Daria Vander Veer placed 2nd in her division (and 7th overall) at the 4th Annual Stamford KIC IT Triathlon last weekend and Jason Renaud gets the CT silver at Keith Berger Crit in the Juniors division. Below are their stories:
KIC IT Tri: (by Daria Vander Veer)
I have to compliment race director Beth Shluger on pulling off a logistically challenging event smack in the heart of downtown Stamford. Huge post-race party and lots of happy participants. The main things I enjoyed were the absolutely flawless swim conditions; dead flat calm, waters a lovely cool (not cold) temp, no jellyfish. Heck, there wasn’t even any seaweed! Ended up 2nd in my age group, about 1:00 behind the winner, thanks to the woman I told you about who gave me a “lift” through miles 3-5 with her beautiful tempo that happened to match mine (and her slightly greater speed). How often do you get such a perfect draft on the run? Although getting up at 3:30am hurt, I am glad I went.
Keith Berger Crit (by Jason Renaud)
This was the first time I ever did this race, so I wasn’t sure what to expect having never even ridden this course before. The junior field was 14 riders, which was not that bad of a junior turn out compared to other races I have done with just one or 2 juniors. I thought that this criterium would follow the same rhythm of criteriums I had participated in at Rentschler Field, but I was most wrong! As soon the whistle blew the field was blow apart as attacks came from the left and the right of the field. The Bay Hill Capital/ CLNoonan team was the most represented team in the race, having 3 (or 4?) riders from that team out there, and they were certainly the causes of the early chaos as they were the primary attackers, leaving the rest of the field scrambling for positions against the onslaught. After lap 2 the chaotic mess had let a breakaway of 2 riders to slip away, and the main field began a pace line in an attempt to pull them back. The main field also split as the younger and/ or more tired riders fell off the back, leaving a 6-man pace line. The paceline happened for the rest of the race until the final lap, with sporadic attacks and accelerations from the 2 Bay Hill Capital. CLNoonan riders that remained with the field. And the breakaway of 2 guys actually lapped the entire field!!! Which was the most impressive junior racing I have seen to date. They ended up taking the 1st and 2nd spots for the race, leaving the field to duke it out for 3rd place in a field sprint. At the beginning of this race I was completely caught off guard at the intensity and speed, and I paid for that dearly. It was very challenging until I just found my rhythm and stuck with that the rest of the race. The accelerations throughout the race with also very taxing, and I think that if I had warmed up better before the race I would have been able to respond to those attacks better. I have never been all that great at sprinting, so that showed near the end when I lost some ground during the field sprint and ended up taking 6th (or 7th?, I am not quite sure). So all in all, it was a great race, and other than my sprinting during the field sprint at the end of the race I am pleased with my performance and look forward to doing it again next year!
KIC IT Tri: (by Daria Vander Veer)
I have to compliment race director Beth Shluger on pulling off a logistically challenging event smack in the heart of downtown Stamford. Huge post-race party and lots of happy participants. The main things I enjoyed were the absolutely flawless swim conditions; dead flat calm, waters a lovely cool (not cold) temp, no jellyfish. Heck, there wasn’t even any seaweed! Ended up 2nd in my age group, about 1:00 behind the winner, thanks to the woman I told you about who gave me a “lift” through miles 3-5 with her beautiful tempo that happened to match mine (and her slightly greater speed). How often do you get such a perfect draft on the run? Although getting up at 3:30am hurt, I am glad I went.
Keith Berger Crit (by Jason Renaud)
This was the first time I ever did this race, so I wasn’t sure what to expect having never even ridden this course before. The junior field was 14 riders, which was not that bad of a junior turn out compared to other races I have done with just one or 2 juniors. I thought that this criterium would follow the same rhythm of criteriums I had participated in at Rentschler Field, but I was most wrong! As soon the whistle blew the field was blow apart as attacks came from the left and the right of the field. The Bay Hill Capital/ CLNoonan team was the most represented team in the race, having 3 (or 4?) riders from that team out there, and they were certainly the causes of the early chaos as they were the primary attackers, leaving the rest of the field scrambling for positions against the onslaught. After lap 2 the chaotic mess had let a breakaway of 2 riders to slip away, and the main field began a pace line in an attempt to pull them back. The main field also split as the younger and/ or more tired riders fell off the back, leaving a 6-man pace line. The paceline happened for the rest of the race until the final lap, with sporadic attacks and accelerations from the 2 Bay Hill Capital. CLNoonan riders that remained with the field. And the breakaway of 2 guys actually lapped the entire field!!! Which was the most impressive junior racing I have seen to date. They ended up taking the 1st and 2nd spots for the race, leaving the field to duke it out for 3rd place in a field sprint. At the beginning of this race I was completely caught off guard at the intensity and speed, and I paid for that dearly. It was very challenging until I just found my rhythm and stuck with that the rest of the race. The accelerations throughout the race with also very taxing, and I think that if I had warmed up better before the race I would have been able to respond to those attacks better. I have never been all that great at sprinting, so that showed near the end when I lost some ground during the field sprint and ended up taking 6th (or 7th?, I am not quite sure). So all in all, it was a great race, and other than my sprinting during the field sprint at the end of the race I am pleased with my performance and look forward to doing it again next year!
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