Madisons

Last Monday I raced Madison night at the track. Just 4 teams and the other three were guys. My partner and I got last in every race but had lots of fun. I think each team had at least one cat 2 men's rider so the pace was blistering. Racing on Mondays is really fun though because there are three heats of juniors to watch. I like seeing the kids get stronger. I've seen several juniors get fast and pass me on their way up.

Wednesday I went out and did not race but watched the masters, women 4's and the men's 4's race. It was great to see that the women had a big field out there.

Friday night I went out to the track again and raced the national qualifier. Each race had a certain number of riders that would
qualify for Nationals. This meant our field was stacked with talent and everyone was ready to ride hard. We did a 20 lap scratch. You can usually bet the first half of that race will be easy. Not so, this time. The women were attacking every lap. It was very hard. I got dropped half way and this is the first track race this year I have been dropped at. Later I found that I was in a 83
inch gear. This is like trying to do a crit in the small ring. Not a good idea. I felt better when I figured this out yesterday!

I also raced the madison again on Friday but this time I wore the Wines of Washington jersey because the last two times my partner has worn the Blue Rooster jersey. The Madison is so much fun because you get to rest every other lap (when your
partner is "in") so you can ride much harder. The speeds are at least 5mph faster. It is really fun to be going that fast.

Yesterday I rested and then today I did 15 second intervals on the trainer. I was able to hit 570 watts on each one. The is 70 watts higher than a few weeks ago.

Catching up - Three Girls Madison!

Friday we raced again at the Velodrome. It was in the 100's this week and they actually had to cancel racing on Wednesday and Thursday but luckily it cooled down to the the 80's and 90's so we could race again. The races were short due to the weather but they seemed extra short after the long races at the FSA competition. We had a 8-lap scratch, 2 lap heats, and a points race. The atmosphere was very laid back and relaxed since FSA was done. On the two lap heats I took a chance and went for the early attack but Jennifer came by in a big gear and I couldn't catch back on. The other races were fine - just hanging in with the group mostly. I might try a bigger gear next week to see how it feels. I do like spinning the little gear though. I figure it's good for me in the long run.

Sunday I did a Madison workout with Michelle and spent some time riding behind the motor cycle in warm up. It was still nice and warm and by the end of the workout we were getting hot again.

On Monday I did the Madison races. We had 5 teams this time, our best turnout yet. One of the riders showed up after the first race and then we had one extra person. So the three girls decided to form one team. Two riders were on relief while one was racing. It was a blast! We had so much fun. It made our speeds much faster but also gave us more to think about. When you have two riders on relief you need to keep track of each other as well as the rider in the race so you don't both come down for an exchange, or stack them up too close together. We blew our exchanges several times but had even more fun than we usually do. During the race was the first time I had ever done an exchange with Devon. It went fine but I was nervous before hand! The officials were really cool about letting us have a "pair of three".

This is a picture of the cool jerseys that Bilko brought before Devon joined the three-girls team.

Madison Practice at Marymoor Velodrome!

Yesterday was our Madison practice! Or "racing on fast forward" as Adrian called it.

I was nervous about doing the slings but the class guided us through the technique very methodically. First we practiced on the grass with our partners. We used the "double-hook-sling" hand hold method instead of a tight grip. Each partner hooked their hands and connected at the glove. This was less intimidating since you knew you could get out of it if needed. Mark described it like "a fighter jet landing on an aircraft carrier, grabbing the arrestor wire with the tailhook".

We then rode around the apron practicing the hand hold with little surges. Then we progressed to the track, first at moderate speed and then faster. At the end they pulled out the moto and did a paceline. I still have to master all of the traffic so I wasn't ready to jump on the moto yet. I think with a few more practices I will be ready to race.

There are lots of weird considerations in the Madison, and it turns upside down your concept of racing. The faster the race is, the slower you go on relief. But you are never really on relief because you have to set up for the next exchange. Also, gearing is ridiculously low. Like, the professional 6-dayers might use an 89" gear, averaging 60kpm, and sprinting at 70kph. Scoring is done old-style: first by laps, then sprint points. Each track has its own rules including Marymoor. There are lots of tricks that will give you better wheel position, and they are non-intuitive. The Madison is essentially a continuous relay and the sling is just a part of it.

The long term goal is to make Madison racing a regular feature at MV. It is very big in Europe, and fast gaining popularity in the states. The first step is to increase the number of people that are proficient in this event. So, this is a chance to get in on The Beginning.

Here is a video compilation of some of the practice slings: