NCNCA District (State) Track Championships, 9/2021

 By Dennis Pedersen

This year has seen the return of racing to Hellyer Park's velodrome after over a year marked by closures and limited sessions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. 

I restarted training in November, 2020, with plans to focus on the 2021 Masters Track World Championships. I had raced at the 2017 and 2018 Worlds, and I was looking forward to getting a chance to improve on my results.

Last year's Worlds was to be held in Manchester, England but had been canceled due to COVID-19, not surprisingly. This year's was to be held at the VELO Sports Center near Los Angeles, in Carson City, in October. I figured the pandemic restrictions would be reduced enough to not get in the way by then.

For this season I even hired a new coach, Adey Dent, because my two teammates for the team sprint, Rich Rozzi and Martin Harris, were already coaching with him, and it made sense to have coordinated training. I was able to attend fairly regular advanced training sessions with them at Hellyer on Sunday mornings, plus race in several local races there. 

For this year I was completely focused on team sprint, and secondarily the 500 m individual time trial (ITT). Read about these types of racing here. As much as I have enjoyed match sprints in the past, the tournament format is very exhausting and lowers my odds of doing well in the other events, so I've skipped them for now. 

Elite Championships, 8/8/2021

A couple of weeks before our Masters Championships we had the Elite Districts, racing against all the young guys. We decided to enter that as a way to get training in official events, with proper holders and timing, in the team sprints, and also our 500 m ITTs. I skipped the match sprints which were on Saturday. 

I was a little disappointed with my 500 m ITT (38.46 seconds), which has been consistently slow this year. But then again, my teammates also seem to be a little slower in the 500 m. Maybe we're just getting old? Or maybe it's that I only used my spoked warm-up wheels instead of my faster Zipp racing wheels? 

After a restart caused by my right shoe not being clipped in, we were pretty pleased with our team sprint time, 1:11.31, which gave us a silver medal (gold time was an amazing 1:08.9!). Though it was slower than the 1:10.71 we set at a race in July, our time was faster than the 1:10.96 my previous team set in 2016, prior to us winning the National Championships in Colorado Springs, so I was very optimistic about our potential for Worlds. 

Then we got a bit of a bombshell dropped on our plans. Worlds was cancelled, due to… COVID-19 restrictions of course. Travel to the U.S. was impossible for many of the foreign racers in any case, so attendance would have been low too. 

So then my priority would have to be either Masters Track Nationals, in Pennsylvania, or our local races. Martin announced that he couldn't justify traveling to Nationals, so Rich and I were left with few options but to stay close to home. That meant our District Masters Track Championships were suddenly no longer practice races, but the whole bag of marbles. 

Masters Championships, 8/22/2021

For Masters Districts, I again opted to skip the Saturday racing, with match sprints, so I could be more rested for the Sunday timed events. I hauled all my gear, including my Dixie Flyer with Zipp racing wheels mounted with tires suitable for the concrete velodrome at Hellyer, and drove over the hill to San Jose. Turn out is lower than previous years, but still respectable. 

For the 500 m in the morning I used 51x14t (98.4") gears. I was up against local legend Larry Nolan, and Erik Salander. Even though my time was only 38.87, I still managed to win gold with that. I feel like my first lap is still pretty good, but two laps is just a little bit far for me at the moment, it seems. 

Rich, Martin and I had a little time to rest and prepare for our team sprint. I used 50x14t gears (96.4") as man 1, Rich (man 2) had 98.5", Martin (man 3) used 102.2". My start was decent, and Rich and Martin were never far behind me, with only a small gap opening up behind me for part of my lap. I pulled off and watched Rich lead Martin for lap 2, then Martin finish our race, with a gold medal time of 1:11.72. 

Me, Rich and Martin, with our gold medals.

So while my result was 2-for-2, gold in both events (bringing my total District Championships to 13), the numbers were a bit mixed for me. 

It seemed a waste of all that training to just call it a season, so we are likely to race in LA a few times. And it will give me a chance to try out the carbon FFWD wheels I bought specifically for the wooden track there, mounted with the ultra-soft tires needed to keep from slipping down the steep, 45-degree banking. LA’s track is always exciting, so that will still be fun. 

And hopefully 2022 will be pandemic free.

Masters NCNCA District (State) Track Championships, 8/3-4/2019

By Dennis Pedersen

My District Track Cycling Championships this year were very similar to last year's Districts in many ways. Once again Districts were not my priority, though still a very important milestone, more just preparation for my main goal. Unlike last year, though, I wasn't going to race at the UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships. This year my only goal was racing in the USAC Masters Track National Championships.

Like last year, I trained right through our Districts, using the races that weekend as training and reference points on my training progress. For this season I hired a different strength-training coach, Syon Shaddox, also at Santa Cruz Strength. He did a fabulous job of helping me build strength through the winter and spring, and maintain my full strength from that point on through the present. That's pretty amazing.

