University of Delaware Road Race Report

Tim, Dan and I discussed what our tactics were going to be for the road race as we were waiting for the start. Our initial idea was to mark attacks and sit in, to not initiate anything, but not to let the race go away without one of us. Somehow, I ended up taking care of that for everyone.
Off the start line a Boston U rider went up the road and I rolled around some people to stay with him. I wasn’t thinking breakaway at this point, just stay at the front of the field. But only one rider came with me. I pulled through on the Boston rider and we started a tentative paceline, but it quickly dissolved as the other two were concerned about going 68 miles off the front. I tried to tell them that there was no way other riders weren’t going to bridge up and that the break was the place to be, but they drifted back anyway. They seemed to think that you have to go either 110% or not at all.
In breaks during road races, there is more time for things to play out, so you don’t have to go full gas from the gun. There wasn’t one time in the break that I was holding on for dear life. Honestly, I think it was easier up front than it was in the pack. Dan mentioned there were times when he thought he was going to get shelled, and he is much better fitness than I. The break was smooth, throughout the course, and except for a lack of fitness, I didn’t find it that hard.
Just as I anticipated, a tall Rutgers guy came up with another rider and the three of us were now the break. Then a Vermont rider came cruising past all of us, followed by Bucknell and Columbia towing up the smaller Vermont guy with the orange sunglasses. Once we came together, we were eight riders, including John Hunter from Temple, with 30-50 seconds on the main field.
As we made it into lap two, I was trying to take it easy since I knew my fitness wasn’t as great as the other guys. I was climbing as well, and taking strong pulls, but I knew that I would crack after two hours at pace. I’ve done 3.5/4.5 hour rides, but nothing with three hours sustained intensity.
For the most part, everyone rode smart and kept the paceline smooth. The orange glasses UVM rider was touching everybody the whole time. I thought I was the only one, but John mentioned the same. I guess he’s trying to do what he sees in the pro races. My advice, unless you know someone, don’t touch them. That goes in the supermarket, the bus, in night clubs, and it goes in bike races. He would push me when I was in the slow lane coming back down the paceline. Apparently I was bugging the Bucknell and Columbia riders too, as they were making remarks. Eventually, I decided that if they were so annoyed, I would just ride in the back and stop pulling.
Unfortunately I made a rookie move and wasn’t paying attention as a gap was opening up in front of the Rutgers rider. John chastised him a bit and jumped across while I was too slow getting on his wheel. He was able to make it across but I was slammed in the headwind. Once they made the right hand turn into the tailwind it was all over.
I should have sat up then and worked with the Rutgers rider, but I kept going until I had totally cramped up. But I still managed to hold off the field for another half lap, managing to stay with them until the final hill. I rode the last three miles in solo after that. All in all a great course, great training, and good times on the bike.