Zachary Hilton
Snelling RR
Snelling RR
Snelling, CA
Place: 29
Field: 47
Teammates: Jeff Swan
Place: 29
Field: 47
Teammates: Jeff Swan
Weather: 48 Cloudy, cold, windy but not as bad as in the past, sunny lap 4
Total Time: 02:28:00
Power: 222 W avg, 734 W max, 204 W NP
Power: 222 W avg, 734 W max, 204 W NP
Average Speed: 20.7 MPH, Top Speed 35.6 MPH
Average HR: 156 Max HR: 183
Elevation Ascent: 1,667
Elevation Ascent: 1,667
I'm riding a 2015 Specialized S-Works Tarmac with Ultegra 6800 53/39 11 speed group set with an 11/28 for this race. I have a pair for Race Rim Tubular 46's that are perfect for this race. I am running 25mm tubulars now. I've been hooked on my current breakfast for a while now. Trader Joe's Multi-Grain oatmeal cooked in egg whites, peanut butter, berries, and maple syrup. Be sure to eat that no less than 3 hours prior to your race. I follow Hammer Nutrition's Steve Born on many pre-race strategies. Yum and full of energy to start race day right.
My goals for this race is stay with the pack until the finish. Be smart and continue to learn how to read the race. This course is fast, and positioning is key. Something else that's key is making sure your bike is mechanically sound. That means all cages and bolts secured. Some of the stretches in this road will test it all! There is not a lot of long climbs in this race, so I am going to need to always find a wheel and keep moving forward in the pack.
We started off neutral with 47 racers. I was sitting towards the back at the start line. One more SJBC racer Jeff Swan joined me. I like staying off the back when I'm solo for the neutral because you can keep a steady pace. When we hit the rollers heading out before the race starts everyone is stop and go. I've seen bumps and crashes before. It's easy to come up front when the race starts. Berkeley Bike Club, Pen Velo, Revs Road, and Victory Velo had the majority of racers. I know a few of them to mark on each team. Like is years past, everyone uses the feed zone in the 35+ 4's to attack. We race 4 laps so two bottles is plenty in the colder weather. A few surges on Lap 1 but that was about it. On Lap 2 as we made the left turn onto Figmond a Victory Velo racer took the corner tight and went of the front on the left. I was sitting 5th wheel back and his teammate slowed our turn and pace immediately. I wasn't going to attack unless someone else initiated it and I could follow. We still have plenty of time to catch him by himself. We left him out there solo. He stayed no more than 15-20 seconds off the front. Lap 3 around was frisky. Los Cerritos Rd became a place where surges would take place. Your positioning around these corners was crucial. If you were off the back or even mid pack, you had to use a lot of energy to stay on as the racers first around the corner were gunning it. Each time around these corners I would take on some wind solo just to be at the corners in the top 5. During Lap 3 as we turned onto Los Cerritos there was an unattached racer that was trying to get us up front to chase down the solo racer off the front. He kept surging in our pace line and then finally took off on his own. He reached him before the bridge. Pay special attention to what happened next. It should have crossed my mind because I know better. As we approached the bridge the moto ref came flying around us and slowed our group!!!! We were getting neutralized for the 45+ 4's. Oh shit is right. We will never see the breakaway again. REMEMBER THAT MOVE!!
As we made the turn onto Figmond during Lap 3 a Revs Road racer either hit a pothole or slid out. He stayed up on his bike but unclipped and was in the road stopped. I was 2 bikes behind him and avoiding him shut my momentum down while everyone else attacked the group on the left side. I was now is catch up mode burning all my matches and luckily I had a few racers to help. We caught the group as they reached the finish line. I was cooked from the chase and this is our final lap. Now the front was attacking like no other trying to catch the breakaway and split us all up. I tried to follow wheels and preserve as much as I could but I was out of gas!
I learned a lot in this race. My overall power is up and right where it should be. No mechanicals and I probably would have finished better if I hadn't had to chase the group before Lap 3 was finished. I have also learned that tapering before a race just isn't working for me. I need to come into a race not loosing out on any fitness during the week. Maybe the volume can be reduced a bit but the intensity and days on the bike needs to remain high.
Time to recover with Hammer Nutrition's Recoverite and get a good night sleep. Don't forget to recover during your sleep and take some Hammer Whey to boost that HGH. I've also added Hammer Nutrition's Chromate, and Super Antioxidant to the recovery mix. Both have great recovery ingredients!
Next race will be Chico Stage Race February 27-28!
Thanks for reading!
Thanks to Hammer Nutrition!
Thanks to SJBC Race Team!
