A Pivotal Weekend (Part 1)

Cyclists from around the Southeast descended on the Lowcountry this weekend for Race Weekend presented by Pivotal Fitness/Trek Bikes of Mt. Pleasant. This is my cycling teams' annual race and a chance to get in some great racing in an amazing setting. The backdrop for it kicks off in I'on Village, which can best be described as a slightly European-style community with a Southern twist. The first time I did this race, I had delusions that I was a Pro-cyclist in Milan-San Remo barrelling down the Poggio along the Italian coast. The neighborhood is absolutely beautiful.

Saturday played host to the I'on Village Smackdown. Ne'er was there ever a more appropriate name for a race, especially the CAT 4/5, than the Smackdown. In particular, the I'on course features a little bit of everything: a roundabout, chicanes, sharp turns, cobbles and sharp turns with cobbles! Mix that with with some sketchy CAT 5s and you've got 45 minutes of shear terror.

In case you're new to cycling, every racer starts as a Category 5 and after meeting a series of wickets, you can "Cat-Up" to the next level. In each successive level, it becomes harder to upgrade and the competition gets stiffer until you can make it to the Pro/CAT1,2 level with the truly elite. Until this weekend I viewed myself as a career CAT 4 racer; destined to slog away and maybe steal some glory at the schlep level. Truth be told, the fours aren't much faster than the fives, just smarter.

I'd be doing two races this day, the CAT 4/5 in the morning and the CAT 3/4 in the afternoon, with differing approaches to each. My goal in the first race was to place high while avoiding the inevitable crashes that come with racing with the fives. The goal of the second race was to finish with the field. Both are flawed strategies for criterium races. In a criterium, or crit as they are often called, it is important to be near the front of the field. Positioning is key. Staying near the front and defending your position will help you (1) avoid crashes at the back, (2) require less energy and (3) maintain a high standing in the field. If you go into a race without a clear objective to stay near the front you will assuredly lose.

Jitters. Nerves aided by a fifty-four man field and racing my new and expensive bike (at the encouragement of my wife saying, "Why did you even buy that thing if you're not going to use it?"). Five laps in and settled into my comfort zone when the peloton exploded into a mass of metal, carbon, and broken bodies. A manhole cover claimed its first victim sending riders careening into an uncontrolled flesh-burn. I looked over in time to see two dudes landing on a front porch! Shit. Crashes have a psychological effect on the group that have a half-lap half-life. No sooner had I forgot about that crash when the rider in front of me pinned the guy on his right against the curb. I moved left just in time for him to fall head first into my crank and then bounce off of my rear wheel. I somehow managed to stay up and now there were five laps to go.

"Five to go, five to go, five to go!" the announcer shouts. This is everyone's cue to take insane risks and act like an idiot all for five seconds of fame. I was sitting nicely in about twelfth heading into the final cobble-stoned turn of the last lap. Nicely until two riders in front of me jostled in the corner and went down. Tires exploded. I nearly came to a dead stop to avoid them and by the time it as over, so too were my chances. The crash had caused a split in the field and I was only able to make up one spot for 12th overall.

Neither bad nor good but gaining confidence, the CAT 3/4 was next (to be continued...)