ROUBAIX!

[Schulzy]

A few of us (Horn, Quail, Tannille and I ) travelled down to Pitt Meadows for Barry’s Roubaix. The Roubaix course is a 10 km loop with a 4 km gravel section along a gravel dyke. The riding conditions were absolutely crazy all day with heavy wind and rain which made for an exhilarating ride down the dyke. If you were drafting on the dyke, you could barely see the tire in front of you!!! Thanks to Sunlife for the awesome tent which allowed us to stay dry and get a great warm-up before the race!!! It was also great to have such supportive teammates at the race!! A last minute surprise was that Tannille and I had the opportunity to race together!! Yippee!

Race goals: Race aggressively with no regrets while making smart tactical decisions and dial my nutrition. I have placed 4th 2 years in a row at this event and decided it was time to RACE!!

Distance: 90km (9 laps)
HR: Avg – 161, Max 176 (Current BP is 165)
Time: 3:10

Lap 1: The race started on the gravel dyke. The pace was fast and furious right from the gun. I managed to ride aggressively and stayed in the first 3 positions along the 4 km length of the dyke. Several girls were shed by the end of the dyke.  Half way through the lap, Moriah (Team Specialized /Mazda) launched an attack. Jessica (Local Ride) quickly followed. I was stuck in the middle of the front 1/3 of the pack and watched the girls start to ride away when I remembered my plan! I quickly bridged up to the 2 girls.. I was very happy with my ability to accelerate (my intervals all winter must be helping!!) without bringing anyone with me. There was good representation from the 2 top teams in this break so I decided it was the break I needed to be in!! Unlikely that their teammates would help chase us down. And already, Team Red-Truck girls and Cannondale were no longer in the pack. My only concern was Jean Ann – last year’s winner (Xprezi Factory team).. but she had no help available as her teammate, Sandra was dropped on the dyke. And I also had Tannille who would hopefully help mix things up in the chase group! The 3 of us worked together and had a 1:10 lead on what was left of the field.

Lap 2 and 3: Continued to work hard in the break and felt really good (HR 163-167, Cadence 95-105). Time gap: 1:55 on the field.

Lap 4: I noticed that Jessica was pulling significantly less but still hanging on and asked her what was going on??? Her answer was “I have instructions....”. Then I tried to convince the other girl, Moriah to keep working... but no go!!! She was not going do any work if Jessica refused! We still had a 1:45 lead at this point, I felt great and was suddenly super frustrated!!! I did not know what to do!! I soon realized that the Local Ride team manager was standing at the end of Dyke and was calling out splits to the chase group and told Jessica to hold up and allow her teammate Jasmin to catch up! Despite my realization, I continued to pull the duo for most of the lap and even tried to attack on the Dyke! I eventually realized that I was not going to get away and was not going to be able to solo the rest of the race! So our lead slowly melted away to 1 min and I sat up knowing that I needed some rest before the chase group would catch up and launch an attack.!!

Lap 5: My 3 person break lasted until ½ through the 5th lap!  Yes.... I have since learned that I should have stopped working the minute the other girls stopped. A chase group of 6 caught up to us. I rested in the group for a few minutes and was prepared for an attack!!! Jasmin (Local Ride) attacked just before the dyke. I managed to get right on her wheel followed by Jessica, Denise (Specialized/Mazda) and Jean Ann (Xprezo). So now, 5 of us are hammering down the dyke, leaving the rest of the chasers behind. I made it ¾ down the 4km dyke when I just could not hang on! My HR was 166 but my legs were simply not able! I could see the group of 4 for the rest of the lap and tried so hard to catch back on but no go!!

Laps 6 & 7:  SOLO !!!!! I quickly made some new goals for myself knowing that TT /Solo riding on the road bike is not usually my strength (mental challenge)! So I kept my HR over 162 (was definitely tough) and Cadence between 90-100. There was no way I was going to give up at this point!!! I stayed really positive and felt the support from the BP team watching the race.

Lap 8: I spotted Jean Ann on the Dyke and was very motivated to catch up! In fact, I caught up,  hammered past her and she was not able to stay with me!!!

Lap 9: Now in 4th place, I was feeling very determined to continue my SOLO effort!! I pushed hard right to the finish line and managed to put over 3 min lead on Jean Ann and kept over 6 min on the rest of the field!! I finished 4 min down from the lead but I am very satisfied with my SOLO effort! 

