AlanW
Maximum Pace
- Jan 30, 2007
- 1,215
- 440
Kusatsu Report
Just a few words about the Tour de Kusatsu hillclimb race...
The night before the race we had a huge dinner in the Minshuku - it didn't look like that much food, but afterwards we were all completely stuffed, especialy after eating the birthday cake that Naomi-san made for Thomas and Shinobu-san. We entertained ourselves by reading the wild & wacky names of some of the racing teams; my personal favourite being "Team Banana of JoyToy"
We went for a quick wander around the centre of Kusatsu where the hot, sulphurous water rises from the rocks and is cooled for use in the many onsen. However, the evening air was freezing cold so we quickly retreated back to our accommodation.
The next morning we were all awake fairly early, the minshuku provided us with breakfast and after some hanging around we all rode together up to the stating area. Here were over 2000 racers, all lined up in the staging area. It was quite a sight! After a (very) long set of speeches by the organisers, we finally set off on the parade lap through the town. It seemed like the whole town had come out to see the race; there were shopkeepers, schoolchildren waving flags, tourists, marshalls, etc, all lining the route and waving.
After the parade lap I was still not feeling properly warmed up - after all, it was only 6km at a very gentle pace. The staging area where we had lined up was now completely empty, and followed the slope of the hill. So, instead of taking off up the hill, I did 5 or 6 circuits of this area, sprinting up from one end to the other, and rolling back down. Once I felt my legs respond as they should, I turned and headed up onto the race course, making sure that as I crossed the line I was already up to full hillclimb speed.
The rest of the riders were spread fairly thinly across the road by this time, so I was never balked or slowed by being stuck behind anybody. Fairly early on in the race I spotted a racer in a Trek jersey who looked to be going about the same pace as me, although he seemed to be speeding up and slowing down more, especially at the corners where I would reel him in by a few metres every time. I chased this racer for over 5 km, eventually overtaking him around the inside of one of the steeper hairpins. I expect him to grab my wheel but he must have been more fatigued than me because he dropped back rapidly. We had been passing a few of the TCC crew who had started earlier than me; I tried to give a shout (or at least a gasp) of encouragement to each. About 2/3rds of the way up, I caught sight of Thomas, pounding his big gear up the climb. Just then, a rider whose jersey informed me that "Not failing, but low aim is a Crime" passed me, out of the saddle and looking strong. But again, he must have been trying super hard because I caught him again and dropped him. By now I was towards the top; I remember at one point seeing four or five hairpins in front of me and having to dig very deep to keep turning the pedals.
I passed the "3km to go" marker board with 30 minutes on the clock, and realised I had to pick up the pace to beat my target time of 40 minutes. I knew the last 1.5km was not as steep so I pushed as hard as I dared, and by the time I passed the "2km to go" marker I was back on target. The gradient was levelling off more and more, and so I was consciously speeding up to shave some more seconds from my time. Past the 1km marker I went, now doing well over 20 km/h and soon had the goal in sight. A final sprint took me over the finish line where a beep from the timing transponder let me know I could rest at last.
My time was 39 minutes 16 seconds, beating the target I had set myself and enough for 14th out of about 650 riders in my class
The rest of the TCC team did very well too, Naomi-san of course with her 5th place and many personal best times from riders who had competed in previous years.
Just a few words about the Tour de Kusatsu hillclimb race...
The night before the race we had a huge dinner in the Minshuku - it didn't look like that much food, but afterwards we were all completely stuffed, especialy after eating the birthday cake that Naomi-san made for Thomas and Shinobu-san. We entertained ourselves by reading the wild & wacky names of some of the racing teams; my personal favourite being "Team Banana of JoyToy"
We went for a quick wander around the centre of Kusatsu where the hot, sulphurous water rises from the rocks and is cooled for use in the many onsen. However, the evening air was freezing cold so we quickly retreated back to our accommodation.
The next morning we were all awake fairly early, the minshuku provided us with breakfast and after some hanging around we all rode together up to the stating area. Here were over 2000 racers, all lined up in the staging area. It was quite a sight! After a (very) long set of speeches by the organisers, we finally set off on the parade lap through the town. It seemed like the whole town had come out to see the race; there were shopkeepers, schoolchildren waving flags, tourists, marshalls, etc, all lining the route and waving.
After the parade lap I was still not feeling properly warmed up - after all, it was only 6km at a very gentle pace. The staging area where we had lined up was now completely empty, and followed the slope of the hill. So, instead of taking off up the hill, I did 5 or 6 circuits of this area, sprinting up from one end to the other, and rolling back down. Once I felt my legs respond as they should, I turned and headed up onto the race course, making sure that as I crossed the line I was already up to full hillclimb speed.
The rest of the riders were spread fairly thinly across the road by this time, so I was never balked or slowed by being stuck behind anybody. Fairly early on in the race I spotted a racer in a Trek jersey who looked to be going about the same pace as me, although he seemed to be speeding up and slowing down more, especially at the corners where I would reel him in by a few metres every time. I chased this racer for over 5 km, eventually overtaking him around the inside of one of the steeper hairpins. I expect him to grab my wheel but he must have been more fatigued than me because he dropped back rapidly. We had been passing a few of the TCC crew who had started earlier than me; I tried to give a shout (or at least a gasp) of encouragement to each. About 2/3rds of the way up, I caught sight of Thomas, pounding his big gear up the climb. Just then, a rider whose jersey informed me that "Not failing, but low aim is a Crime" passed me, out of the saddle and looking strong. But again, he must have been trying super hard because I caught him again and dropped him. By now I was towards the top; I remember at one point seeing four or five hairpins in front of me and having to dig very deep to keep turning the pedals.
I passed the "3km to go" marker board with 30 minutes on the clock, and realised I had to pick up the pace to beat my target time of 40 minutes. I knew the last 1.5km was not as steep so I pushed as hard as I dared, and by the time I passed the "2km to go" marker I was back on target. The gradient was levelling off more and more, and so I was consciously speeding up to shave some more seconds from my time. Past the 1km marker I went, now doing well over 20 km/h and soon had the goal in sight. A final sprint took me over the finish line where a beep from the timing transponder let me know I could rest at last.
My time was 39 minutes 16 seconds, beating the target I had set myself and enough for 14th out of about 650 riders in my class
The rest of the TCC team did very well too, Naomi-san of course with her 5th place and many personal best times from riders who had competed in previous years.