I seem to be extremely proud of my 16-year-old who is racing
with people twice his age...he writes pretty well too...
Copperopolis Road Race
Senior 3
4/10/04
Winning is never, ever, easy. No matter where you are or
what you are doing. In this case, racing 84 miles in the
race that is known as the Paris-Roubaix of California,
winning; not to mention even finishing is never, ever easy.
The race started with 80 riders, but only 73 riders rolled
off because 7 riders missed their start. I was one of those
7. I was in the bathroom. I get out of the bathroom
nonchalantly, hop on my bike, and host a private argument
in my head as to whether or not to go to the van and grab
my gloves; I decide not to and head to the starting line.
Big mistake.
Rolling up to the start line and seeing nothing but a bunch
of riders with their number in the 400 series and several
people yelling at me that I missed the 3's start, I sprint
away down the road. This is when it hit me, I had completely
forgotten about it: the condition of the pavement. There is
a pot hole every 20 yards and the rest of the road surface
was made up of patches, dips, and cracks. We might as well
have been riding cobblestones like they do in the real Paris-
Roubaix. I had no warm-up so starting the day off with a 3K
time trial was not good at all. I caught up to the pack
right before the feed-zone at the two or three mile mark.
For the next 2 laps (42 miles) I just sat in and hung out, I
didn't want to attack or expend any energy just yet. I felt
really strong on the climbs, always passing people and
ending up near the front without much stress. I was eating
and drinking a lot too because in this 84 mile, roughly 4
hour race, nutrition is especially important. This race
would be the longest I have raced in the two years I have
been cycling.
The geography of this is race is a little unusual and here
is what you need to know. There are 2 main sections to the
race. The first section contains the feed zone and a long
small chain ring climb. Most riders who get dropped get
dropped here. The second section contains a good, decent
climb, enough to drop off anyone who is feeling pain, a fast
45mph twisty decent then a shorter uphill 1/2 mile drag to
the finish line. In between the 2 sections is a mixture of
rollers and flats.
Going up the first section on the third lap I figured it was
time to put the pressure on in the climb. I went to the
front and started spinning faster, just accelerating the
pace. I could see two riders up the way so I figured I would
keep the pace high until we caught them. I look over my
shoulder and the pack is behind me by a good 40 yards. I
stood up and accelerated once more. Well, you know, at the
time it seemed like a good idea.
To summarize it all, I was on my own off the front for
about for about 25 minutes when a rider bridged up to me. I
worked with him for about another 25 minutes or so and went
up the climb in the second section with him. When I reached
the summit I decided I was working too hard because the
pack was so close behind. The rider I was with took off and
I took it easy on the descent where the pack caught me. I
knew I was going to have to pay for that gamble I took by
going on the break...
Straight to the back of the pack I went and stayed. I did
notice that the field was a lot smaller now though, at least
half the size it was at the start of the race. I was
struggling to hang on to the back of the peleton and the
only time when I didn't feel as weak was in the climbs.
Coming into the first section I saw the rider who I had
worked with, he was getting dropped so I went around him
feeling a sense of pride that I was able to hang on.
That pride went away fast as we headed towards section 2
through the flats and rollers. At one point we were only
going 17mph and I wanted the pack to slow down, no, I needed
the pack to slow down. Meanwhile, I was discovering that my
hands had blisters both in the webbing of my thumbs and
along the outside of my index fingers. It made for some
interesting hand positions on my handle bars for the
remainder of the race. I stayed at the back of the pack,
which was now just about 16 riders, just waiting for someone
to attack, the pack to chase, and me to fall off the back.
Luckily, none of that happened.
I kept telling myself, survive until the climb in the second
section - just hang on until the climb. I knew that, for me,
it would actually be a lot easier to hang on once we hit the
climb, and I knew that I would be able to produce a strong
sprint; I just had to survive and give myself the
opportunity to do so.
We came to the climb, and I felt bad starting it so I stayed
at the back of the pack. soon, 8 riders went off the front
and I chased after them, having no other
choice....refluxing, cramping, groaning, blisters hurting.
after what seemed like forever, 9 riders went over the top
and started the descent together and I was one of them.
The descent was fast, but I just tucked in behind the group
and hung on. I actually tried attacking on the descent at
one point (can you say dumb?) but was embarrassed when I
slowed down and choked before I could even get around the
leader. Next, I was getting anxious now starting the final
uphill push towards the finish line. Where is the 1K sign I
kept wondering? I moved up to the outside in about 5th
position, but with a hole to jump to 1st if I needed to. We
went flying past the 1K sign.
I had made frequent mistakes in the past where I would be
near the front, someone would attack with about 500 yards or
so to go, and I would let them go and they would win. I told
myself a few weeks ago after the McLane Pacific Road Race
that it would not happen again. A rider attacked with about
1/2K to go. I jumped right on him and much to my surprise -
I was getting a lead out for the sprint! A perfect lead out
actually, because he died right at 200 yards. I blew right
by him just after the 200 yard sign and drilled it to the
line. I sensed a rider trying to come by me, but I just kept
pushing. I threw my bike and crossed the line in first, with
my first road race victory as a Senior 3.
It's is now the evening of the day after the race. I'm
sitting here at my computer typing this up. Band-aids are
covering my blisters; they still hurt if you touch them in
any way. It hurts to walk up the stairs to my bedroom; I've
asked for an escalator already but my dad just laughs as if
I was joking or something - I'm not. My fingers hurt to make
a fist or squeeze/grip anything from all the rough-roads and
potholes and as you might imagine my legs ache, just a bit.
But with a First Place finish in a field of 80 riders in the
"Paris-Roubaix" of California, who's complaining?
Eric Riggs
4/11/04
There is a nice picture of Eric winning the sprint at
Copperopolis here: abbiorca.comcopperopolis 4Open ↗
10-04/all/source/c opper_04_r_0650.html