On May 1st I shifted my training emphasis from strength-building to on-the-bike training, once again with my trusty Coach, Jeff Solt. One of the interesting, to me anyway, things I've learned from my training is that the less I ride and the more time I spend in the gym the faster I get on the track. Jeff has been trying to teach me that for a long time, so Syon's help has been invaluable to that end.

Saturday, Match Sprints

On the morning of our Sprints (you can read about the various types of track races on the NCVA site), at Hellyer Park's Velodrome in San Jose, I did a nice job of warming up and doing two flying 100m sprints to gauge my legs. Unfortunately, they felt really weak. So I ended up going for 96.4" gearing (50x14t) instead of the 98.4" I had planned on using for our qualifying flying 200m timed runs. It was also a bit windy. And, because my Zipp wheels have tires only suitable for the indoor wooden track in Los Angeles, not on Hellyer's oval concrete track, I only had my warm-up wheels for this.

My flying-200m qualifying run (photo: Jeff Vander Stucken).

Though the defending Champion, for the previous three years, I ended up with a startlingly slow flying-200m qualifying time of 12.54 seconds. I don't remember the last time I was that slow, so that was extremely disappointing. This slow time seeded me as 4th out of the five riders there. That meant I had to start off with a ride against the 5th qualifier, so that the final rounds could be between four riders. Several people commented on my odd choice of wheels, and fortunately Tony Colicchio loaned me his deep dish wheels for the actual races.

So, as the only ride in the semifinals, I rode against Joe Atmore. I drew number 1, so I led the two-lap race out. I did a decent job of holding Joe off, and prevented him from getting a nice run at my draft, and was able to beat him with a nice gap. My goal was to not burn more energy than I had to, and I think I succeeded.

My first ride against Joe Atmore (photo: Jeff Vander Stucken)

For the finals, I was now required to race against the fastest qualifier, Rich Rozzi (also my teammate for the Team Sprints, by the way). Rich had qualified with a very nice 11.91 seconds. So I knew I had my work cut out for me. In our first ride, Rich led the race out, and did a nice job of slowing down when needed to prevent me from getting a gap to run a nice fast run around him. I wasn't able to surprise him, and I probably didn't do a great job of trying to open up a gap. In the end, I tried to come around him on the last lap and was never able to.

In my second ride against Rich I led the race out, bumping his elbows a little, BMX-style (Rich is also a longtime pro BMX racer). I did a very similar job to what he had done, and when I jumped with 3/4 of a lap to go, I did a good job of preventing him from being able to run around me with a surprise attack. Unfortunately, as we came through turns 3 and 4, the exit from turn 4 benefited him more than me, because he was higher on the track, and he beat me by inches at the line. So I was out of the Gold round.

While Rich went on to race against Bill Nighan (2nd qualifier, at 12.07) for the Gold medal, I was racing against Jim Lawrence, of Colorado Springs (3rd qualifier, at 12.3), for the Bronze medal. I didn't know out-of-state residents could compete here, but I guess he was eligible to compete but just couldn't win a State Championship.

Anyway, for the first ride, I led Jim out. It ended very similarly to my ride against Joe. For our second ride, Jim led the race out, and I jumped over him in turn 3 when he slowed too much. I looked back and I had a nice gap because I had surprised him, and I just went pretty hard. As I looked back I saw the gap become huge, and at that point I just slowed down and soft pedaled for half a lap to the finish line. I had noticed that my legs felt better as the morning progressed, but beating a faster qualifier was still somewhat of a surprise, and very welcome. Bronze wasn't my goal, but then again, I didn't really have any goals for our Districts this year.

Sunday, Timed Events

A somewhat unexpected contrast to my Saturday morning warm-up, I felt pretty good on Sunday morning during my warm up. A few minutes before my start, I did a few box jumps onto the podium as part of my warm up too. In fact, my legs felt electric with energy. I know that sounds weird, but it was true. I stuck with my original choice of a 94.5" gear (49x14t) for my 500m Individual Time Trial.

As always, the 500m ITT is from a standing start with the riders being held up while strapped into their bikes. I got a good start after the timer countdown. Pedaling hard through the corners is always a bit of a challenge, but I managed to do so. I even got that tunnel vision that happens when I'm really on it, and noticed my legs completely exploding for the last half lap, so I suspected that I had given 100% when I crossed the finish line.

Yes, my 500m ITT was good, with a PR tying time of 36.23! I won Gold, beating my Team Sprint teammates Martin Harris and Rich Rozzi by several tenths. This definitely made up for my poor Saturday performance, and I was super stoked. Going from a low to a high like this makes racing exciting. Wow. That also asserted my place on our team. I started my training later than they had, so I perhaps had more to prove, and this helped.

Martin Harris, me and Rich Rozzi on the
500m ITT podium (photo: Jeff Vander Stucken)

We had several hours of waiting around in the 86-degree heat for the Team Sprint to start. It's this way every year, and it's kind of draining. Finally though, it was time for us to race. I warmed up on the rollers a little bit, plus on the track with a rolling start for warmup.

Just to add a bit of drama, our former teammate, Bill Nighan, managed to form a team to race against us. Brian Moore, my teammate at Nationals in 2016 (where we won Gold), plus George Miranda, my Team Sprint teammate at Worlds in 2017, joined Bill to race against us.

