Cache E-Fondo Race Results | Best Finish Yet??

Another week, another E-Fondo! This week takes me to the virtual roads of Utah for the Cache E-Fondo. Checking in at 31 miles and just a hair over 400ft of elevation gain, this route is well suited for someone like me. 

With 171 starters at Sunday's race, I was determined to go all-in for each of the segments, especially the 1st and 3rd segments on the route. Why? Well, the first segment is flat with a slight downhill, catering to both my weight and ability to sustain a relatively high power output. The third segment looked to be relatively flat as well. The main challenge with the third segment is how quickly it followed the second segment -- after a quick downhill, it's back to race pace. 

I also opted for a different strategy this week - do my best to stay with the fast group at the front of the race. While the idea of the Fondo is to only race the segments, taking too much of a break also means you end up doing most of the segments by yourself -- and therefore lose the advantage of being in a draft. Since staying in the draft means going faster, it could make a big difference in terms of my overall performance and standings. 

The first segment was slightly downhill, and I was able to maintain contact with the front of the race for the entirety of the segment. In fact, I found myself in first position several times and was frequently trading places with others at the front, pulling along those conserving energy in the back (i.e., the grifters). Sitting at the front may not have been the best long term strategy, but it was energizing to lead the group. This effort rewarded me with 38th place (overall) in real-time results for the first segment. I had hoped I'd do a little better on the first segment, but I suppose I'm not terribly surprised given how fast the start was and how large of a group we had. Even when the final results from all time zones were published, only 5 seconds separated me from 1st place. 

Segment 2 Results

Although there were no major climbs in today's route, the featherweights still made the selection going up a slight incline after the first segment. I dropped off the back, and about 15 or 20 riders pulled ahead at a pace I couldn't match. Backing off a little, I caught the next group that was riding at a similar pace as me, and followed them through the second segment. With a slight uphill, I was able to finish this one in 7:04, putting me at 30th place in the real-time results. 

The third segment came up fast - with a downhill rocketing racers through the untimed section, there was no rest for the weary. At 3.6 miles, this took 11:05 off the clock - but I placed really well in the real-time results (21st!). Coming out of this segment I was feeling great, and truly beginning to wonder how the age group results were going to look when all is said and done. 

Segment 4 Results

The fourth and final segment was another 3.5 miles, slightly uphill. With fatigue beginning to settle in with the other racers, I felt like there was an opportunity to create a gap. I saw another racer shoot off the front of the group, and with a surge of power I matched him, in hopes that we could create a little separation and work together until the end of the segment. Unfortunately he didn't have the same idea as me, and we drifted back to the group together. I briefly considered making a go of it on my own, but the reality is simple: the odds of being able to pull away from the group when they are working together with a draft is pretty slim. I'd simply end up burning my legs to a crisp and have nothing to show for it. So, sticking with the group I held on until the end where the watts picked up with the segment finish banner in sight. I've never been much of a sprinter, and I watched several riders zip by me. Still, I finished 24th overall for the real-time results, so despite my lack of sprinting prowess I still had a solid finish to the final timed section. 

Some riders pushed hard to the finish line and others dropped back, keeping a moderate pace. With only a mile or two to go, and no longer being timed, there wasn't much value emptying what little I had left in the tank. Still, even at my moderate pace, I crossed the line 25th out of all the starters. 

Even before seeing the age group results (as always - the only thing that truly matters) I felt like staying with a group made a huge difference. I was able to complete the segments significantly faster than my previous races, and the real-time results certainly bared that truth in the moment.

In terms of performance data, this race was pretty similar to my other efforts - my normalized power was around 288w, and cadence and heart rate remained in a solid range for this sort of effort. 

Enough of all that - let's dig into the overall results. These results represent all three time zones that competed and differ from the real-time results mentioned above - those only apply to those in my time zone that I was racing against "in the moment". 

In terms of overall results, I placed 32nd out of 204 riders. This is regardless of age group and gender - just pure finishing order based on time. This is MUCH better than any of the previous races I've done in this series, and lends significant credence to the value of working together in the draft. 

Next is gender. Against all other men in the series (again, regardless of age group) I placed 22nd out of 135. Another solid result! 

Age group results are what ultimately matter (at least when it comes to qualifying for the National Championships). Against men in the same age range, I placed 11th out of 25. This is marginally better than previous weeks, and is continued evidence of the quality of the competitors in my age group. 

Thus, in two out of the three major categories I placed remarkably better this week when using group dynamics in my favor. Although my age group results didn't pan out quite how I wanted it to, it's still nothing to be ashamed of. 

Finally, my standings in the entire race series (6 total races) did change slightly. Series points are based upon your best three results, meaning that results from my worst races are dropped when the series points are calculated. Four races into the series, I'm currently tied for 9th place in the series overall. This is actually a drop from last week's 7th place, but that's okay. I'm still in the top 10, and doing much better than I ever expected. 

Next week's race is the last in the series I'll be able to participate in. Focused on the roads of Asheville, NC, it'll test our legs for another 31 miles and 3500ft of climbing. Not unlike earlier Fondos, this one has a killer climb at the end that will no doubt separate the strong from the weak.