Inside
inside.
This is the air center criter, a group where I'm board with
trainer roads, Jonathan Lee.
How's it going, John?
Great.
Ivy.
Excited to do this with you.
Have you a CR expert break, break down my performance.
yeah.
Uh, first race back in a while, right.
And nothing's changed first spicy lap.
Yeah.
What's what's going on here?
What's what's your plan in this first lap?
What's happening?
Uh,
well, my plan in the race, I, I hadn't raced, this is my
first CRI since Tulsa tough.
Uh, so about a year and I was a little, I was completely unaware of
where my fitness would be because I also hadn't really trained in
almost a month, month and a half.
So, uh, because of a shoulder injury.
So really I was just like, I'm, I hope that I can stay with the group.
And I know that it seems like a silly idea than why would you go hard from the gun?
And no, it doesn't make sense, but typically there are two riders that
almost always go hard from the gun.
And I thought they were going to go hard from the.
I figured I wouldn't be alone, but then I found myself alone and then I was like,
Hey, they said I was a $20 premium anyway.
So I guess I'll just stick it for the first lap and I'll make sure I don't
go too deep and I'll see what happens.
Yeah, no, this is a great strategy.
Um,
probably not too.
I'm serious.
Like,
no, it's great.
If you know yourself and know what you're capable of, um, it, you know, especially
when it's your first race back in a long time, I think there's like something.
Mentally advantageous to riding in a, in a zone that feels comfortable to.
And feeling like you're on the forefront of the race versus starting in the
back foot and feeling like you're responsive for the rest of the race.
Yeah, I
guess that actually probably speaks to it.
I, I was nervous cuz I didn't know what my fitness would be like and
where I would fit in the field.
So this is probably insecurity manifesting itself by trying
to take control in the race.
Right.
Um, mm-hmm and I had done two short tracks, I think
the two weeks prior to this.
And I knew that those started really hard.
And I, you know, for about 40 minutes, I was able to hold above
300 Watts, normalized power and for the first lap or so it was like 600.
So I figured, Hey, if I can do that, this is within myself.
Totally staying below 300 and not burning a big match to do this.
And mentally kind of prepare yourself for what's about to
happen in the race, huge advantage.
This was a great plan.
Yeah.
And for me that once, uh, like, oh boy, this is a scary part.
These riders were in the previous category and they should have been
cooling down on the outside of the yikes outside of the course, not the inside.
I was telling him where I was at, but it didn't really
compute race, brains happened.
um, but the other thing I was gonna say is that my FTP roughly is around like 309.
I think it was 309 Watts, according to AI FTP detection before this race.
So that's where my FTP is.
Hence why we're saying 300 Watts.
Isn't like breaking my bank because it's underneath.
So totally more, more stats.
Tell us about the course, the wind.
Yes, how that impacted how
you're riding it, where we're riding right now, the wind is coming, uh,
uh, from our, the left to the right.
So from the sun is a good way to remember it with this course.
And it's pretty strong.
It's always a crosswind.
And then right through here, it's, uh, kind of, doesn't really shift to
a cross tail until you get partway through this turn, hardly any turns.
You've all seen this course, probably on a race analysis before.
And if you're new to this, there's tons of races on it.
You basically end up just racing the field and the wind, because
the course is really simple.
All right, John.
So race is heating up.
Attacks are starting to fly.
How are you trying to follow these moves or not?
What's
your plan?
Yeah, so I, I don't really wanna be the first to respond and I'm trying
to let people fill in where I can.
I'm also really nervous about, uh, like a break or a split opening up.
I still, like, I struggle with that years, you know, later into racing IV.
Do you have any tips for that when you should let riders fill in, in front of
you and chase that move or you should be the one that ends up doing it?
Oh yeah.
The insecurity never goes away.
You either.
Burn a match and be the person that closes that gap, or you roll the ice
and hope that someone does it for you.
And then you end up missing out.
Or
this happens, this and the field slows up and you can just carry momentum
and avoid another acceleration.