As we lined up for our Team Sprint start, I felt pretty comfortable. I'm the starter, or man 1. One point in my favor for our start was that my holder didn't prevent me from rolling backward when I prepared for the end of the countdown. As a result, I had a couple of inches to run into to get a head start on the timer. This is not against the rules, as it's not my fault, and I did not cross the start line before the timer finished it's countdown. So I exploded out of the start, gapping Rich, who was followed closely by Martin. It took Rich the entire first lap to catch me, but that gave him a really nice run into lap 2, and Martin stayed close to him the whole time. That was awesome to see, as it is critical for our speed when we go to Nationals. Interestingly, Rich had tired legs on Sunday, while I had the tired legs on Saturday.

So, we ended up with a 1:11.67 time. That was pretty good, especially considering the windy conditions, though still a bit short of my Team Sprint in 2016 of 1:10.96. And we beat Bill's ad hoc team pretty handily, at 1:14.54.

So, Districts was pretty good for me, and yielded me two more Golds for a total of 11 District Championships I've earned over the last few years. Definitely motivating as we lead up to Nationals, in Los Angeles, August 26 through September 1. The field is already stacked, so we will need to be at our best.

If you've read this far, congratulations!

Masters NCNCA District (State) Track Championships, 8/25-26/2018

By Dennis Pedersen

I haven't been racing much the last few years, because I have been so focused on just District, National and World Championships. It's hard to train properly while also racing local races. But Masters District Track Championships are still a big deal to me, and a great way to gauge my fitness leading up to Masters Track Cycling World Championships. 

When I got home from Worlds last year I took a week off to rest, but then started training heavily (pun intended) at Santa Cruz Strength again, and over the next few months I set a number of PRs in various lifts, including bench press, squats, and deadlifts. I also started training with Tony Colicchio, another track cyclist that my coach, Jeff Solt, coaches. Having a training buddy helps to push me further. There is a link between strength and speed on the track, but it isn't a direct link. My hope was that my higher strength would fill in some performance gaps in my racing fitness. 

I skipped Nationals this year and last, because it was earlier in the season and I didn't want another long training season. That's what's required to properly prepare to be fast in early July (Nationals), then again in late August (Districts) and early October (Worlds), and I didn't want to burn out. 

In July I started to train more intensively on the bike with Coach Jeff, increasing my rides from 1 or 2 days a week to 3 days, then 5 or 6. At the same time I backed off on the gym workouts, from 4 days a week to 3 days, then just 2 days. 

Because of my shorter training season Jeff and I agreed I would mostly train right through Districts, held at Hellyer Park Velodrome, San Jose, so as to prioritize my preparations for Worlds. (You can read about the various types of races on the NCVA site).

Saturday: Match Sprints

I was skeptical I could do well in the match sprints but I signed up anyway, because you never know, and they can be very fun and exciting, even for spectators. But I had some tough competition: Bill Nighan, who I barely beat last year, had been riding really strong this year, and Rich Rozzi, who beat me in 2014 when we were both in the 50 to 54 age group, was once again in my 55 to 59 age group. There were only 4 riders in our group, which was disappointing. 

For the qualifying runs, we did our usual flying 200 meter runs. It was a bit windy and cool, so not great for speed. But I managed to qualify fastest, much to my surprise, with a 12.15 second run, hitting 38.6 mph max (in 96.4-inch gears). Bill got a 12.34, Rich a 12.51, and returning trackie Craig Parker a 12.63. Our matches would be two laps, winner would be best-of-three heats. 

Semi-Finals

Heat 1:
I was matched against the slowest qualifier, Craig Parker. We drew numbers and he took the lead in the start, while Coach Jeff held me on my bike next to the rail at the top of the banking. He rode very slowly along the rail ahead of me, which left him vulnerable to attacks. I won by seizing the lead in turn 3 by jumping below him from behind, and into the pole lane. I then floated a bit into turn 1, did a bit of a jump on the back straight, but never hit 100%. 

Heat 2:
I led this heat, in my second  round with Craig. I won by steadily increasing my speed, looking over my shoulder almost continuously; I just had to match his speed when he attempted to pass. But he always left too small a gap to run, or none. So I was never caught off guard and I advanced to the Gold finals round. 

In the meantime, Rich beat Bill, so Rich advanced to the Gold finals with me, while Bill would be matched against Craig in the Bronze finals. 

Finals

Heat 1:
Rich and I drew numbers, and he got the lead at the start. We started slow, with me just slightly behind and above him, but Rich quickly accelerated until we were moving along at a fairly brisk pace. I dropped in behind him to draft, save a little energy, and coming out of turn 2 on the last lap I was able to drop down from the banking a little, run the gap, and pass him into turn 3. I held him off, hitting 35.5 mph max, for the win.

