The Attack Chronic

Cmmon now, no one noticed the change in the blog's title?? The Aram Chronic. Shorter, sweeter, faster. Though the blog title no longer bears a resemblance to a really good Creedence album, the new title is more fitting in every way. I was never too fond of "Chronicles". Not so much the cliche-ness of it, but it was just kind of lame/soft. I'm a big fan of proper titles, subject lines, headings, etc...and so we have this one.


Take this entry's title...The Attack Chronic. The words that follow a provocative subject line like that need to have some substance, or it won't work at all. Same with the blog title. So without further pulp ramblings, I'll get into it. This weekend there was a big omnium type of race soiree in and around the Avignon area. The south! First time the team's ever raced down there this season. I really wasn't sure how the form was, but judging from the decent sensations that flowed at last week's TT, I was tinged with a bit optimism for the first time in a long while. The omnium: 5 races in 5 days. The team was slated to do 3 of the first four races: Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Doing them all would have been a bit much, as we race a French Cup race on Saturday.


The first race was on Sunday, in the little city of Roquemaure, slightly northeast of Avignon. We showed up, spirits were high...though for the wrong reasons. Last week's TT was a success, yes. But it was against a paltry field of locals, man. I was cognizant of this, and subtle in my expressed optimism. Others...not so much. So, it was time to check out the course. This is always an apprehensive time for a racer, particularly when you're unsure about your form. We rode away from the parking lot, and toward the course. Immediately, it was a slight uphill with the numbers "400" painted on it. Ha! This is the climb?? Hah...c'est trop facile! Though steep, it was only 400 meters long, bringing us to the finish line, which I assumed doubled as the GPM. We cross the finish line and start the recon lap. A couple hundred uphill meters after the start/finish, I bummed out..."GPM 1km". The cycling spirits must have heard me laugh at their previous hill which I assumed would be the only threat on the day. Gah. Cruised up the hill. One of those annoying hills that get progressively steeper except this one had the added bonus of having progressively worsening pavement as you got to the top. The last 200m were particularly terrible. Terminal steepness and poor pavementness! It doesn't sound bad, but look at it his way: 5k circuit. 20 laps. 100k. ~1.5k of hill every lap. 30k of climbing over the full distance! And that dreaded 200m section. Gah man.

Francis! One of My Favorite DS-es!

Still legs were okay. Small field today, of 70 or so riders, and a surprise starter was current World and Olympic MTB champion Julien Absalon. Also, in the lead car was Tour de France superstar Joop Zoetemelk. Genial! The start was mid-way up the hill. Ouch. Blazing. The descent was nervous and shite-pavement filled, and it was strung out for all of the first laps. No relapse, no recovery, and I approached the foot of the climb near-blown each time. Riders were shed each lap, and I was too smashed to cling onto the Absalon led peleton on lap 5. Bummer, but not a shock...this is how most of July had gone. I rode the 110k home. Good chance to cleanse the mind, try to figure out what the deal is, and not sulk in the downtrodden atmosphere that was the team after that race. Besides, weather was awesome when I left the Roquemaure. However, as I entered the Aubenas county limits, the cycling spirits unleashed the full fury of their punishment with crazy doses of wind, rain, cold, and hail...all at once and all in August. Hail, dudes. Seriously.

The Jovial Pre-Race Scene

The next morning as I set off on a recovery ride, I kicked up the seat height half a cm. Just to mix things up. It felt good. The race the next day was in the town of Bagnols, again, near Avignon. 21k circuit with 2 gpms, 5 laps for ~105k. The apprehensive pre-race recon with the car proved damning. The entire first 11k was mostly uphill, culminating with a decent 4k climb which led to a flat couple K, then a second shorter climb, 2k, followed by a twisty descent and a long flat and wide tailwind section to bring it home. The start finish was at the end of a 500 meter climb as well. We sighed as we saw the course. A rough one...but...the wind was picking up. Hills become a non-issue in the wind for me.


So we start. hmm...the seat-height. Parfait! It really felt much better, and I felt particularly powerful coming out of the saddle. Like I had an extra gear whenever I wanted it. I took a different algorithm with regards to climbing on this day. Instead of busting my ass in the wind to get to the front of the peleton before the climb, I just hung out in the middle. If a spot was given to me for free, I took it...otherwise, I was just hanging out, calm, riding my bike. That "make sure you get to the front of the peleton at the start of the climb or else!" stuff doesn't really work with my climbing style. So, new algorithm in hand, the climb came. As expected, the wind tamed the peleton a bit, and I made it over. A big relief, yes, but I felt really swell. It's a great feeling to be able to climb while not being so-blown that you can't think rationally.

A Big Thanks to Johnny Boy For the Phots and Vids!

The feed zone situation was awesome. I took a bottle on all laps but the last. It's good to finally make use of the terrific support the team has on race days. The rest of the race went well. Like all french races, things settled down once a break got established and the peleton diminished in size. We had about 20-25 riders left come the 4th lap, but several were up the road...I never took count. On the awesome downhill section, I noticed that me and this other "big boy" were getting a gap each time. I really pushed it the 4th time, got a gap with the big boy, and held it for a few K on the flat downhill, but were caught. Shortly afterward, I attacked again and only 6 came with me. We worked pretty well, established a gap, and got over the hill good. The last hill came, and this one dude just drilled it. I was on-edge, as the legs hadn't done an effort like that since the first two laps, but made it over. Didn't push it on the descent -no need. Only 7 of us, and things were pretty tight. At 1.5k to go, I put in an "everything" attack. From the back of the group, big jump, followed by forearms on the bars, 53x12 go. Didn't look back 'till I was well into the final straight, when I realized I had the gap, I nearly fell, but coasted in to get 17th on the day. My best result since the 80s! Francis was stoked, and I'm happy he was there to see it after he witness Sunday's piss-poorness. Here's the finish...smashed and all...




That final look back was a big relief. It's nice to see moves like that work, even if it's just for the field sprint. The following day would be our last round of the omnium. Villeneuve lez Avignon. Right next to Avignon. 12.5k circuit, 8 laps. 2k climb, and the rest of it was a beautiful swooping course with rough road sections, speed bumps, headwind sections, etc. I liked it, and went in with a bit of confidence. I'll spare the details on this one. I'm getting worn out...and I need to ride still. The race went well. I finished 18th. Again, it feels good to be a fcking bike racer again. I hung out in the continually diminishing peleton all day. Spent all of the 7th lap off the front solo, confirming my firm belief that I have the most aero tuck in the world. THE WORLD...and the deep mavics accent it so well. I'll write an entry about the tuck some other time...but yeah. Solo off the front for the 7th lap, caught before the climb, but hung on. Then attacked at 3k to go (1k before the base of the hill) because I knew I'd have no chance at that uphill 2k sprint finish. One rider came with me and dropped me with 400m to go. One guy from the peleton caught and passed, but he was the only one. Nice! It's rare for me to have good legs so late in the season, but they're here. Whoo yeah!

She's a big loaf, boy!!!!!

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