The course is around a parking lot, so it's closed to traffic and is pretty safe. There are several turns in only 0.6 miles including 90 degree turns and sweeping high speed turns. There are some ripples in the pavement that threw my wheels around a little bit during the race. Several Westlake regulars turned up to race in the "B" field including John V, Rick B, and Gwenn. Chris Riccardi rode the "B" field as warm-up for his race and coached us during the race.
Last year I really struggled during this race. I would hang in for about 20 minutes, then blow up. My goal for this first outing was to just finish in the field. I was actually pretty nervous.
We had a sane start. I was able to clip in and get into a good position. There were several attacks during the first few laps. Rick and John were aggressive as were a couple Stark Velo guys.
That lasted for a while, but nobody seemed to have the power to stay away for long. I was under a little pressure, but never felt like I was going to slip off the back. In spite of that, I wasn't really holding position in the field.
There was a lot of complaining and jaw boning during the race. I think the physical and mental stress of racing brings out the bitchiness of people.
Chris gave quite a few good pointers during the race. If I jumped out of the corner onto the long straight, I could carry my speed and pass lots of guys. Pretty obvious, no doubt, but having someone point it out during the race made it really clear. I followed his advice and moved up.
By the last 10 laps, I had a good feel for the course and was riding efficiently. I started to think about the sprint. I'd move up on the last lap and start winding it up through the last turn.
The bell rang, we went around the course and I started moving up, the two lead riders overcooked one of the harder turns, and instead of just riding off the pavement onto the nice grass with hard packed dirt, they decided to asphalt surf. Frames clattered, tires blew, wheels rattled.
Everyone paused for a second, then everyone jumped. I was in good position. But got pretty passive. I misjudged the sprint. Since the finish is on a slight downhill, it starts from way out. I waited too long, then realized my mistake but it was too late. I finished mid pack. John V. won and Rick B took third even after being aggressive through the whole race.
I'm looking forward to next Thursday. I think I can get a better result.
No comments:
Post a Comment