Race Report: Beaumont Circuit Race - Amber Gaffney

Race Report: Beaumont Circuit Race

March 23, 2012

            The Beaumont Circuit Race consists of three laps, with the total mileage being approximately 72 miles. We started race with very specific instructions- the team was working to get me to the front at the very start of the race (not an easy task) and working to keep me there for as long as possible.

            The race started and I immediately started to slide to the back, giving up wheels to any and all takers (I’m a giver). Bea found me and maneuvered her way up to the front with me on her wheel. I gave up a few positions occasionally, but we made it up to the front where I could see both PC and Jenny. I worked to hold my position and when the course narrowed due to narrowing streets, I started to feel myself losing position again. As soon as I felt frustrated and slightly pushed around, Lisa appeared from nowhere with a very protective look on her face and rode near me to make sure that I didn’t lose position. During this first lap I merely worked to hold a teammate’s wheel and not get lost in the pack and find myself on the back.

            Before the feed zone (which I completely missed on the first lap), Joy, our wonderful guest rider, found me and gave me a brief run-down of the upcoming highlights of the course. I stuck to her steady wheel as much as possible and then the first climb appeared. This was great news for me- I found myself on the front where I’m happiest. This was a quick power-type climb and then we hit a few turns and entered the park. Sadly, I made the mistake of doing PRECICELY what I was warned not to do: I was unprepared for the descent to start and got dropped on the descent. This was bad news for me and I think that it hurt me for the rest of the weekend at Redlands.

            I maneuvered the technical descent on my own and was eventually joined by a few other riders (all of whom had fallen back at outset of the climb and caught me on my slow descent). Eventually Joy joined my small chase group and we worked hard throughout the end of the first lap and the start of the second lap to catch back on. This did prove to be an invaluable experience, as Joy taught me how to use cars to my advantage.

            We caught back on to the lead group and Joy helped me to maneuver my way up to the front, all the while offering encouragement and advice (“make sure to eat!” and “stay out of the wind”). When we hit the feed zone (I actually saw the feed zone this time), Joy grabbed extra water for me and made sure that I could get back to the front. As we started the first part of the climb on the first lap, I once again made my way to the front and somehow I was once again shocked when the turn came and I got dropped on the descent. Once again, similar to a bad re-run, I descended alone, until a small group (including Joy) that had lost it on the climb, caught me and we once again worked hard to catch the lead group. I was now highly determined to not let this happen again.

            Ahh, but have I mentioned that I am a repeat offender of mistakes? After the feed zone on the final lap, we hit the first part of the climb and I felt tired. Entering the park, my legs started to hurt, and then I got dropped on that first turn of the first descent. This time I descended as quickly as possible (alone), and then somehow missed a turn and went off course. As I worked to quickly recover, I felt shame as I saw Lea and Dennis in the follow car looking bewildered as I pulled back onto the course. I worked hard and chased hard. A few people that had been dropped on the climb and were chasing the main group had finished their descent and we worked together to chase. I noticed quite quickly that their pulls were not quite enough, so I took long and hard pulls, but gladly sat in when a woman from Metromint jumped on the front to give me a little time to recover. Regardless, I worked hard on the front of that group to decrease the gap between our group and the leader group. When we finished, none of the riders in the chase group contested my finish- our nice group of chasers finished with respect to our workload. Lesson: learn how to descend so you do not burn up your legs for the rest of the weekend chasing! Joy finished a few minutes behind my group, and then Lisa and Jenny finished a few minutes behind Joy. This meant that the four of us would be in the crit the following day, but my position was of course, due in large part to the help of my team who worked so hard to get me to the front on that first lap.