And this is a great example of how you can follow moves with efficiency
and use the momentum that you have to kind of create those gaps via
using momentum and efficiency.
So let's go back a little bit and see what's happening here.
So, John, let's go back here.
There's a couple rider off the front and you really will anticipate the reset.
Um, it's coming back together and this is a great example of using a momentum
with the wind and with what the speed you're already carrying to anticipate the
next move.
Yeah.
Thanks Ivy.
Uh, an attack just went, so it was super tempting to just like sit up right.
And to, you know, sit up and then just let them.
You know, and just sit in line, but instead I thought, Hey, I have momentum.
I can just roll to the front and then gain a few positions and
then hopefully be in the draft.
They're, they're riding pretty hard here, but everybody else that
slowed down more, probably had to accelerate more than I did.
Totally.
So to recap, just because a move has come back, doesn't mean it's time to sit up.
You have to use your momentum to anticipate the next move.
And you did that really well here.
Okay.
Moving forward, John, you are on the front foot later in the race, but
here's an example of when you didn't do a deliberate attack and just
kind of use the momentum and speed.
He already had to put some pressure on the field.
Can you talk about this?
Yeah.
So I'm guttering it to try to not let anybody echelon and.
Uh, get some wind on me so you can see that it's making it so that
riders are having to go single file or change their position.
But this is like what I call like the diesel role, where I'm just on the front.
And then I pick it up to the point where it doesn't really, it's not like a full
attack, but it just strings things out.
And I did this because the race was single file, but looking back,
I should have just actually done a proper attack instead of a diesel role.
I feel like because in the end it doesn't actually cause any meaningful
impact, even though it looks like the field's far behind us right
now, that's just the GoPro effect.
They're pretty close and they catch us pretty soon.
What do you think Ivy.
Right.
And going back to when this happened, you know, you are already moving
pretty quickly when this writer pulls off and makes space for you.
And you've on.
I mean, you have the speed and momentum on your side to just keep it going.
And one writer only one writer's on you.
You can't really know that, but you've, you've already strung it out.
And that's hard to know when to commit and actually really giver and throw an T down
or just try to put pressure on the field.
Mm-hmm
yeah.
What, what would you, I mean, really in the end, if you're.
Spend energy, you should do it and have an impact on the field.
Right?
Right.
This might not have been the best use of your energy.
I think it was still good for your purpose in this race of trying to reacquaint
yourself with where your fitness is.
And just seeing if you can put some pressure on the field, it
was good in that sense, but in the end, all these little tiny matches
have an impact on that last lap.
What we have left in the tank to finish.
So it might not have been the best use of your energy.
Great.
All right, John, there were times when you did make concerted attacks though.
Uh, let's talk about this one.
Yeah.
The race had been like counter or attack counter attack at this point.
Like a lot of them and it had finally slowed down David wasn't on the front.
Rolling tempo, the rider behind me that followed this move.
So I figured, okay, this is like, it finally slowed down there.
Isn't somebody rolling high speed at the.
I can finally attack and I was really eager to do this cuz I felt way
fresher than I anticipated, but I think I let that eagerness kind of
make me make a poor decision again, because look, everyone's right on me.
right.
And let's, let's talk about kind of unpack what made that a poor decision.
So cool.
I mean, when an attack isn't successful, it's because.
Everyone's ready for it.
If you feel fresh and ready it's because everyone else is.
So I wanna point out there's one writer that turns around
and looks over their should.
And then there's another.
So that should have been your cue and your signal that everyone else
is anticipating your attack and they're ready and ready to follow.
And then the other problem with a poor time attack is not being able
to create a huge speed differential.
So in order to get a ton of speed on those few writers in the.
You probably were better served to start from further back and gain a ton of
speed and really catch them off guard.
So this wasn't maybe the best setting for either of those, uh, either of
those things to make this successful.
Yeah.
This and another good point with the Ivy, is that a few riders after the race?