Heat 2:
Me, Rich. I went as slow as I could reasonably do, zig-zagging a bit up-and-down track, and he followed fairly closely behind me. In turn 3 on the first lap, I was about halfway up the track and he was still going too slow and too close. Out of turn 4 I was able to use the banking to attack. He followed too closely behind me, and when he tried to pass me in turn 3 I was able to accelerate one more time to maintain my lead. As we exited turn 4 I knew he would try to attack, so I jumped instead, and held him off at the line. It's unusual that I have the legs to jump three times, but I felt good today. We hit 35.8 mph max.

Match Sprints Podium: Rich, Dennis, Craig

In an upset, Craig beat Bill to seize the Bronze. And I was the Champion for the 3rd year in a row. So, for me, the match sprints ended up being a super fun, exciting, and motivating experience. 

Sunday: Timed Events

The weather continued with cool, windy mornings, which isn’t ideal for high speeds. 

500 meter Time Trial

This standing-start time trial is just about 1.5 laps at Hellyer, but still a pretty cool race. For the competitors anyway. Our bikes are held by an official, and we strap ourselves into them, get a countdown timer, and try to channel all of our anger into forcing the bike up to speed when the clock starts. I apparently had more anger than the others, because I not only got Gold in my age group, but also set the fastest 500m of all the age groups that day, out of 26 riders, with a 37.06-second run. Rich got 2nd, with 38.02, Larry Nolan 3rd, with 38.08. My legs did feel good, throughout the run, but I was still not at my PR level. 

500m time sheet.

I used a lower 92.6-inch gearing for this as an experiment, resulting in a max cadence of about 130 RPM, in case you were wondering, based on some research I’d done on the pedaling cadences (pedaling RPM) of Pro track racers. There is an optimum cadence for power, and I believe I may have been geared too high in the past… while I’m still not certain, this event shows that perhaps I was right to “gear down” this time. 

Team Sprint

Earlier this year, Rich Rozzi, Bill Nighan and I had decided to form a team for the team sprints. But a couple of weeks before Districts, Bill dropped out to join a different team. That was disappointing. But we were able to get Kurt Bickel to join us instead, and we got to train together a little before this race. 

There were only four teams competing, of which just two were in our 55 to 64 age group. We were "Team 1," and felt confident we had a good chance against "Team 4," which had strong riders: Ray Gildea, George Miranda, and Larry Nolan. In other times some were my teammates, and almost were this year too. But putting together a team is complicated. 

I was man 1, the starter; Rich was man 2; Kurt was man 3, the “anchor.” My start felt great, my legs felt strong throughout my lap, and as I pulled off after lap 1, my job done, I was very happy to see Kurt closely following Rich. They continued around until Rich pulled off, and Kurt's lap 3 looked good to me. Our main concern had been that Kurt would not be able to stay right behind Rich, because standing starts aren't his specialty. But Kurt had a nice start, only getting gapped for part of lap 1. 

But while we managed to beat two of the other teams with our time of 1:13.29 (my lap 1 was at 35.6 mph max, in 94.5-inch gearing), we ended up losing to "Team 4" (with 1:11.97). And since they were in our age group we ended up with Silver. Our lap times tell the story:

Rider:	Lap Time:	E.T.:
Team 1:
Dennis	25.61
Rich Rozzi	23.27	48.88
Kurt Bickel	24.41	1:13.29
Team 4:
Ray Gildea	26.35
George Miranda	22.59	48.94
Larry Nolan	23.03	1:11.97

Unexpectedly, it was our lap 3 that hurt us, though admittedly Larry's lap 3 was pretty amazing. When I won TS at Districts in 2016, our time was 1:10.96… and I know we can be faster. So, if we wanted to be competitive at Worlds, we had just 6 weeks to do it! 

So my long off-season and short training period didn’t hurt me at Districts, that I can tell, and I’m hoping my current training will add even more speed to my legs for Worlds. 

Masters NCNCA District (State) Track Championships, 9/9-10/2017

By Dennis Pedersen

This year I had a number of setbacks that delayed or interrupted my training, and I had elected not to participate in Nationals this year as a result. So I was skeptical I’d be able to do as well at our NCNCA District Championship track races as I did last year. But, as always, I try to race my best and did my best to prepare, with advice from Coach Jeff Solt.

Saturday, Match Sprints

I only entered one race on Saturday; the match sprints (read track race type descriptions here). These short two-man, two-lap races are explosive, exciting and very tactical. Last year at Districts I narrowly beat out Brian Moore, who ended up with Silver at Nationals. This year there were seven riders entered. The weather was clear, and it got up to 86 degrees.

Me and my Dixie Flyer

Like usual, we started the match sprint tournament with a flying 200-meter time trial. One at a time we try to cover 200 m as fast as possible, and the times are used to “seed” the riders. I could only manage a 12.35-second run (at 38.0 mph max, with my 96” gearing), putting me in 3rd seed, with Bill Nighan 4th just 0.01 behind me! George Miranda was 1st (12.01), and Brian was 2nd (12.02). I was disappointed, but I never give up, as I know that these results are merely the opening shots of the battle and much can change during the individual matches.

