Gorge Roubaix

I came into the weekend with 2200 miles in my legs and almost no racing experience.
What ensues from here is only my perspective, which at times was very skewed due to
the fact my world revolved around the tire in front of me and my attempts to stay close to
that tire.

My wife and kids dropped me off 30 minutes before the start of the Cat 4/5 race. I would
be going 30 MPH on gravel in a little over an hour. They were on the way to the pool
back at the hotel. Who is the smarter one?

One of the many old schoolhouses on course.

Of course my number that I pinned on so nicely back at the hotel was on the wrong side
so I changed sides creating a mess that may or may not have looked like a number. We
started the race with 52 riders and a neutral 3-mile roll out. The first hour is uneventful
other than some horses on the road neutralizing the race for a couple of miles. I stayed
out of the wind in the middle and no breakaways were able to be established.

Bring on the gravel.

When I looked down and saw we were on mile 19, I realized that the gravel section was coming up in 4 miles so I made my way to the front slowly staying out of the wind. With a slight rise in the road I find myself in the wind riding at the front. Around the bend the slight rise changes into a couple mile climb at 3%. I look down again and see my heart rate at 170 then look back and see the 52 riders still in the group. Next a rider in red attacks and the next 2 miles are nothing more than me trying to breathe and stay with a wheel or close a gap.

We hit the gravel and can think again. My body has recovered and I think about the race and spend time at the front. I know no one is in front of us but have no idea what’s behind us. We hit pavement again and find ourselves in a group of 10 or 12. The next 13 miles are made up of the tactics of staying out of the wind or riding at the front to make sure we are not caught.

The race finishes with a 7.2% .3 mile climb. We hit the hill together and I am late at
starting the sprint. Next I know there is the line and there is one rider I might catch. I
take sixth by a half the length of a wheel. It's so painful when there is only four seconds separating 1st and 6th place.

I definitely learned a lot out there and can't wait till the next race!


-Jake Akerberg