So... for the 3rd year in a row, I have finished 4th! But this was one of the most satisfying road races for me! I learned so much about tactics and was able to harness my new found mental strength on the road!! It was a great learning experience!!!
As for my nutritional goals.. this was also a success. Race fuel for the 3 hr race included 4 scoops of ELOAD ENDURANCE, 3 scoops of ELOAD FLY, 2 ELOAD gels and 1 can of Coke (Thx for the feed Matt). I experienced a few metabolic challenges the previous evening and the morning of the race...  but was able to recover during my race warm-up just in time to feel awesome at the start line!!!   

Jen

[GinnySellars]

Jen, I'm so stoked for you. Yes, in retrospect you would have backed off and not pulled the other girls for so long, but you must realize your fitness was second to none!

I totally understand not wanting to give up that lead on the pack. When the trio collapsed, did you wonder if you would have the ability to sprint for a win with a larger pack? I'm just thinking that you might not trust your speed this year. You are different rider this year to last. I also hear that 45 women started and only 15 finished. The cold and must sounded absolutely deadly. Congrats to you. Glad to hear Tanille was able to not only finish with the cat 1/2s, but be a force in the chase group.

[StephenU]

Yup, as a witness, Jen is right up there with the best wpomen cyclists in bc!!  Super strong.

The Qual lined up for the cat 1,2 Roubaix.
Lap one was a mega hammer down the dyck @ nearly 50km/h. My heart rate was 185 and I was hanging in there!!  Mud, water, gravel everywhere. Turned onto the pavement in the middle of the pack and about 200 meters into the pavement I hit a massive pothole that ultimately flatted both of my tires.  I started walking back to an intersection to ask a volunteer if I could arrange a ride because I was 6km from the start finish with two flats. No rides!!  I eventually hitchhiked back to the start line with two really nice native guys pulling a Uhaul trailer. I promised them I would get them unlost becuase they were not from around there!!  After showing them the apartment bbuilding that one of them was about to move into, they drove me home to the start line and the Sunlife tent!!  Good Samaritans!

I am pretty confident I would have been shredded 5 or 6 laps into the race as I saw some of the fittest cat 1,2 guys get shelled or eventualy drop out. This race is the domain of the big, powerfull riders. All the small skinny guys were shredded from what I could see!!

I don't think I will try this race again @ 144 lbs. Not a good idea.

Quail

[Andrew]

Jen, I had goosebumps reading your report. I am really proud of you for riding so hard after being defeated by smart team tactics. Do you realize they waited for the chase because they were afraid of going head to head with you? Shame you didn't pull up a bit earlier to save yourself for the next effort, but glad you see the mistake now. Every race is an opportunity to learn. We will try to support more women riders in the future and build BPR to compete against these other teams.

Steve...bummer about the flats, and probably a fair observation on the shape of the animals that win the flat races. Let's invite them to race Silverstar later this summer, or the Vernon Century ride.

I expect the juniors to take Simon up on the Saturday morning invitation, but also expect Simon to help with both teaching and education along with the lessons in suffering he is offering to serve up

[StephenU]

I think as the term "horses for courses" is much more applicable in the higher end of the sport.  I can see that now..  even in the Cat 3/4 race, Matt noticed that he was being overpowered on the dyke by some big strong dudes...  Imagine the Matterhorn being overpowered?? can't wait to read his report!

As a side note, I think that maybe me going out early was a blessing.  I was able to have a wicked long training ride the next day with some great climbing bursts and long steady miles.  I am not "recovering" from being shredded at Roubaix...  good for going into Walla Walla.

[StephenU]

The Horn Hammering!!!!!  Look at the "animal" behind the Horn..  it was a race for the beasts!

[GinnySellars]

That is a WICKED shot!! Totally epic!

[Matt]

That was truly and epic race.  Wet, windy, painful, and super fun!  I'm pretty sure I was winning when that picture was taken....ok, maybe not quite winning...

The race report.

I have put some thought into how to approach this report.  I liked Jen's format of lap by lap.  The Quail also suggested a 'racing intelligence' (RI) meter for each lap - 1 being as smart as a bucket of hammers, and 10 being Lance Armstrong's decision making in his prime.

Here we go...
Goals - physiologically I wanted to control my respiration, and work on some new breathing techniques.  I also wanted to avoid cramping by keeping my cadence high and getting my nutrition right.  Tactically, I wanted to ride near the front, with the hope of getting into a break with some strong riders.