Quarter Finals:

As the 3rd seed, I was matched against 6th-seed Jeff Vanderwerf, a former racer returning from the real world. Bill raced 5th-seed Randy Armstrong, while both George and Brian got “byes” (meaning they didn’t have to race that heat) because the 7th-seed rider elected not to race, and they needed an even number of matches for the elimination rounds of the tournament.

I drew a “1” from the official, Matt Martinez, which meant Jeff V got to choose where to start from. He elected to start as #2 at the top of the track while I started to his left, lower on the banking, with my Coach, Jeff, holding me. We both varied our speed a bit, swerved a bit, but for the most part it came down to Jeff V trying to pass me out of turn 4 just before the last lap, while I held him off using as little energy as possible so I could save some for the next rounds. I hit 35.6 mph max and took the win to advance to the next round.

Semi-Finals:

I was next matched against George who now raced his first match, against me, because of the “bye” I mentioned above which he earned because of his faster 200 m qualifying time.

George drew the lead and rode slowly in the pole (sprinter's lane) at the bottom of the banking while Coach Jeff delayed releasing me in order to allow me to have a gap between us. So I rode slowly behind him at the very top to maintain the advantage of altitude. I had allowed the gap to open a bit, and he soon went fairly fast so I had to drop into his draft to avoid wasting more energy at the top, but was easily able to close the gap by dropping down the banking. He gave another acceleration out of turn 4, I allowed a small gap to open, but in turn 2 he hesitated and moved slightly up track. After a brief hesitation of my own, I quickly accelerated into the gap, over him, and held him off, barely, to win by half a wheel, hitting 36.5 mph. I think I probably could have raced slightly smarter, but it was enough for me to advance to the final heat, for the Gold round!

As I cooled down in the infield, I watched Brian and Bill race… much to everyone’s surprise, Bill managed to outfox Brian and take the win, meaning I'd be racing Bill for Gold.

Finals:

So the 3rd and 4th seed had beaten the 1st and 2nd seed! George and Brian would fight for Bronze, while Bill and I fought for Gold. A bit of an upset. The finals were decided by best two out of three heats.

Heat 1:

Bill lead the start, and Coach Jeff held me back again like before. Like George, Bill went slow, but in turn 2 he noticed I’d let the gap grow too big, so he started to accelerate harder. I had to drop down into the sprinters lane and take a dig to make sure he didn’t escape. When he saw I was drafting him he turned hard up in turn 3, I think to force me to lead him out. But I squeezed over him, to his right, just as he looked left. But he continued to move up-track, and we ended up bumping each other, and my right leg and pedal scraped the rail. We kind of looked at each other, he asked if I was OK, and I promptly attacked out of turn 4, and won by a big margin, hitting 37.3 mph max.

Heat 2:

For the second heat, we switched start positions, and I lead Bill. I went slow again, but in the pole, while Bill stayed up-track a bit behind me (but maybe too close). After a few feints, I was able to keep his gap small, but without slowing so much that he could pass over me. Out of turn 4 I went fairly hard, while looking back at him, and managed to out-sprint him out of turn 2, hitting 37.4 mph max, and won by a bike length for my second win against Bill, so no need for a third heat... Gold!

In the meantime, George beat Brian in the Bronze heats. So the final podium was perhaps not what anybody would have predicted.

The 55-59 match sprint podium:
Bill, me, George.

Sunday, Timed Events

It was hotter, up to 94 degrees, but I would be spending less time on the track for these short, explosive, individually timed races. As a special bonus, my wife stopped by to cheer me on!

500 m ITT

This race is solo, from a standing start. We had a relatively packed 55-59 field: 9 riders. That doesn’t sound like much, but it included world-class riders like Kevin Metcalfe, Larry Nolan and Don Langley, as well as the guys I usually compete with. I was of course worried about them all, as these short, intense drag races require extreme focus and it’s easy to let distractions and such prevent you from going all-out.

Strapping in for a standing start.

At the start line, as I was held up, tightly strapped into my bike’s pedals, I tried hard to focus and channel my power. My start was perhaps slightly tentative, but I powered pretty well after that and kept my bike as low on the track as I could, almost hitting some of the sponges in the turns. But at the finish, I could tell my legs were pretty well fried, and my line a bit wobbly. In the end, I managed only a 37.23-second run, at 36.2 mph max. That was disappointing, as my best is a full second faster. That's a big difference. Still, it was enough to gain me another Gold, by just 0.01 over George Miranda! while Don Langley took third at 37.39. Whew, tight racing!

Team Sprint

George, me, and Ray, waiting for our team sprint.

For the 55-64 age group Team Sprint I'd been talking with Ray Gildea, George, Brian and a few others, partly for Districts and partly with an eye toward forming a team for Masters World Championships in October. But in the end it was down to Ray, me, and George. We were the only team in our age group, but we wanted to use this as training for Worlds. Our run actually ended up being pretty good, and we got smoothly up to speed without any big gaps, maintained it, and even had some very nice exchanges using the latest rules from UCI. It was pretty cool! While we were slower than my team from last year (1:11.82 vs. 1:10.96), our time was the fastest of any of the teams that day in any age group. That was also pretty cool. And another Gold. Let's hope we can do better at Worlds; we will likely improve, as we did at Nationals last year.

