Fitchburg-Longsjo - Stage 4

Today was the 4th and final stage of the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic Stage Race: the Worker's Credit Union Downtown Criterium. I had some work to do today; yesterday I dropped down to 8th on GC. I wanted to try to get a couple of spots back, and I also had to worry about not losing a few spots to guys who were only a couple of seconds down on me.

I don't really consider myself a criterium racer, but I have been known to take advantage of opportunities late in a race when presented. Today I was hoping to start or get into a late-race break that would hopefully stick to the line, giving me those few precious seconds I needed to move up a couple of GC placings.

For the third day in a row I got a call-up from the race announcer to the front row, although this time I was not clad in orange. The cheer from the crowd and from the field behind me was still unexpectedly loud though when my name was announced. Right from the whistle things were sketchy; people seemed nervous about this last day of racing on a technical course. Up front was the place to be today! Despite that, there was a crash 8 laps in that took down about ten riders including myself. My front brake was messed up in the crash, so I rolled down to the SRAM neutral support tent for a new bike. I got to the tent and was helped right away:

Me: "I need a new bike"
Support guy: "What size?"
Me: "56"
Support guy: "I have a 54 and a 58"
Me: "I'll take the 54"
Support guy: "Do you know your seat height?"
Me: "76.1"

He pulled out the new bike, got my seat height measured and swapped my pedals while I hung out, had a drink and a Gu, and watched the field race by twice. Finally I was set to go and rejoined the field on the following lap. But wait, something was wrong... my saddle is a bit low. Oh well it's not too bad. Hmmm... it seems to be getting lower and lower! Oh damn my seatpost is slipping! I yelled at the officials by the support tent if I could stop and get it fixed, but they just shrugged at me.



Not wanting to risk not getting another free lap if I stopped I had to keep riding with the super-low saddle for 26 laps. By 20 to go I could already feel my calves starting to cramp from the unfamiliar position. My knees where hitting my chest on every pedal stroke. To keep my mind off of this "annoyance" I dubbed my new steed "The Clown Bike" and rolled around the course singing circus songs to myself. In this position I had no power to attack, so the best I could do was hang out in the pack and hope that my 8th place would be safe after the race finished. A small break did finish 8 seconds up on the charging pack, but it didn't contain anyone dangerous on GC, and they scooped up all the time bonuses, so my GC placing was safe and final!

Overall I had an awesome experience this year at the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic. I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't hold on to my GC lead, but given the circumstances I did the best that I could, rode as strongly and smartly as I could, and came out with a good result that will help me upgrade to cat 1.

Thanks for reading! -- Al