Lap 1
We started on the Dyke and it was a hammerfest right away, but when we hit the pavement it slowed to a crawl.  I jumped away from the group hoping to keep the pace high, and get someone to join me.  No luck there, and I was swallowed up by the pack before the dyke.
RI Meter - 6

Lap 2
Hammerfest on the dyke, then slow on the pavement.  The group already began to shed riders.  I moved off the front again on the pavement in an effort to start a move/keep the pace high.
Physiologically - I was drinking eload endurance, and my breathing was under control.
RI Meter - 4 (apparently I didin't learn my lession from lap 1!)

Lap 3
The hammerfest on the dyke was starting to hurt!  The group strung out again.  This time I figured I should just sit in on the pavement, and try and follow wheels for a while.  The next time we hit the dyke it felt much easier.
RI Meter - 7

Lap 4
The dyke was quick, but I was feeling more recovered.  Two riders attacked hard on the dirt and got a quick gap.  One of the riders was from a big team, and the other was very strong.  I couldn't move right away because I was boxed in on the dyke.  I tried to close the gap on my own as soon as I could.  I didn't take anyone with me, but only made it halfway across.  I sat up and by the time we hit the pavement I was back in the pack.  The two riders up the road looked like they had a chance of staying away.  I attacked on the pavement again and took another rider with me.  The pack didn't let us get far and we were brought back. 
RI Meter - 2 (yep, pretty much a bucket of hammers)

Lap 5
The dyke was fast.  The group was completely shattered as a group of 6 riders attacked on the dyke.  I was boxed in on the opposite side and couldn't move.  I got organized with another group of about 6 riders and started to chase.  The pack was in pieces!  We hit the pavement in chase groups, completely pinned.  As we went around a wet corner, the two riders in front of me went down.  I was able to stay up, but came to a complete stop and clipped out.  It wasn't looking good for chasing down the groups up the road.
RI meter - 5

Lap 6
Myself and another rider set about chasing.  I let him do most of the work as I wasn't able to contribute much.
My nutrition was good, and I felt relatively good on the dyke.  I wasn't able to work on my breathing as I lacked the coordination to make any changes to my resp rate at maximum effort.
RI Meter 7 (not much else to do at this point but work hard!)

Lap 7
We hammered along the dyke again.  On the pavement the other rider I was with road away from me - I couldn't keep his wheel!  I picked up two other riders and we continued to work.
Nutrition was good, cadence was good, but I was completely on my limit.
RI Meter - 7

Lap 8 (final lap)

We were joined by another rider, making our group 4.  The dyke was all out, and so was the pavement.  We dropped one of the group with 2 kms to finish, and I attacked our group with 500 meters to go and finished in front of them.  13th in cat 3 / 4.
RI Meter - 7

From a tactical point of view, the race was a disaster!  I should have let the teams work, and if I decided to attack, it should have been on the dyke where it is easier to get gaps, and keep them.  I expended way too much energy early, and on the wrong parts of the course, so when the race exploded I wasn't able to follow the accelerations.  I was way too impatient and paid for it! 

Phsyologically - I was happy that I didn't have many cramping issues (minor cramping in the final 500 meters).  I was completely pinned for the second half of the race, and when I could have benefited most from some different breathing patterns, I wasn't able do it.  Much more work needed on the Spiro! 

Thanks for reading.

[Andrew]

Great report Matt! The ups and downs of learning about racing. You MUST have been one of the strongest ones there to have gone off the front and attacked again later to make the bridge. I am glad you have recognized the challenge of recovering from the early futile efforts.

It is very likely those efforts also pushed your resp system which may have played a role later. I noticed the same thing a few weeks ago when I was in that early break with Simon...NO WAY could I control breathing.

So we will keep working on this, and hopefully you will have your bike back in time for an Easter MTB camp at the Salty Dog trailhead where we will work on some specific resp ideas both on and off the bike.

Anybody who reads this...please watch for a very new Trek 29er that was stolen from Matt last week in the Crawford area. Someone MUST see it somewhere, either for sale online or at the first few races of the season. It is a full on race machine, and is hard to miss. Matt can you post a serial #?

[Matt]

Here are the details on my stolen bike:

2011 Trek/Gary Fisher Superfly Elite 29er (carbon Hardtail).  Large - 19inch.  Shimano pedals.
VIN: WTU235MC313F

Thanks for keeping a lookout!
Cheers
Matt

[StephenU]

Keep the podium's comin Team!  Big Schulzy earned this one...