- Basic pack skills – Protecting your front wheel
- Cornering – Choosing and holding your line
- Pack Awareness Skills
- Sprinting basics
- Bringing it all together
A Stellar Beginner Program For New Racers Makes Michigan Racing Better
June 19th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsLessons Learned: How to Lose a Cat-5 Road Race
June 18th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsThe Life of a 135-Pounder
June 17th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsBy Chris Gottwald, Team OAM Now Cyclist
Want to know what it’s really like to race a Criterium at the Pro / Cat I level? You might be surprised!
After 24 years of racing in the elite ranks, one of the most popular questions is what is like to perform at this level? The reality is that there are several different types of riders, each one with a different experience. One of the more amusing parts of my career is that I am a very different breed and, as such, I have to ride a very different type of race than other riders.
First off, I am small. How small? About 135 lbs on a HEAVY day and about 5’9” tall… all of it legs (34” inseam). I am often mistaken as a female ballet dancer rather than a World Record holding bicycle racer. Some of my nick names include: half pint, spider, and man-child. Ironically though, it makes me fast, even more so when the course points upward. In the typical American-style Criterium race though, I just plain old suffer like a dog.
Take for example last season, at the Gaslight Criterium, I got another huge piece of humble pie. My great friends, and team mates, Cory Stange (who came in 1st in the Michigan Race Series) finished 6th and Dan Yankus finished close behind at 8th. As for me? I was 23rd. For the typical spectator, I am sure my performance looked average. The truth is though my average power was the highest I had seen in quite some time while racing: 257 Watts for 90 minutes. Truth be told, I can produce a little over 270 watts for 90 minutes thanks to the phenomenal coaching of Mark Olson, however, remember: 135 lbs. and 5’9”.
Here’s what it feels like:
Every time we headed up the home stretch, and around the back stretch, most guys easily accelerated to over 30MPH using their huge legs, that look more like they belong on a draft horse. My only option is to dig deep, producing over 500 watts 2 times a lap for 90 minutes. Once the pace settles, I try to rest a little, but since speed is a function of power I don’t really get much. I suffer to accelerate like the bigger guys. The headwind on the back stretch and the tail wind on the front stretch gave the bigger guys the advantage too! I had to wonder if I’d ever get a break?
Typically, my power ranks right up there to stay in a race. If I look at my power delivery over a race there are amazing highs and peaks. So, even though I’m using a lot more to create that power, a bigger guy using that same amount of power can’t cycle through those peaks as many times as I can. I can do more and I can recover. I can hang in a very long time. For example, at The Herman Miller Crit, 96 guys started on cobblestone, in the rain, and only 35-40 finished. It’s a tough race, but I can do that, which is surprising to many with my size. They all wanted to know how I do it.
If I have it my way, I’ll make the break, ride smart in the break, throw in a few efforts to wear the big guys down and maybe beat a few guys at the line. I try to minimize how many matches I burn making the race and pedal a little deeper in the turns. It’s all about trying to be efficient. I can corner pretty well to due to my size and flexibility. The eventual Gas Light Crit winner, David Williams, rode my kind of race. Smaller riders like us have to ride differently; we have to time things exactly right. His move was brilliantly timed. There was a group of riders ahead of me, who didn’t have much of a lead, and I thought I’d wait to see what happened. I didn’t see either of the Williams brothers around, so I pulled hard to join the group. When I finally pulled out in front of them, Dave Williams came from behind to counter and I was spent. Unfortunately, it was too late for me to do anything. I made the early mistake by putting in a herculean effort, only to find both Williams brothers on my wheel. When they countered I had simply dug too deep and could not answer the call. It was a huge mistake. Never ever put in an effort so tough that you cannot go with the counter, because that’s when the break goes and it did.
The Gas Light had a happy ending though. The men’s elite team really clicked last year. We all know each other like brothers and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Dan and Cory both knew that was about all I had for the moment and smartly covered the move. A big thanks to both of them!
In closing what’s it like to race at this level? Quite a blessing! It’s unimaginable to most and just plain crazy to others. To me, it’s the way I roll and what I feel called to do. There is no sign of me slowing down any time soon. I simply love to race. As for another pack finish at Gas Light…I learned another lesson. Hope to see you out on the road soon. Thanks for reading!