So, the weekend was a surprising success for me, and great prep for Worlds. My next racing will be at Masters World Championships in October, to be held in the beautiful indoor wood track in Carson, just north of Los Angeles. A stretch goal for sure.

Masters NCNCA District (State) Track Championships, 7/16-17/2016

By Dennis Pedersen

This was the NCNCA’s (Northern California and Nevada Cycling Association) Track Championships for riders 35 years of age and older, and one of my major goals for 2016. The NCVA’s President, Bill Nighan, plus numerous volunteers, made this event an incredible success. Thanks, all!

My awesome Dixie Flyer!

I hauled everything I could possibly need to the Hellyer Park Velodrome in San Jose, including my trainer for warmup (as the track can get crowded at big events), spare wheels, food, changes of clothing,  DSLR camera, trainer, tools, two helmets, etc. My trusty Dixie Flyer has been an awesome bike for me, too.

Saturday, Match Sprints: 

When I arrived the weather was unusually chilly (about 57°) and windy (gusting up to 12 mph), with the marine layer lingering until about 9:00 am. So I didn’t expect many people to PR.

Match sprints are a classic form of racing: short distance, and usually just two riders at a time in an elimination tournament. My coach (and former US Elite National Champion, and current 1K record holder), Jeff Solt, came down and helped me with advice and acted as my holder in the standing starts. This was to prove invaluable.

Sprints 200 m qualifying times

During warmup I used 81" gears (48x16 teeth) and hit 35.7 mph for my first 100 m run, then 35.1 mph… the wind was gusting, slowing me down. For my last warmup run I changed into my race gears of 96.4" (50x14) and hit a better, but still modest 37.0 mph. Then we waited for our start list to be announced; I was matched against George Miranda. My actual qualifying run (200 m, timed at the end of three full laps) was at 38.3 mph max, in 12.27 seconds. A bit disappointing, even factoring in the wind, as I qualified with 12.2 last year. Oddly, my max speed was higher than last year (37.7) even so.

Masters races can be unpredictable, dependent on who shows up. For our sprints, we had some good competitors, with Brian Moore (former US National Team) being our fastest qualifier, and I second-fastest, in our 55-59 age group. We are usually matched fastest-against-slowest qualifier, then second-fastest against second-slowest, etc. There were only four of us, so there was just one round of semi-finals, with two laps per match.

Semi-Finals: 

I drew the #2 “straw” from USA Cycling official Peter Bohl, meaning I’d start up-track against the rail. I stayed high on the track’s banking as we left the line, while George stayed low. After a few feints up and down the banking, I jumped out of turn 4 while looking back over my right shoulder. To save some energy I “floated” through turns 1 and 2 in the sprinter’s lane, while he matched speed with me. He was up-track a bit, to use the drop down the banking for acceleration, then ran the gap to me into turn 4. He tried to pass but couldn’t (we hit 37.0 mph max). This was “sudden death,” so I advanced to the finals. Brian beat Sean Williams and advanced too, so I would now be racing Brian for the gold.

Finals: 

Heat #1: 

Finish line video

I drew the #2 “straw,” thus starting up-track. On the whistle Jeff delayed starting me, intentionally to open a gap to Brian. I rode well behind Brian, he moved up-track a bit, just below me, then up to perhaps pin me against the rail. I instead moved behind him, then dove below him and ahead, then back up to the rail. We then rode next to each other, more or less, until out of turn 4, when I jumped first above him, passed, and “floated” into turn 1, while I kept an eye on his position over my right shoulder. He went halfway up the track’s banking behind me through turn 2, then sprinted hard to try to pass me in turn 3, but couldn’t. As we raced toward the finish I half-wheeled him next to me. Though he was able to gain, and almost catch me, I won by just a few inches (Matt Martinez had set up an iPad to take finish-line videos; see it here). Whew, close! Surprisingly, we only hit 35.8 mph max.

Heat #2: 
I was started low this time. Jeff pushed me hard so I could seize the rail ahead of Brian, another expression of Jeff’s tactical sense. We both rode up there, slowly, I weaved a bit to confuse him. To avoid letting him attack first, I sprinted hard out of turn 4 to maintain my lead. He went up-track, while I floated through turns 1 and 2. Out of 2 he was quite high, but I thought too far back? I stood up and sprinted, a rare thing, and he couldn’t come next to me in turns 3 and 4. Up to the line he started to come around but ran out of track. I won by a half bike length (hitting 37.0 mph max). And no need for round #3… I had the gold!

I was so stoked; what a change from last year’s mistakes. I really understand how Jeff’s advice helped, too. Last year I tried to listen and learn, but didn’t. It’s very cool to see the improvement.

Our sprints podium

Sunday, Timed Events: 

The weather was a few degrees cooler on Sunday morning, but less windy, and clear. I did a few rolling starts during warmup, and spun easily on my trainer. Then changed into my 96.4” race gearing and carbon wheels and another warmup start.

