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John O'Donovan: Field, Cat 1-2-3 | ||||
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Wow! What a race, what a course, and what a beat down. The big guns were present, including Paul Martin, more Torelli's than you could shake a stick at, and our own Ryans Gamm and Rish. A great course--far and away the best crit course I've raced. Whereas the course in Upper Arlington was forgiving, this one was merciless. The entire time you were either hammering hard as you could up and down the little hill, getting hammered by the cobbles, or turning as hard as you could. There just wasn't any let up in the course. We were single file from the gun and the field exploded on virtually the first lap. From there it was find a group, nose on stem, hang on for dear life and suffer. No kidding: it was 46 minutes into the race before I had a chance to take a drink. I was happy to watch Rish and Gamm make the break with Paul and Jeff B. I say "watch" because that, basically, was what I was: a spectator. Not that I wasn't trying, but on this course there was nowhere to hide. Ultimately my group was lapped three times by the lead break. It got so bad near the end that I felt like the guys in a NASCAR race who drive around almost on the infield with no hoods on their cars just trying to turn laps. At least I didn't wait intentionally so I could get involved in the leadout train--as some of the Torelli's did. It is a truism that the racing we do is subject to what is known in the business world as the "Peter Principle"--the idea that individuals are promoted to the level of their incompetence. Meaning that good performances are rewarded with promotion till the level of difficulty exceeds an individual's capability and they are no longer capable of good performance. Well, I have found my level of incompetence. Hmmm. Any more cat III races the rest of the year? |
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