Carson Miller reports on racing Merced Road Race

This race is great – I know that the logistics of having the event early in the year are tough, but it would be a race that seems worth the trip for the team. Guys like Roman, Mike, and probably Ryan could go really well here. Not so much for people like me and Josh. Look at the results, and there are a lot of sprinters loaded into the top end of the results – I think even Bahati finished all 195km. :-) The course is flat to rolling, and super fast with a rolling enclosure – no yellow line violations. Only 4.5 hours for 195km. Just a thought to tuck away for next year. I know we cannot do everything, so I just thought to tell you my thoughts

Going into the race, I knew I was in for a long day. At 195km, this would be the longest race I have ever finished – if I made it. That was a primary goal for me. Coming at the end of a week with some solid volume, I wanted to be as fresh as possible. The first few laps (40km) were pretty fast and spirited as teams worked to get a break initiated. Eventually, a group did go clear. Exercising my judgment, I opted to stay in the peleton, rather than going with the early move which was almost certainly destined for failure. And with full teams from BMC, Bissell, Colavita, Cal-Giant, and Rock Racing, I knew it would need to be the “perfect” group that went. Because I was flying solo, I certainly couldn’t cover every attack – even though I wanted to.

The 3rd and 4th laps saw a brief regrouping before the attacks came again. I went with a few, but nothing really stuck. For a few kilometers, I got into a group that had maybe 5 or 10 seconds, but we were never far from the rest. Halfway through the 4th lap, and it was all back together. Finally, a large group that could make it to the finish went. I wasn’t in it, but was content to hang on with the peleton. Bissell appeared to be unhappy with the move as they set to work doing a pretty good chase. The final 15km, and it was all back together again. Several guys put in last ditch efforts, and with 5k to go, Cal Giant had a train rolling. No sense in trying anything now. The final 1300 meters was winding and rolling before a downhill 800 meter dash to the line. With 1100 meters to go, a rider from Fly-V Australia was having a go. I followed him up the gutter, but our move came just a bit too soon. We did make it to the front of peleton, but the rollers killed our momentum. 800 meters to go, and I was grabbing a wheel for the sprint. Coming down the hill, I gained a few positions and was able to hold on for a top 20 (19th).

Not a bad result, but in hindsight I think I could have gone better. Now I know I can get through a long race, and how to best prepare for the races of this distance. And, after 190+km of racing, I learned that I cannot hold my top-end for much more than about 800 or 900 meters.

Keep the rubber side down

Carson