Race Recap; 2019 Giro Del Cielo

The 2019 Giro Del Cielo was held July 6-7 this year. The series features three stages, a time trail, a crit and road race. The time and trial and crit were scheduled for Saturday, with the road race on Sunday. The events are scored individually, with points award in a general classification for the overall event.

I have raced the Giro twice; last year I raced in the Cat. 3, and this year in the Cat. 1/2/3. Both fields were extremely competitive, and I think there’s less variation in the 1/2/3 field; most of the riders were extremely fit, and the racing was tight and tactical. The Time trial is hilly, but fast, and favored the riders who can put out extraordinary specific power. Larger riders seemed to do better, despite the course being a hilly one; although the course was rolling in elevation, it’s not a climb. Unfortunately, due to weather delay, the criterium was cancelled.

The road race was a bear. The course is a 5.8 mile loop with a two minute climb, a four minute climb a rolling section, and then an uphill finish. The 1/2/3 race completed 10 laps on that course. Because the criterium was cancelled, the first four laps were scored as a points race. Unfortunately, that lead to an extremely spirited first four laps. I found that my average power was quite low for the first few laps, but everyone had to put in strong efforts on each hill to stay with the leaders. Each hill is followed by a descent, which would seem to favor the field, but the space that the strongest riders could generate on the short climbs was concerning enough that the field was seeking to chase back every gap.

On each of the first three laps, I tried to be in the first ten wheels to score points. I have not yet seen the results of the points race, but I don’t think it was a wise move. The weather was extremely hot, but I typically perform okay in the heat. Further, I had a team-mate who was providing cold liquids each lap, and probably could have done better than others in a battle of attrition if I were in the field late in the race. Instead, I sought to score points on lap four, and sprinted. I tried to recover prior to the next hill, but was swarmed and could not accelerate on the steep hill. I watched the field ride away, and tried hard to get back on. By the time I did get back on, it was with a couple of riders who had also fallen off the back. There were four of us chasing, and I was the only one who could generate power early in our effort.

Ultimately, two of the four in the chase dropped out of the race. Me and another racer lost about ten minutes to the field, but finished the race. I had a remarkable performance in the uphill sprint finish, especially considering I had 150 minutes of racing on my legs. I was ultimately quite happy with the day, although I realize now that even seeking to be in the points race was too much. At the beginning of the race, I was going to try to race with the expectation that everyone could beat me; I was seeking to suck any wheel I could and manage my effort. But by the fourth lap that thought had vanished, and my ego returned. That ego was the reason for my failure. I went too hard and expected I could still go with the leaders, and I couldn’t.

Next race, I’ll ride even smarter. I will follow wheels and temper my efforts. It’s not the strongest rider who wins every race, it’s much more often the smartest rider.