Thoughts on Road Racing

I waited with much anticipation for the Adelphia Gran Prix, looking forward to competing after a month of training. Today, however, my post-race thoughts revolve around: confusion, frustration, and emptiness. Not exactly an experience worth paying $30! Of course, I’m to blame. I’m either going to become addicted to the challenge of road racing or quit trying altogether. I am of the mindset the fittest survive, gleaned mostly from my years of playing goalie in soccer, hockey, and lacrosse. If you were the best player, you got the start to help your team win. This mentality followed me into my mountain bike racing experience as you are truly an individual versus the mountain. Your finish position is gauged by how much better you are than your fellow competitors. It certainly doesn’t rely on these other racers. This brings me to the challenge I’m having trying to understand road racing: it’s not the fittest who survives and wins; it’s the laziest (who sits in the back of the pack the entire race and saves legs for a sprint) or smartest (who knows what break is legitimate and goes with it) or the one with all the teammates (who has the race under control to their advantage). So why train? Just hope all the stars align in your favor and race as hard as you can the last 100 yards or so and call it a day!
As I mentioned in my race report, I was in the Masters’ 35+ class which evidently is meant for Cat. 4 or higher riders. How can I compete in Masters’ ‘cross races then?
Anyway, from here on, I’m going to race the Cat. 5 35+ class and build a resume to move up to 4. My approach is to take off at the gun and never look back. Rather than try to understand the pack mentality, I’m going to challenge it by going out hard early and see if they catch me. What’s the worst that can happen, they catch me and I finish with the pack? That’s fine, this way I actually get a workout in!
We’ll see how it goes I guess. Stay tuned, next race is 5/12.