Well folks, today was my first experience of a Criterium. I've been keeping my entry quiet for the fear of abject humiliation but I was happy enough with how it went.
For all those virgins out there here is a summary:
I was entered into the 4th Cats at Castle Combe, 13 laps, 25 miles.
Special thanks to xray specs for his insider knowledge of the circuit and tips and advice.My preparation was ok, not everything I wanted but near enough. Work/travel commitments meant I have missed a couple of recent chain gangs which I think would have helped...and getting dropped from the racers CG after 1.5 laps, this Tuesday just gone, did not exactly fill me with pre race confidence, but in hindsight may have been a blessing. Wednesday and Thursday I did what all the manuals say and that is taper! Wednesday was a gentle 3 mile run and Thursday 6 miles on the bike but couldn't resist chasing a KOM on Strava back in Swindon.
Despite visiting family I managed a reasonably rested night but was woken from my slumber sooner than I would have liked. The morning was all about keeping topped up on fuel and trying to do as little as possible (so a trip to the park with kids was not exactly high on the list of priorities, but some things in life are more important than the bike
).
Breakfast was straight out of the Graeme Obree mould: jam on toast, a couple of mid morning bananas and a CNP flapjack saw me through to the 12:30 start.
Arriving at Castle Combe I didn't expect to be confronted by so many bikes/turbos/rollers but it was a full race programme so shouldn't really have been surprised.
Signed on and got myself a day licence (£5 with BC Silver).
Had a very gentle warm up and then had a look at the Youths race and then a few laps around the pits.
As the 4th Cats lined up in the pit lane to ready ourselves for the line we witnessed a big crash in the youths sprint which put the fear into a few fellow first timers.
The race itself....it was big field probably 130+ riders but the circuit is wide so didn't seem too cramped.
As the race kicked off it was straight up to full pace, no gentle intro. I managed to find myself on the edge of the peloton in the full force of the wind in the first lap. Mental note to self to reposition for next lap.
The experience was exhilarating and daunting in equal measure, think chain gang but with a very fluid group and people moving up and back either side of you. Plenty of shouting in the group "hold your line" and "easy on the brakes", I don't think any of it was aimed at me. I did have contact with another rider at one point which he kindly thanked me for!
The first lap was brutal as I had expected it to be. I am reliably informed that riders were shedding off the back from lap one. The pace remained high throughout. The one bit of xrays advise I could not follow was to keep in the first 10-20 riders. From the start I was in the back half of the main pack and despite my best efforts found it really hard to move up. And equally getting the wrong line into a few corners cost me some places which were difficult to get back. I did my best to pick a wheel and try and follow it.
After 9 laps I lost contact with the main pack much to my annoyance. A 3 man gruppetto formed and myself and a Bristol rider did most of the work to get the three of us home and I even managed to win the mini sprint.
The Strava verdict is here:
http://www.strava.com/activities/131488035/overviewDefinitely by far the most fun I have had on a bike, beats time trialling and the track by a street. Castle Combe was a great circuit. Although there was also a crash in the Cat 4 sprint, I think it is more to down to inexperience than the track being dangerous.
Tired but happy tonight, Chinese and a few beers as a reward.
