West Branch Classic race report

Michigan is flat. I know, anyone could have told me that, I've lived there for years, I should know that. Still, it looked like West Branch might have enough climbing that it could play to my advantage (skinny-ass white guy).

The race started with some drizzling rain, but fortunately it cleared up quickly and soon the roads were dry. The course was 2 laps of 22 miles each, with a climb up through the finish. The rest was pretty flat with some small rollers. When we came around to the climb at the end of the first lap, the field strung out and I used that chance to move up in the field. I had been sitting at the very back (as usual) for the entire first lap. I got to the front and decided to try and push the pace to see if things would split up at all. I was riding next to BK from Leadout and there was one guy in black up ahead with a gap. As we neared the top, BK asked me if we had a gap. Even though the pace felt high, when I looked back, the entire field was still there looking comfortable.

As we crested, I slowed up and no one else was interested in pushing the pace either. In hindsight, that would have been a good spot to really keep the tempo hard. Anyone that did get gapped on the climb, had plenty of time to chase back on after.

The second lap was much like the first, I rolled around at the pack of the pack. As we neared the final climb, I tried to move up knowing that positioning has been my downfall before. We hit the real part of the climb and I was cooked, I completely faded and drifted in way at the back of the strung out field.

I was hoping for a better result, given that the course had an uphill finish. The race wasn't as hilly as I was hoping for, a skinny guy such as myself needs a lot more vertical feet to have an advantage. I definitely don't have the strength to put out the power and speed for a fast finish, even a fast finish on a hill. As a point of comparison, West Branch had 1100 feet of climbing per 22 mile lap, while Mt. Nebo had over 5000 feet of climbing per 9 mile lap. That works out to be about an average of 1% grade for West Branch, and over 10% for Mt. Nebo.

So while I would have liked a better result, I have to remind myself that May has been a real off month for training. I spent the better part of 2 weeks sprawled out on the couch ill, and my riding has been spotty for the entire month. This is a good chance to take a look at the season, pick some new goals, and get excited about racing again.