Day 4 of the Championships was match sprint day for me. The format was for everyone to ride a flying 200m to provide a time for seeding riders for the match sprint pairings. The top 16 riders then pair up with 1v16, 2v15, 3v14, etc. in a knockout format leaving two riders to fight it out for gold.
Of course, we debated endlessly about gearing (duh). At Alpenrose, my bestest flying 200 was 13.34s in a 92 inch gear which translates into an average cadence of 128 rpm. Looking at past results, it appeared that a time in the mid 12 secs would be needed to get through to the last 16. This meant that I either had to SPIN significantly faster in the 92 inch gear, or UP the gear to a quad-busting 96 inches and maintain a cadence of 125-128 rpm.
Seeing as I had nothing to lose, I installed the monster 96.4 incher (50/14). Monster for me, anyway.
This daring act shrieked "Go Big or Go Home".
The next crucial decisions were; which line to take and where to jump. Since every track has different banking, size and geometry of corners, length of straight, the line one takes from the 200m line to the finish line is not necessarily the shortest. This was to be determined by watching the other riders. Pushing such a big gear also required an earlier jump because it would take longer to get up to the maximum speed. Scorchio speed had to be reached just prior to the 200m line because once timing starts you want to maintain that speed as long as humanly (or inhumanly) possible.
We worked out the 'line-age' and 'jump-age' by carefully watching the racers ahead of us.
OK, got it. Locked in.
(modesty is set aside for the time being)
So how did it go..?..........following the wind-up, I got out of the saddle and mashed furiously exactly where I wanted to - about 100m before the start. By 200m out I could not spin any faster (perfect) and sat down and buried it, taking care to carve a good, efficient line.
Even managed to 'throw' the bike at the line.
Those 200m were bashed out in 12.41 secs at an average speed of 58 kph.
Holy handle-bar-tape - I had smashed my PR by an ENTIRE SECOND.
I love, love, love this track.
When the dust had settled my time was the 14th fastest time catapaulting me like a demented gymnast into the last 16. Does this mean that I am the 14th fastest 45-49 yo male over 200m in the 50 states of the Union?
Hells yeah!
(back to normal modesty levels now)
My 14th became 13th when the top sprinter pulled-out. As 13th seed I was to ride against the 4th seed. His name..........Brian Abers, who happens to be my track coach, National track champion (twice) and first reserve for the 92 Barcelona Olympic US track team.
Umm.....ok.
I drew pole position, which meant that the first position was mine - commonly regarded as a disadvantage. We were to complete two laps of the track with first across the line the winner. I had geared down to 94 inches for quicker acceleration.
Whether positioned first or second, match sprints are all about 'controlling' the other rider, so that one can jump at the most advantageous time.
I lead out and angled up the bank at about 10 kph keeping him pinned against the rail....watching....watching......watching. This lazy pace continued until mid-way between turns 3 and 4 on the first lap.
At this point, sensing that he was a little boxed-in..................I JUMPED !
Immediately, 3 bike lengths opened up between us. My arse was out of the saddle going balls-out trying to keep him far enough back so as not to ride in my considerable slipsteam. By turn 3 he had pulled along my outside and we were neck and neck. By the time we had been expelled from turn 4, like Barbara Streisand, he had nosed ahead.
I rode as hard as I could to the line but he bested me by about a wheel, according to my oxygen-deprived brain.
While being disappointed at losing, I was pleased about how the race unfolded with the well-timed jump and the anaerobic push to the line.
Couldn't have done it any better.
There is some consolation in that.
BA continued to ride strongly to finish 3rd in the competition. CD also rode very well to collect 4th place and a spot on the podium on the 40-44 age category.
After another rest day, day 6 brought the team pursuits. Besides myself, we had CD, BK and a strong all-rounder from Seattle, MH. In this event, the teams raced for 9 laps (4000m) in a time trial format. The sprint bars were swapped out for aero bars. Each rider would 'pull' for a half or full lap and then seamlessly angle uptrack and return to the rear of the paceline thus conserving energy for a couple of laps until another turn at the front was required. This rotation of riders kept the pace high - between 45 and 50 kph for the 4K. Only three riders need finish allowing a gassed rider to 'retire' if need be. There was some debate as to whom this might be, with several of the sprinters on the team 'generously' volunteering to pull out early. Smooth exchanges and good communication are essential for setting a fast time. We practiced a little for an hour or so before the event. All seemed well in the warm-up/practice.
I was the lead-out guy responsible for getting up to speed in a smooth but not beserk manner. Too fast and the riders behind would struggle to 'tuck in' expending unnecessary energy, too slow and we would pile up.
The race was alot of fun - a bit like a 5 min Tedderval session. At one point BK, who was ahead of me, ramped up the pace and dangled off the front for a lap or so until he slowed and came back. This had little impact on or final position and we finished in 5m11s, good enough for 7th in the 30+ race. No medal but not too shabby considering that we had not really practiced and two of us had never ridden a team pursuit.
So...................between the Abers training group, we had collected 4 medals including Gold to BA himself.
Personally, I had a fantastic time having smashed all my PRs and scoring a podium slot.
Who would have thought?
A fat, 40-something, academic who had not ridden a bike in anger until 3 years ago could compete at this level. Wonders will never cease.
Onwards............
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