It was not to be my day today at this annual edition of Bike the Bruce held on the roads between Sauble Beach and Wiarton, Ontario. Having been raised Owen Sound, a near by town and at the end of my 8 week training build, I wanted to do well at the race. With a bit of misfortune in the final I would see my hope fade within the last 100 meters.
In what seems to be a recurring event each week, the weather was not on our side again. Fortunately the forecast for rain was wrong, but the forecasted wind was not. 30 to 40km/h winds were on tap for the race today and a cold 7 degree Celsius temperature. My drive from Owen Sound to the start in Sauble Beach went via Wiarton as I wanted to see the course as it had been many years since I rode these roads. The race took us from the north end of Sauble Beach, north to Oliphant and north/east to Wiarton. A short loop on the west end of Wiarton we travelled back on the same road down to Oliphant and a 5km loop back to the start/finish. We completed this circuit twice for a total of 64km. As I drove, I made note the wind was from a North/East direction. The ride between Oliphant and Wiarton would be tough with a strong cross-wind. Any team willing to stick their nose and hammer in the wind would make the race hellish!
At the start line, I was surprised to learn they split the S4/M3 race into two distinct groups. Apparently as I was told after, the year before the S4 hammered so hard, they spit the M3s out the back. I enjoyed the mix category racing as it included an added element… more speed! At 8:30am, we set off and quickly formed a group and then strung out almost single file riding into a direct head wind. I was sitting within the first 10 of the group and noticed one lone cyclist off the front. Someone road up to me and had said it was almost embarrassing but that we were only doing 26km/h! Racing on my own and with still the entire race to go, I myself wasn’t about to hammer at the front. We kept the lone cyclist in front at about 15 to 20 seconds. He stayed out there until our return on the circuit.
Reaching Wiarton, we negotiated a small gradual climb which allowed me to stretch out the legs. At the top, the lone cyclist was still ahead and two others surged off the front in an attempt to bridge. I too jumped as I saw an opportunity with four of us off the front; we’d potentially have the ability to hold off the field. I bridged to the two in front and as a gesture to show I was willing to work; I surged ahead of them and began closing in on the cyclist ahead. Having nearly caught him, I looked behind only to see the entire peleton strung out single file about 10 meters behind.
The stretch to Oliphant was fast! Not quite a tailwind but enough on your backside to get you moving, at times we hit 50–60km/h. A few failed attempts to get away were made and my fear was that if a gap large enough would open and having enough riders in it, that on the second lap, the gap wouldn’t just stick but grow. I countered every move not in an attempt to prevent it from succeeding but to catch the tail end and get away. At one point, three BikeFit team mates were towards the front pushing the pace and I sensed they were going to try to make something happen. I was sitting in about 5th place when one of them became verbally upset that I was not participating in the pace making. Racing on my own without team mates and contributing to pace making at the front of the peleton does not make tactical sense. While I sat on his wheel, he began to drift allowing a small gap to form between him and the four up front. Knowing what he was up to, I surged around him and joined the four in front. Just then, I heard him yell “GO!”, a signal for his team mates to begin hammering. To my surprise they did nothing but look back and the peleton soon brought us back.
Reaching Oliphant, we began the 5km loop back to the start/finish. It was a winding circuit with sharp left and right turns keeping us all on alert. The roads were especially slippery with the sections of gravel and sand likely as a result of the winter road maintenance and/or sand from the near by beach. It was going to be a dicey finish I thought to myself. Heading up the final straight to the start/finish line, a rider from Newmarket was hammering at the front. Shyt he’s strong I thought to myself and I sensed the start of the second lap was going to be significantly faster! I began moving my way towards the front.
We make the left turn to start the second lap and as in the first lap, the pace again slowed and we crawled along at a slow speed. Unlike the first lap, there were a few instances were the speed picked up but no one took any initiative to get off the front. For me, perhaps it’s the lack of confidence in myself or the reality that I do not have the stamina to hammer into the wind at my current state of fitness. I know I have the acceleration and power to match almost anyone, but I am far away from the ability to go at it on my own. I wait and stay sheltered to conserve my energy for the attacks that are sure to come in the final 15km.
A few more attacks go off the front as we head into the circuit once we reached Wiarton. One that seemed serious was on the uphill stretch but it too did not materialize into anything. The stretch back to Oliphant was again very fast and the only significant move that put me on alert was again that one rider from Newmarket. He must be a time trialist I thought, very strong but fluid pedal stroke. Bridging up to him hurt but I could see he too was hurting a little.
We reached the final circuit in Oliphant and as expected, the jousting for position began. With a tail/crosswind combination because of the changes in direction due to the twisting nature of the circuit, positioning became difficult. Like at Springbank where I finished second, I wanted to be sheltered for the sprint as it would be along a straight with a cross-wind from the left. My positioning was great as we approached a sharp bend and two cyclists must have bumped or something as a section of the field had to slow and renegotiate their line. At this point I was in a pretty significant gear and I had brake hard and then get my speed back up. Making the last left hand turn into the finishing straight, it must have been another 600-800 meters or so to the finish line. I was exactly where I wanted to be when I noticed a small gap forming with three riders off the front. At that moment, there seemed to be a deceleration in the bunch and with my velocity I found myself at the front. Shyt I thought and with nothing else to do, I jumped and tried to bridge to the three off the front. I had a great jump and looking down I could tell no one was on my wheel. I sat about 10 meters behind the three but I couldn’t close the gap. With the strong crosswind, I sat between them and a charging peleton but I believed I had the speed necessary to carry me to the finish and I began to think of that 4th place finish. No sooner do I think that, I can begin to feel the sensation in my legs setting in. Slowly my legs begin to feel like lead weights. Shyt I say to myself again and I get up and try to sprint harder as the field first catches me and then begins to pass. One… two… three… pass and I am done. My legs give out and I am forced to sit up. Argh!
So disappointing but at the same time I was pretty satisfied with my race. Today place is not a reflection of my race. For the first time this year, I felt like I was able to contribute more to the race, making a few attacks, bridging across to others, my recovery between efforts were much better. The training I have done to date has allowed me to perform above my expectations.
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