I'm just working towards a building phase. I was thinking of shaping up for the Zwift Games but now I think it would be fun to try the Tour since I am a former winner. Why not? Well, I missed the first race. I really wanted to do it. However, it started only at noon and I had a 1:30 appointment. Hardly enough time to race all out, shower, recover, eat, get dressed and leave. It was the most sensible thing to do. But now, I am forced to race Friday or maybe Sunday afternoon. I did a ride today, instead of the race. I had a good time under 36 minutes. Nobody would push the pace on the flat. It was a little crazy on the climbs and I had to dig really deep and burn downhill to get the front group. I was in the top five when we crested the last climb and I did a fairly good sprint, just not my best. I was just jumping in for fun. And, it was fun. But now, I want more. I want the race and see how far back could I really be? To win the overall, you have to be free to race on Mondays. I only have a few free starting with stage three. By then, I could get buried. But let's see what we can do. I'll update this page (or delete it if it goes horribly wrong.)
Stage 1 race was, well, not great. It was a very small field of 9. I held the group until that first climb and fell off. From that point, I lost time obviously because a solo rider can never match the speed of a pack. Disappointing but not unexpected. Moving on...
Stage 2 ride. This was really competitive. While the flat speeds were never very hard, I was at the front the entire race. I kept pushing the pace a bit heavy and when the final climb came, I could only surge for a minute or two. I lost about 45 seconds to the front riders and came in 10th place of 294. That is still pretty awesome. It's a very good time. Now, I have to match that in the next race. Hmm, will my legs be ready?
Stage 2 Race: Well, it is very simple to explain. Everyone had an ftp much higher than me. I lasted 18 minutes, through Dos Ane sprint and two other power surges (they really hurt and what's the point? Only two riders fell off during the ride, someone early and then myself.) I couldn't push very hard after I got dropped. I went at a medium pace, losing a minute up to the climb and then another minute on the climb as I was still gassed. The rider behind me caught up before the end, but I went hard the last 20 seconds and kept at 16 of 20 (but 2 riders didn't finish)
Stage 1 and 2 events:36:07 and 30:56 total 67:03
Stage 1 and 2 races: 37:22 and 31:41 total 69:03 (six seconds back)
Stage 3 ride today. I was well prepared and raring to go. I was full on for the first 20 minutes, but I started to suffer. The lapped riders were very confusing and I opted to follow a small group on my last lap rather than try to sprint ahead to catch the leaders. They just slipped away on the downside of the climb. I was alone, headed to the Castle climb and I caught someone that was dangling just ahead of me. Silly! Why not just work together. I beat him on the Sgurr climb anyway. I think someone passed me on the climb. It's all a bit of a blur as I was going flat out into a sprint. I finished 14 out of 400 (but one was a late join). My sprint legs came back after running this course a few days ago. That is unexpected after so much endurance training in December. I don't know if I will enter the advanced race, definitely not Wednesday. I can't do this three times in a row. I may do the Alp or I have my sights set on doing Bretagne again soon to test my five minutes power.
Stage 3 32:10 total time 99:13 Stage 3 Advanced Race 35:40 total time 104:43
I was just too mentally tired of racing this course twice, that I couldn't want to do it again. I struck out on Bretagne and ran it under five minutes at 328 watts! BOOM! That felt really strong in the big gear, I kept a cadence of 94 in that gear. I definitely blew up at the finish line, barely able to pedal, even on the downhill it was painful. I rode a few kilometers just to flush the legs but there was nothing left. My time hovered at the 5:00 to 5:05 mark. But with a burst of speed and two feathers at the top, I finished in 4:49. I had hoped to crack five minutes with my level five bike. I went more for aero than climbing this time and it worked perfectly.
So, right now I have 99:13 against Fuhrer 102:52 and I believe one other Gokce, who is wicked fast but did not race stage 1 (yet).
I had a great race, in the front, feeling good, good power, and then I bumped my keyboard and everything froze for over a minute. I finished in 33:18 but the riders I was with going down Fox Hill finished just under 32 minutes. Major bummer, but at least I survived. I would have finished 13 of 600. I actually came in 30th. Boo hoo. I'm over it already. I'm just glad I had good legs and felt strong even on Box Hill after running hard at the front for 17 minutes. I'm sure to lose ground on Fuhrer. Maybe I can beat that with the advanced field, if I don't get dropped on those little pitches.
In the stage 4 advanced race I wound up at 33:22, fours seconds slower than the same stage with a long dropout. I can't believe how they dappled at the front at 3 to 3.5 w/kg. Really disappointing.
Stage 5 went fairly good the first time, keeping up in the second group when it split on the climb and nabbing the sprint. In the advanced event, I was dropped and finished last or 13th, and was slower from running the second half of the race by myself. I'm not looking forward to Richmond reverse where I can get dropped right off the bat on the first two climbs. Let's see. My times were 28:46 and 29:55.
Well, the final stage 6 and I couldn't race on Monday because of my schedule and then I trained too hard and got a head cold. I'm told it is pursuit cough (?) from possibly going too hard (for me, not compared to elite athletes, lol). I kept up on the first climb (woo-hoo) but even with a sprint, I was tailed off quickly on the second climb. I mean, I was nowhere. I was 17 of 19, and very quickly realized there was nobody behind me. I had to just do me. I did the best I could for a solo effort without a TT bike. 27:32. My total time was 3:08 which was third overall (and the only, yes only, advanced finisher. That's in part because Fuhrer didn't do all six stages but, as you may have guessed, she was kicking my butt in the stages we both raced.)
So, nothing to brag about and nothing to be ashamed of. I could tank my score and probably go faster with the B squad. But, why bother? Do I think I have a better chance in the Games? Doubtful. The best strategy is to race with the fastest people who are not fast enough to drop you. And, race with the biggest field, which means Monday at 12 or 1 pm. I think I am working at least two of those days, so let's just do it for fun, right? (edit added) I found out that my last place finish, while trying my best, lost a few points and I can now ride in the 650-750 group. Unless I win, will my score go up?
