FLCC> Masters Natz RR report

[Glenn Swan]

I'll be pretty brief here.....As Ernie said, it was a very tough course 
with a very deep field of talented riders, many of whom have extensive 
National and International experience and credentials. This is true of all 
age categories, but especially true in ours, with several riders who were 
pros in years past. The course was essentially a lollipop with the long 
handle being two serious climbs of several miles (on the return) and three 
laps of about a 10 mile loop, with several moderate climbs and one bitchin 
wall. After the first time up the wall, the stuffing had been removed from 
all the "ordinary riders". It was clear that the second time up the wall 
there would be a major selection process. As we approached it on the second 
lap I turned to joke to Lindsay Blount that we were going to substantially 
reduce the size of the field and suddenly I felt a lightning bolt of pain 
go across my lower back. I thought for a few seconds that was going to have 
to just get off the bike, but decided quickly that since this has happened 
before that I could probably be careful about my position and posture and I 
could try to keep on going. Of course, the attack came as soon as we hit 
the hill and I was in immense pain of all sorts as I clawed up the hill for 
the several minutes of climbing. Near the top there was a gap of about 
50-75meters between me and the tail of the first 15 riders. There was 
nobody anywhere near behind me. I had to bear down and do whatever was 
required to catch the last seat on the bus, as this would be "the race". I 
made it across but discovered to my dismay that three riders had gotten a 
bit of a gap and they had teammates in the group who wouldn't help to close 
the distance. I went from being the last one on the back to driving the 
chase, but died soon after and watched the gap grow. With our group 
undermined by the teammates we slowed and were later caught by much of the 
rest of the pack. I hoped that others would get excited and mount a chase 
with a bunch of people working, but many guys looked pretty toasted and 
just happy to have caught back onto us. At the start of the last loop I 
took a flyer up the first little wall and opened a 40 second lead on the 
pack. My back was screaming and I was wasted, but I imagined I might be 
making up ground on the leaders and I was out of sight of the field and 
adrenaline was high. Alas, adrenaline only lasts so long....several miles 
later, nearing the top of the big wall I heard that a chase group was only 
20 seconds back and closing fast, so I backed off and waited a little, 
hoping I would have the horsepower to stay with them when they caught and 
that maybe a group of us would have a better chance of catching the leaders 
than I had alone. Again, there was a "teammate" in this group and we didn't 
keep a steady pace or share work evenly. After the feed zone as we entered 
the run-up to the final long climbs up the handle of the lollipop, the 
"survivors" caught up again. Ernie and Mike Tersegno were in this group. 
All that was left was an agonizing VO2 max test to the finish. We took the 
gentlest entry to the climb possible, and then the remaining "players" 
slowly moved to the front and the pace rose. I sat in 3rd slot for a time 
and then bumped the pace just a little, taking the lead. It got painful, 
but we kept going. Soon 4 of us were clear of the field and nobody was 
letting up. I started to lose ground to 1 rider and then another jumped up 
to him. At the top of the final climb the guy who was still suffering with 
me made a big effort to close the short gap to the others. I had nothing 
left and watched him go. As we descended into the resort I kept hoping I 
might catch him and the other two, but alas I had nothing left and by the 
final climb to the finish line, even though they were only a hundred yards 
ahead of me, I was looking over my shoulder, more afraid of being caught 
from behind than hopeful of catching the guys in front of me. I poked 
across the line in a safe 7th place, happy with a huge effort, but a little 
disappointed that I had not been able to achieve a podium spot. Still, 
riding away from Kent Bostick, Dave Zimbleman, Mark Somers, and a host of 
other top name riders gives a certain satisfaction. Just need to fix this 
back thing and get on with the rest of the season.....

Glenn