500 m Time-Trials: 

I was the defending champion in the 500 m time-trial (one rider at a time, against the clock, done from a standing start), but was not confident in my starts since I haven’t trained those very much this year.

I felt my start was a bit tentative, but the rest felt fast, in spite of the wind. Fortunately I was still able to win another gold with my time of 36.60 seconds, I think at 37.5 mph max (not a PR for me). Brian Moore took silver, with 37.29, Ted Kicey took bronze with 38.11. (Martin Harris, silver last year behind me, is still in the 50-54 age group, and rode a 37.02.)

I then had several hours before my next event started, so I had a little lunch, chatted, took photos, and rode on my trainer to keep my legs “open,” as we say.

Team Sprints: 

This is my priority race type for 2016, and my teammates for Nationals, Ray Gildea and Brian Moore, would lead me out for our race. These are very fun! The three of us line up next to each other on the start line for a standing start. On the whistle we ride all-out, with Ray leading us out for one lap before he pulls off, his job done. Brian continues racing, with me following, for another lap before he, too, pulls off. I’m then alone, to finish the last lap and stop the timer. The blend of teamwork, timing and personal contribution is exhilarating.

Video of our team sprint

We were defending champions, though we were unopposed last year. This year we had a worthy team to fight, with Erik Salander, Bill Brissman, and Kurt Bickel. They turned in a nice 1:14.75 second run. Our start was well-nigh perfect, as we all stayed grouped and were fully drafting in about 1/2 lap. Brian did a great job of smoothly taking over the lead after Ray pulled off, leading me into my lap, and my legs even felt pretty decent as I completed the last lap alone, into the wind. We won gold, in 1:10.96... a PR for us, and a great sign of our form as we approach Nationals!



So, some amazing racing, three golds in three events. And renewed motivation and confidence for Nationals. What a fantastic weekend of racing!

Elite NCNCA District (State) Track Championships, 6/25-6/26/2016

By Dennis Pedersen

Elites are 18 and over riders, Category 3 and better. I'm getting old, but I don't feel it yet, so I'm willing to compete with youngsters!

This year the NCVA's board decided to separate the NCNCA District Championship mass-start races from the sprints and timed events. So this weekend the track at Hellyer Park Velodrome was less crowded and we had time to properly conduct qualifying, and adequate warm-up and cool-down breaks. It was hot, from 89 to 93 degrees at least, dry, and somewhat windy.

Saturday: Match Sprints

We had a nice turnout, with 20 men and 8 women. I used my 96-inch gears (50x14 teeth), a bit taller than I used to, in my flying 200 m run: 38.2 mph max, for 12.04 seconds. While a good time for me, it wasn't quite a PR, as the wind kept most times a bit slow. I'm not sure exactly where I qualified, but roughly in the middle. I decided to see how the 96" gears would feel in the races too; these would be 2 laps only. 

In the first heat I was matched against Mark Andersen: We drew numbers and I started at the top of the track, with my coach, Jeff Solt, holding me. I stayed up-track as we started, almost even with him, but had to feint a bit on the back straight to maintain that position as I didn't want to lead him out. In turn 4 I felt we were going too slow, as he qualified faster than me (it's easier to pass at low speeds), so I seized the lead with a hard effort. Fortunately I was then able to "float" into turn 1, and when I looked back I saw he was only a bit up-track, with only a small gap… that meant he wouldn't be able to rush past me as easily. On the back straight he tried to pass, but I was able to maintain the lead. Into turn 3 he moved behind me, but in spite of my best efforts he managed to barely pass me at the line, hitting a relatively modest 36.4 mph max.

In the second heat we were 3-up; I was matched against Ray Gildea, and Tom. I again started at the top, and I moved down-track fairly soon, as Ray pushed the pace. Tom drafted him, thus allowing me to box Tom in by riding slightly behind and next to Ray. In turn 3 Tom sensed his predicament, backed off and went up-track to launch an attack. I saw the gap back to him was rather large, though, and I didn't hesitate attacking first. Ray, though, reacted very quickly and held me off, on his hip, through turns 1 and 2. But on the back straight I had enough power to pass him for the win (37.2 mph max).

Next I raced Ethan Boyes, the top qualifier: Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me. I once again started up-track, and he tried to force me down track, but a ground squirrel distracted him, and I jumped below and around him, back up to the rail. Yes, that really happened. I then dropped below him out of turn 4, but he had no trouble passing me on the back straight for the win. Speeds were moving up too: 38.2 mph.

I was out of the medals, but 5th through 8th had to be decided in a 4-up: Me, Lee Povey, Brian Moore, Mark Andersen lined up. I wanted to follow my coach, Jeff Solt's, advice to disrupt any attempts at teamwork (they're all on PCC). I did that by not attacking early, but slowed so I'd be mixed in with them. I then let Brian lead us out, while I boxed in Lee, and Mark stayed behind/above me. Lee wanted out, and I obliged, and when he attacked I was able to follow him (barely) around Brian. I'm not sure why, but Lee and I opened up a gap the others couldn't close (maybe because we hit 39.3 mph!), but while I gained a bit on Lee at the finish, I lost by almost a bike length. That was fast and fun, especially since they had all qualified faster than me! So, I ended up in 6th place out of 20, which I was happy with.

