was always around 110% and I saw it at 113% a few times.
Little mini breaks would try to start but they never got more than a ten yard or so gap and when they would start to go I would work my way up through the field and get on the tail end of them. Then I figured out I could hide in the middle of the group and basically coast down the whole front straight. After a few laps of that I got some legs back and with six laps to go I moved up the inside of the pack down the front straight into the #1 spot just as we got to the first corner. I held my line in the corner but I guess the guy in the #2 spot didn't expect me to be there because he dove into the corner and right into my back wheel. I heard things breaking (some of my spokes) and then a big crash (two guys went down). I stayed up but my wheel was rubbing my frame and slowing me down. I was just coasting to a stop and the peloton is freaking out on me - Hello, I can't go - I just kept a straight line until they all went around me. There was less than 8 laps left so I couldn't get a wheel and a free lap so I was done.
The thing that sucked was that the guy that hit me was the former Cat3 guy I ride with back home. Last week when he said that he had reclassified to Cat4 and that we would be in the same class in our crit he said "Don't crash me." I feel really bad. He broke his collar bone. I don't think I did anything wrong. I was ahead of him and holding my line and he ran into my back wheel but I've been pretty bummed out about it all evening.
Little mini breaks would try to start but they never got more than a ten yard or so gap and when they would start to go I would work my way up through the field and get on the tail end of them. Then I figured out I could hide in the middle of the group and basically coast down the whole front straight. After a few laps of that I got some legs back and with six laps to go I moved up the inside of the pack down the front straight into the #1 spot just as we got to the first corner. I held my line in the corner but I guess the guy in the #2 spot didn't expect me to be there because he dove into the corner and right into my back wheel. I heard things breaking (some of my spokes) and then a big crash (two guys went down). I stayed up but my wheel was rubbing my frame and slowing me down. I was just coasting to a stop and the peloton is freaking out on me - Hello, I can't go - I just kept a straight line until they all went around me. There was less than 8 laps left so I couldn't get a wheel and a free lap so I was done.
The thing that sucked was that the guy that hit me was the former Cat3 guy I ride with back home. Last week when he said that he had reclassified to Cat4 and that we would be in the same class in our crit he said "Don't crash me." I feel really bad. He broke his collar bone. I don't think I did anything wrong. I was ahead of him and holding my line and he ran into my back wheel but I've been pretty bummed out about it all evening.