Maryland E-Fondo Results and Recap

Another week has come and gone, and with it the final race in the Suarez Gran Fondo E-Series. This week's race found me taking on the virtual roads of Maryland. Unlike weeks passed, I raced in a later time zone with only 36 starters. It was strange having such a small field, and I instantly knew I'd be riding most of the race alone. It also made me curious how my times would compare once combined with the other two time zones since I wouldn't have a large group to draft with. 

Checking in at 30 miles and just over 3000ft of elevation gain (the profile graph above is incorrect), there were four timed segments. Like several of the earlier E-Fondos, the bulk of elevation gain was found on a single climb; in today's race, that climb was found in the second segment. The remainder were relatively flat and fast. 

When the timer struck zero we passed under the starting arch with high power and picked up speed quickly. With such a small field racing, gaps formed quickly. I stayed near the front as best I could but there were a few racers that shot off the front and kept going - creating a gap big enough that I didn't want to even try to keep pace with them (though two would drop out before the race ended). 

The miles flew by as we entered the first segment. Taking advantage of a slight grade and high power, it was my turn to create a gap with the riders behind me. With a steady effort, I pushed the pedals hard and dropped everyone behind me. With a time of 9:34, I placed 3rd in the real time results; this sounded great in the moment, but I quickly reminded myself that with so few racers on the course and being in the front of the race, the real-time results didn't mean very much. It was the combined results with the other time zones that really mattered. 

Segment 2 was an absolute beast. Starting off with a slight incline, it quickly turned into an uphill slog. For some reason I actually didn't think the climb would be that bad - after all, looking at the profile it was steep, but not terribly long. However, with sections pitching up to 18%, the fight was real. This was a tough climb which ended up taking me 27:12 - a full 8 minutes slower than the current KOM. Certainly not great, but it's what I was able to squeeze out. 

Segment 3 came up quickly after finishing the climb. With only a few minutes of rest, I felt surprisingly fresh (could I have pushed harder on the climb??) and was able to take advantage of the undulating terrain and finished the segment in 6:04 - placing me in 2nd for the real-time results. With a blistering downhill, Segment 4 was at my doorstep in a matter of minutes. The freshness I felt leading into the third segment was almost gone, but fortunately it was relatively flat. I did lose some time to the person behind me, as we played cat and mouse for most of the segment. The segment ended for me after 7:27, placing me in second in the real-time results. A few minutes later I finished the race in 3rd place overall. 

While the real-time results were very encouraging, I was careful not to delude myself about what the results would look like once combined with the other time zones - after all, there were lots of other racers that had completed the course earlier in the day. All that said, let's go ahead and get into it. 

Overall - with results combined from all three time zones and 165 total riders, I placed 42nd regardless of age and gender. Among men, I placed 33rd out of 122. The meat of the matter, however, is within my age group. As I've said throughout this series, it's the age group results that carry the most meaning. In this case, I placed 10th out of 18 men in my age group. This is very much in line with my earlier series results, so I'm not terribly shocked about where I landed - but pleasantly surprised that the lack of a large field didn't appear to hurt my standing that much. 

The Maryland E-Fondo was also the last of 6 races in the virtual series. With all the points tallied across the entire series, where would I land? First, let me remind you how this works: With 6 races in the series, individuals needed to complete at least 2 races to show up on the series ranking, and 3 races to be in the points race. More importantly, only your best three races are considered in the point series - meaning if you only do 4 races, your worst race is dropped, and series points are calculated off the best three. Six races (like me?) - same deal. Only the best three events are kept. 

Interestingly, the last three races in the series were also my best, meaning the first three races were dropped from the points calculation. Now, could this be because my training has continued to progress? Because I was learning race tactics in RGT? Or perhaps I took better advantage of the draft in the final races? I'll never know for sure, but it's likely a combination of all factors. 

And finally, the big question remains: what was my final ranking in the series? Well, the answer is 14th out of 37 (if 37 seems small, keep in mind that the series required racers to do multiple races...those with only one or two races get dropped from the final results entirely). Although I always want to "win", I'm very pleased with this result - especially since I had only started my training program a few weeks prior.

My next blog post will breakdown my thoughts on the series itself and where I stand in terms of qualifying for the real-life national championships later this year.