Sunday: Time Trials

In Elite-level racing my favored event, 500 m time-trial, doesn't exist. Instead they ride a full kilometer ("kilo"), which I'd only done twice before in competition. I signed up anyway, just for training. The real contenders use aerobars, but I simply used my regular drop-bars. I held back a bit at the standing start, compared with my 500 m starts, to save a little for the last lap or so. Even so, there's a reason kilos are nicknamed "killers!" With legs and lungs on fire, I maxed at 35.3 mph, finishing in 1:15.30 (37.24 split time). This kilo was a PR for me, actually, so it was motivating! I was 7th out of 10.

Next were the team sprints. I signed up with my teammates for Master Nationals (coming in August, in Indianapolis), Ray Gildea and Brian Moore. Each rider leads for one lap before pulling off, and only the third rider's time counts (my time, as man #3) In the standing start Ray is very hard to keep up with, but Brian did great, and I slotted in behind him. After Ray pulled off, Brian accelerated a bit, almost opening a gap back to me, but I held on and when Brian pulled off I jumped a bit too and felt like I had decent power to the finish line. We hit 36.3 mph max, finishing in 1:11.41. That was quite good, and could perhaps be a winning time at Master Nationals, but was only enough for 4th place here. We all agreed this was great prep for us!

While I didn't place in any event this year, I was quite happy with my racing, as was Jeff. Masters Track States are July 16 and 17th, and Masters Track Nationals are August 9th through 14th; I feel ready!

NCNCA Masters State (District) Criterium Championships, 9/6/2015

My lower back spasmed while I was cleaning up after breakfast. That's not what I wanted for the morning of my big race, so I quickly used my foam roller to massage the spasm out. Strangely, my back was fine during the race and it was my feet that were sore. 

My preparation for this race was very brief to say the least. The last two years I have prioritized track sprinting, where my longest race is no more than about 1 minute. So my coach, Jeff Solt, had a tough job trying to prepare me in just 4 weeks for this 50-minute race. It was the same course as last year, about 1-mile laps in a Pleasanton business area, The end of the race would tell how successful this training was.

I warned up on my trainer, after borrowing an appropriate quick release skewer from Mike (thanks Mike!). I also used the foam roller again, to be sure. There were 34 racers this year, similar to last year. The course was also the same, with a 1-mile four-corner course on smooth pavement in Pleasanton.

The first several laps were pretty easy, but soon after that there were continuous attacks by solo riders and two or three man groups. I tried very hard to heed my coach's advice to stay protected and not try to go with breakaways, but sometimes that's easier said than done. Because I also try to stay near the front of the field I sometimes ended up being the point of the peloton and thus was in the wind. In those cases I always tried hard to soft-pedal, and even stopped pedaling and took a drink, so as to force those behind me to pick up the pace instead of me. Sometimes this worked, sometimes I ended up perhaps working a little harder than I intended without really wanting to. But in general I felt great and only occasionally was I anywhere near my limit, so I was looking forward to the final sprint. 

With three laps to go the pace definitely picked up and people were trying to get into position. This is tricky because everybody wants to be in the same spot at once. I was near the front and had a perfect view of Daniel Shore (last year's winner) attacking us off the front, with another guy. But again, I had to hold back and just watch them extend their lead as I waited for the others to pick up the chase. Directly behind me was Eric Saltzman, who yelled at me to close the gap to them. As much as I wanted to I could only take a very short pull before I had to pull aside and let him or somebody else take up the chase. 

After their lead was big enough, sure enough, others started to leap ahead to catch them. Then to Eric's credit, with about one and a half laps to go, he took a huge dig to bridge up to the break. I was right behind him but again could not afford to try to go with him. I just had to hope we would catch them both or else I'd risk completely blowing up (as happened to Eric, who finished last). I sat up and waited for the others to chase. 

Once the rest of the field took up the chase I was able to slot in behind some of them and maintain a decent position from which I could hopefully sprint. But I was getting tired and the very fast pace made it hard for me to be fresh for the finish. It is always difficult for me to position myself yet not blow up. I was probably a bit too far back going into the last two turns, but we did catch the break, and Eric's teammate Jerome Nadel was able to leap ahead and win the race, while I sprinted hard just to get 14th. I felt Jerome deserved it as he had been working hard throughout the race. Congratulations! 

Our race was pretty clean, and I was very happy about that especially after last year's erratic team tactics. One guy did go down, but it was supposedly self-inflicted by his own tendency to overlap his front wheel with other people's rear wheels. This same guy, incidentally seems to have gotten away with getting two free laps before rejoining us; the rules only allow one.

So, what does this all mean? For me it was amazing that such a short preparation could yield a result so similar to what I would have likely achieved in past years where I did many months of workouts geared toward such races. It also reminded me that even flat crits at this high level of competition are very challenging for me. I had a lot of fun, the race was clean, and I am looking forward to next season!