Race Report: Houston Gran Criterium

Sunday started a little early... 6 AM wake up to get ready for the 8 AM race start. After rolling out of bed, I was getting in the “zone” as I did last minute preps and ate some cereal. Stephanie was very excited and helpful (filling bottles and getting other last minute things together). Definitely a welcome change to the past doing everything myself and rushing to get it all together. Having a supportive wife is pretty sweet!

It had been 1 year and six days since I last pinned on a race number and taken to the starting line(road). I was pumped/excited, but also a little concerned. There were definitely a few more nerves going than usual. I couldn’t help but think of my last crit….duhn duhn dunnnnn!! Anyways, I was a little concerned about the 105 riders starting in the Cat 3 / 4 race (think crash-fest), and I was a wondering how my legs were coming into form, if any after only about 5 weeks of consistent riding. I figured the Houston Grand Criterium would be a great place to begin as much of the course takes place on one of my local training routes.

The course didn’t look to be too treacherous on paper but in practice, crashes claimed quite a few riders, in our race as well as the P1/2s later. There were numerous cracks and holes in the pavement that surely contributed to a large straight-away crash mid-way through the race. It looked like they sent two guys away in the ambulance, so I hope they are okay. Back to the course layout… It was about a 1.7 mile (totally guessing as I had no computer) lap with 2 90 degree corners and a tight super-slow u-turn at Taft and Allen Pwky. The course was run clockwise (right-hand turns)… Needless to say, I made it a point to be the first of the 105 riders to that tight u-turn on lap 1. I anticipated a mid-pack crash…which there was one… I think it scared a few riders, and humbled a few more so that everyone behaved themselves in that corner for the rest of the race.

Additional pictures can be seen at: http://www.sportsduo.com/gallery/8254290_pMcxN#540013552_3TykD

I stayed near the front of the group for the first couple of laps to let the pack settle and get all of the jitters out of riding with a group 100 strong. Nothing really much eventful happened throughout our race. There was a group off the front for a bit but they never really got organized and were easily brought back in the closing laps. I decided that I didn’t really have the gas tank for any attacks yet so I decided to chill mid pack for the duration of the race. Upon taking the bell lap, I made may way up to the front along the fringes. Coming up on the tight u-turn I was sitting third wheel. Not exactly ideal. I didn’t want to be that far up but it was about the only place I was able to squeeze in. The three of us actually made it through the corner with a little gap on the field. I was ready to attack and jam it for the last km or so and tried to inspire the other two, but they were not interested. So I sat up and waited for the group. As I got absorbed into the front of the group, people were banging around quite a bit. I was a little winded from my quick burst out of the corner so was content to sit in till we were close to the line. It didn’t seem like anyone really wanted to be on the front stringing everyone out. So as we came to up towards the line, I kept having to tap my brakes in the group, slowing my momentum and becoming boxed in even further with each slow of the group. Somewhat frustrated I sat up. I crossed the line toward the back of the pack.



I had a good solid ride. The results weren’t there but that’s okay. It was a good crash-free return to crit racing. In hindsight, I might have been able to solo from the u-turn? pipedream? Maybe. It sure would have been a cool way to win. Though I always aspire to good race results, this race served more as a test for my legs and scale by which I can determine the areas I need to focus on for training.

From here, I am just gonna keep on riding. I now know some areas in which I am lacking and need work. Lots of that stuff will just come naturally as I continue to accumulate miles in my legs. So coming up, I am looking forward to the Memorial Park Crit Series this summer. It should be some good fun training/racing in the middle of the week. Not really sure what else will make it on the race calendar…?

Thanks to my wife and parents for coming out to support me and take photos!