Kurzawinski Coach - Team News

2011 Tour de Pelham

4/3/2011 11:02:00 PM

2011 Tour de Pelham | Race Report by Martin Davis

I did my first race of the season On Sunday the Tour of Pellham. As with any first race of the season you never know where you are fitness wise. As it turns out I have a lot of work to do.

When I got to the start line I saw 3 guys from Planet Energy pro cycling team showed up as well as four riders from Handlebars and six previous winners of this race all serious S1 / M1 riders so I knew it was going to be tough but whoa daddy these guys can move.

The race announcer started with this will be the toughest 35km you will race this year. Normally this is an empty threat that is akin to the look left, look right, they will not be here at the end of semester speech we have all heard at one time or another. (turns out he may have had a point) The race starts at the bottom of hill that is roughly 1.5 km long with and average grade of 8-9% but with a ramp of 12% near the top. From the starting horn the first 30 guys exploded up the hill like it wasn’t even there I was hanging on for dear life in the middle of the pack and when I got to the top basically I wanted to quit, I hated life itself at that very moment but I pushed through my racers anxiety and hung on to go through 1.5 km of wet muddy single track that was like pedaling through 6” of peanut butter until finally got out onto the road and the 10 -15km head wind that awaited me and my fellow competitors. All thoughts of top finishes and glory completely erased from my inflated head to now one of survival pure and simple. Completely focused on the one rider ahead of me that I was determined to catch and wheel suck until I could regain some semblance of breathing and after a few kms of hard riding I finally caught the wheel and we worked together to catch two other riders and the four of us worked together until close to the end of the race. A turn here and there into and out of the wind and then down what can only be described as a 1 km leafy mud packed gully and onto some nice twisty turny country roads with a few short but steep 15% hills to a muddy corn field. Then just for fun more muddy hills and off camber grassy down hill turns and short steep pitches and then onto Effingham rd. At this point I almost shit my pants when I thought we were going to climb Effingham hill what they had in store was worse and I was already close to my limit ….so I thought. But we rode away from the dreaded hill and into some country lanes all up and down and then onto a ruddy great hill that started at 15% for 500m ( I saw one then another guy stop here , puke then continue on) then the slope continued at an even 5% for another 2km followed by a nice 3km down hill only to be directed through more country roads to climb the mother loving thing again. After the second time through this portal of hell it was back onto the open road and another head wind that seemed like a relief by comparison either giddy with endorphins or just a “it can’t get any worse” attitude I started almost feel okay and picked up 4 or 5 spots in the process. Back to the single track where the last 200M were sucking black loamy leafy mud that packed my wheels up so bad I carried my bike the last 300M to the finish line.

Some polite chat and then I retired to my car where I alternated thoughts of sickness, lightheadedness and delightful exhaustion. I did not care to see the results until they were posted the following day and I finished 67 of 101 starters and 27 of 45 men over 40 which was not too bad but I know I have more in me.

Yep it might not have been the hardest 35KM of my life but it was pretty close. Two years ago when I did this race I finished with a time of 112 min for 30KM Good for 89th of 140 starters. This time I finished with a time of 104 min for 35KM. Faster and longer and a personal best picking up 22 spots in a much better field, not bad, but now I have a clear idea of what I will be working on for the next two weeks before Paris Ancaster.

Martin Davis