RATL Munroe Falls, Ohio, May 02, 2009

From CRCycling

Cat 4 Race

By Chris

This was my first RATL race of the year due to not being able to race on RATL 1 and not wanting to race RATL 2 because of the Presque Isle TT. This was also my first RATL Cat 4 since I upgraded during the offseason. I wasn't sure what to expect as I know I am not in great shape yet, haven't done the course in a year, and first all Cat 4 race.

It started off with the pace picking up quickly half way into the 1st lap. A gap developed between about 12 riders and 5 riders. I found myself in that 5 rider group. One thing I learned really quickly, in Cat 4 you better jump to a big break like that quickly or you will never catch up. The large group quickly pulled away and no one was going to try and bring them back so we settled in with 2 Snake Bite guys, 1 orrvile rider, and myself. The Orrville rider made it known that he wouldn't be working the whole time and would drop off eventually. He did drop off around lap 9 of 15 and we picked up and then dropped off some riders that fell off the front field. There were probably 10 riders left in front. Then we got lapped on the next to last lap! It was Brent from Stark Velo and a rider from Snake Bite. The 2 of them were on a massive breakaway from the main pack. On the last lap I set myself up to hold a wheel of 1 of the Snake Bite riders coming into the hills and then jumped at the perfect time to narrowly beat out both Snake Bite riders. Ended up finishing 9th of 17. Happy with that for my first all cat 4 race in the beginning of May and with no crashes today!

178HR AVG, 190HR MAX, 21.8 MPH AVG, 18.5 Miles