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Think You Can’t Hang With the “Fast Guys”? Think Again …
June 16th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsTransition: The 4th Discipline of Triathlon
June 11th, 2015 by Athletic MentorsBy Roxane Kippen, Team OAM Now Triathlete
Hold on a minute, isn’t triathlon just three disciplines? Yes swim, bike and run take up the majority of the race, but there are these precious seconds, or for some, minutes where you have to wiggle out of your wetsuit and put on a bike helmet (T1) and change from bike shoes to run shoes (T2). While time spent in the transition area may not be long, how wisely you use that time could be the difference between being on the podium or wishing you were.
With triathlon, there are usually a few “I could have been faster if I had only: sighted better in the swim so I wasn’t weaving all over the course, or not pushed so hard on the bike so I had solid legs to run on, or pushed harder on the run so I didn’t get caught in the last 100 meters.” What people might not realize is a good transition time can often make up for small mistakes elsewhere.
I’m not the fastest swimmer in the field, but I hold my own. However, my T1 transition is quick and efficient and usually sets me in great position heading out on the bike. In fact, I can generally make up anywhere from 15 to 30 second deficit from a slower swim with a fast T1 time. My transition times are always among the fastest in the women’s field and I actually posted the fastest T1 and T2 times out of both men and women at a race last summer.
Is transition a special talent I possess? Does a fast transition matter? Transition is a skill, just like swimming, and it can be practiced and improved. Transition does matter, as I have seen many a podium spot slip out from under athletes, because they did not prepare well for their entire race. When races are decided by less than 30 second gaps, you’d better believe 30 extra seconds in transition can cost you a win. So how do you get good at it? Like any other discipline in triathlon, you need to practice. Below are some rules and tips for how to shave seconds and maybe minutes off your next race.
Rule #1 – BE ORGANIZED
Organization is critical to a fast transition. You don’t get a lot of room in transition. Typically, one rack will have 8 bikes, so you need to be organized and keep only what you need in the transition area. Do not leave your duffle bag or backpack in the transition area. It will get in your way and it will get in the way of other racers by creating a road block when trying to un-rack and re-rack your bike.
Road Block: Coping with Injury
June 9th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsDNF: When Bike Meets Tree
June 8th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsBear Lake Triathlon
June 7th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsSponsor Spotlight: Gauthier Family Home Care
June 6th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsTorres and Braginton Bring in First Place Wins at Seahorse Challenge
June 4th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsBy Kathy Braginton, Team OAM Now Triathlete
Triathlon season officially began with the 35th annual Seahorse Challenge, the first triathlon in the Kalamazoo area. With the race held on Memorial Day weekend, and the cold winters we have experienced the last few years, racers never know what the weather is going to bring or what the water temps will be, thus creating the “challenge”. This year brought cool early morning air temps, a water temperature of 64 degrees, and no worries whether it would be a wet suit legal swim.
Seahorse features both Sprint and Olympic distance races. Each race follows the same course with the Olympic distance doing 2 laps in each discipline. Team OAM Now’s Kathy Braginton took on the Sprint distance, while Raquel Torres took on the Olympic distance. The Olympic distance started first with the sprint distance starting about 25 minutes later.
Raquel had a great swim leg and was exiting the water as Kathy’s race began. Raquel was the first woman out of the water with a 4 minute lead and kept that lead throughout the entire race. Kathy was the 4th woman out of the water after the swim and had a smooth T1 moving her into 2rd place. The first half of the bike leg features fast, smooth, and mostly downhill roads. Riders need to go hard the first 6 miles (miles 1-6 and 12-18 for OLY) and take advantage of the good roads because the second half gradually works its way back up those hills and has about a ½ mile stretch of rough roads where riders must use extreme caution.
Kathy went out hard the first half of the bike leg and caught the lead biker by mile 3. Building on that, she gained a 5 minute lead to be the first biker into T2 and the first runner onto the run leg of the course. The run leg features paved roads for the 1st mile (1st and 4th mile for OLY) and trail/grass for the remainder of the run. This unique run course features a foot bridge, a flight of stairs, and even 3 angry mother geese. Due to the many twists and turns of the course, it was hard to determine how far back the next racer might have been. Because of this limited visibility, Kathy tried to push the pace to maintain any distance between her and the next female. As a result, Kathy finished 7th overall and earned first place in the women’s sprint distance finishing more than 9 minutes ahead of the next female. Raquel was 4th overall, and the Olympic female winner, finishing more than 11 minutes ahead of the next female racer.
Overall, it was a great way to start the season with dual wins for Team OAM Now!
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