Glad Greg was able to get out and get his first race back. The girls stayed and watched our race which was way kewl!!
It was a pretty late race for us. We were the last race of the day at 4. There's not too much to report. We had the biggest field of the day with 60+ starters. Felt pretty good most of the race. It was pretty tough holding good position for an entire lap with 60 guys and the natural choke point at the turn 3 exit. Race went along uneventful for the most part, kind of sloppy, a lot of bumping and wheel rubbing.
Fast forward to the end:
Greg and I talked and agreed on a plan somewhat. The main thing for Greg was to just get his first race of the season under his belt and maybe give me a ride to the front if I needed it. On the 3 to go lap there's a crash right next to Greg and in front of me exiting turn 3. Greg had to swerve hard to stay up and I just needed a mild line adjustment. Then it was immediately out of the saddle, chase up, connect back on. The pace was higher now. This made moving up a bit more difficult. It's a tough course to move up on fast anyway as I learned. Starting moving up on 2 to go and I'm realizing it is not as easy as I thought it was going to be. I tested it once during the race and it was easy, not now due to the crash and subsequent elevation of pace. Enter bell lap and pace ratchets up another notch, guys are fading hard now, I'm still moving up a rider or two at a time. Out of the final turn, Greg moves to the inside of the road and I stayed to middle left (sort of blocked into it), I started looking for a lane as the sprint was winding up. Out of nowhere 2-3 guys in front of me bump and sit up, guys behind them grab brakes...250m from the line, I'm forced to find a way around, quick! Like Greg said, it created a wall half way across the road and I was behind it. Bottom line is I should have moved up sooner. Lesson learned. Greg pulled out a 13th and I took 20th of 61 starters.
Looking at the numbers, this was the fastest 4's crit of the season thus far.
Ave Race Speed: 26.1mph
Lap Speed:
3 to go - 25.2
2 to go - 26.3
Bell lap - 27.7
It was a pretty late race for us. We were the last race of the day at 4. There's not too much to report. We had the biggest field of the day with 60+ starters. Felt pretty good most of the race. It was pretty tough holding good position for an entire lap with 60 guys and the natural choke point at the turn 3 exit. Race went along uneventful for the most part, kind of sloppy, a lot of bumping and wheel rubbing.
Fast forward to the end:
Greg and I talked and agreed on a plan somewhat. The main thing for Greg was to just get his first race of the season under his belt and maybe give me a ride to the front if I needed it. On the 3 to go lap there's a crash right next to Greg and in front of me exiting turn 3. Greg had to swerve hard to stay up and I just needed a mild line adjustment. Then it was immediately out of the saddle, chase up, connect back on. The pace was higher now. This made moving up a bit more difficult. It's a tough course to move up on fast anyway as I learned. Starting moving up on 2 to go and I'm realizing it is not as easy as I thought it was going to be. I tested it once during the race and it was easy, not now due to the crash and subsequent elevation of pace. Enter bell lap and pace ratchets up another notch, guys are fading hard now, I'm still moving up a rider or two at a time. Out of the final turn, Greg moves to the inside of the road and I stayed to middle left (sort of blocked into it), I started looking for a lane as the sprint was winding up. Out of nowhere 2-3 guys in front of me bump and sit up, guys behind them grab brakes...250m from the line, I'm forced to find a way around, quick! Like Greg said, it created a wall half way across the road and I was behind it. Bottom line is I should have moved up sooner. Lesson learned. Greg pulled out a 13th and I took 20th of 61 starters.
Looking at the numbers, this was the fastest 4's crit of the season thus far.
Ave Race Speed: 26.1mph
Lap Speed:
3 to go - 25.2
2 to go - 26.3
Bell lap - 27.7
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