Norcal IC3 | A Bicycle Club
by Mark Klein & Serge Plasschaert
April 15, 2010
Sea Otter Classic Criterium M35+ Cat. 4/5
45 minutes
Weather: sunny, mid 50′s
Team mates: Mark Klein (Cat. 5)
Placing: 7th
I was anticipating this race with a little bit of trepidation. Last year, I was off the back after just 3 laps and was pulled from the race about two thirds in. It is a tough, windy course with two inclines and two 180 degree turns.
Arrived at Laguna Seca a few hours before the race with plans to get in a solid warm-up on the trainer. Was disappointed to find out that there was no parking this year on the lot adjacent to the course…we’re now banned to a hilly, uneven patch of soggy grass and dirt 1/2 mile away. So much for getting the trainer out. Was happy to run into Mark at registration. We chatted a bit, got registered and then off to our respective cars to get ready.
While Cat. 4 and 5 were racing together, we would be ranked separately. Mark and I prayed before the race and discussed our goals: I was determined to stay with the lead group till the end and fight for the win. Mark agreed to help me if he was still there at the end.
Despite the combined categories, the group was pretty small…about 40 or so racers, split evenly between 4′s and 5′s. Looking around at the start, the only team with significant representation was Taleo with about 5 racers. I expected them to try and make something happen.
The race starts and immediately Taleo is on the attack. First 50 yards is uphill, followed by a quick, narrow descent that forces the peloton into single file…then a 180 degree turn which is the start of a 300 yard climb. As Taleo pushes the pace, I think we lost about half of the peloton going up the first time. After the climb we go downhill into the wind, then a wide 90 degree right-hand turn, 180 degree right-hand turn, 90 degree left-hand turn, 200 yards flat, followed by 200 yards uphill through and past the finish line, then back downhill in single file and up the main climb again.
The first few laps are marked by multiple attacks by Taleo riders and a few lone rangers…nothing sticks but it keeps the pace very high. I am able to stay in the top 20, but heart rate is dangerously high and I am seeing visions of what happened to me last year…lap 4 and on that same climb the rider in front of me leaves a gap that takes me until past the top to close and I am now thinking my heart rate is way too high and I won’t be able to recover fast enough to make it over the hill with the leaders the next time around. Fortunately, the pace settles in a little and I am able to stay with the lead group…with each lap though our group gets smaller and smaller until there’s about 12 of us left with 5 laps to go. At this point in time, 2 guys go off the front, one Taleo and one other. Since our group is made up of all riders from different teams, no one is willing or able to work towards closing the gap, with one Taleo guy actually helping to block for his team mate in the lead. The gap stays at about 8 seconds. With 3 to go, the other lead rider bonks and drops back into our group. At that point I thought we would be able to pull in the Taleo guy, but again no one was able to put in a consistent enough effort to pull him back (I was too gassed to try anything other than stay with the group). It was fun to observe the Taleo rider in my group work hard to help preserve his team mate’s lead. Long story short…the Taleo rider takes the win with a 13 second gap over my group. I cross the line in 10th or so but since there’s a few 5′s sprinkled in my official result is 7th. First single digit finish ever…and I did not get pulled from the race this time!
~ Serge
As many of you know this is my first real racing season. So all but three races I do this year will all be new experiences for me both mentally and physically learning these courses. Serge and I had a pre-race meeting to review the course, strategy, and pray.
Serge told me what he had learned from the previous year is not to push to big of gear up the hill or I would burn up fast. Also, said to make sure I hit the gas hard going down hill because the group will be pushing the pace hard. With that in mind it was race time.
I lined up second right behind Serge. When the gun went off I had stumbled getting into my pedal then had another racer stop right in front of me and had nearly the embarrassing crash at the beginning of the race. All was avoided but it quickly pushed me way behind at the start which for this Crit is not a way to start. Especially for a big guy like me, two major hairpin turns and oh yeah, a hill in the middle of the course you enjoy two times per lap. Good fun! After a bad start and the 45 minutes of pain I had lapped a handful of the slower riders and then on the final lap was lapped myself by the Solo Taleo Rider and the main pack. I was working with two other riders until the end. The one guy started to sprint for the finish and I told myself, you are not going to beat me so i turned on the pedals and left him behind. It was a safe sprint for nothing more than pride.
It was a great race and fellowship with Serge. I can’t wait until next year.
Cheers,
~M