I could, I wasn't looking behind me clearly, so I didn't know this, but
after the race, I think it was like five writers or so like yeah, that attack is
the thing that ended up breaking the straw that broke the camels back and I came
detached, but those weren't decisive.
Like those weren't riders that were going to be going for the win.
Anyway, I wasn't really going for the win.
I was just trying to stay with the field and have some fun and everything
else, but still, and there we go.
I get counter attacked right after that, because the whole field's
right there and I slowed up so much.
Yeah.
Bad move.
Yeah.
so it, it can be good sometimes to put pressure on the race in efforts
of trying to lose other riders.
But if you're gonna lose them halfway through the race, they probably
wouldn't be contesting the win anyways.
Mm-hmm so good.
Takeaway here is timing.
Your attacks requires and really effective read on the field.
Nice.
Solid.
Okay, John, last lap.
How are you feeling?
What's your plan?
I'm just happy to be here, Ivy.
I was surprised . I didn't think that I would be in this spot.
And I, I don't think I was really present because at this point
I was just like, wow, last lap.
I'll follow Josh, this great racer with the blue pockets next to me and Jose, the
real sprinter he's got purple pockets.
And he's that one right there that you can see on screen.
I just figured, well, they'll be sprinting toward the end for the win.
I figured.
So I'll just try to stick with them and see where it goes.
But I really wasn't even thinking about the finish because I was
just shocked that I was there.
I wasn't really being present.
Right.
And I wasn't paying attention.
Yeah, and it is kind of an easy trap to see the sprinters that, you know,
will be there on the end and kind of want to just stick on them and get a
free ride down to zero Watts on the last lap right there.
I could have gained positions,
right.
And even here, you know, 100, 200 that is not last lap power.
And so I think the biggest takeaway from this last lap for you is
that the race to the finish takes place long before the sprint.
So this should have been your moment to.
Um,
instead I'm just following wheels, right?
Totally.
So this is your moment when there's a big bunch and a reset.
This is not fast enough for a last lap.
This would've been your opportunity to pass between six and eight writers.
By going on the left and you're in the wind on the left a little, you would've
used a little more energy, but then you're only sprinting four or five people at
the end versus trying to come around.
All those people.
That's a
good point.
It's really easy to fixate on a specific rider rather than focus
on accomplishing the bigger goal.
And at this point too, it's interesting because there's, there is one team really
here and they have a lot of riders, but they don't have anybody else up front.
I think just one rider.
Maybe.
So it's not like we have a team that's really working together.
Uh, I should have been just really positioning myself relative to the
race, rather than the racers here.
It's starting to ramp up.
This will be good.
So it's starting to ramp up.
Josh is typically a very fast sprinter, but he's like spinning really quick.
And I'm wondering, oh, I think he's blown.
I shouldn't have followed him.
I'm too far behind.
The sprinters are already going.
And if you look, I, I start to catch, I'm catching the sprinters with my sprint.
So if I was toward the front.
I feel like that bodes.
Well, maybe for next time that I probably could sprint for, for a
win as long as I race heads up.
So just to recap, John, a great takeaway from this last lab for you,
you got a race before the sprint.
Think of what, what would've happened.
If you would've passed all these people in this moment of.
Respite instead of waiting till the sprint.
Yeah, Jose's right there.
He was the one that ended up winning.
If I would've just been more heads up, like Jose was and making sure
that I'm positioning myself well, then I, I probably would've done.
Okay.
But Hey, and that good learnings.
Yeah.
And that puts you in a spot where you don't have to beat Jose in a sprint.
If your three positions ahead of him mm-hmm and did
that work before the sprint.
So that's a valuable lesson.
Nice.
Thanks Ivy.
This is great tips.
Thanks, John.
Good racing.
Thank you.
Can't wait to see more if you like this video, make sure to give it a thumbs up.
And if you wanna watch the full air center criter, you can view
it on our full race playlist.
And finally, if you would've done something different in this race,
let us know in the comments.
Yes.
Give
me critiques, give me tips.