Monday, May 25, 2009

SugarCRM Memorial Day Criterium


When I registered for 45+ 3/4 for this crit, I did not realize that my race was combined with 35+ 3/4. Although I do like to race with 35+ 4, racing with 35+ 3 made me feel bit uncomfortable because I have never done it before. Instead of fierce pace, the problem was - crashes. There were five that I heard or saw, way too many for a simple, flat course with four 90-degree turns and excellent pavement. Total of 77 racers started the race, 64 finished. The average speed was 26 mph, certainly not result of a steady pace. None of several attacks survived more than half a lap, thanks to the wind and some strong teams. There were two crashes in the last lap, one after another, right before and inside 4th corner to go. I had to break to avoid last crash but managed to catch tail of the lead group of approx. 25 that opened a small gap after the crash. I was still breathing hard from that effort when another attack started with 600-700m to go. My chance to recover just a little bit before the sprint went bye-bye, you could hear me cursing something nasty that no one could understand. The attack was neutralized and I used few seconds of confusion to move up before the last corner and final sprint. I was around 14-15th position in the last corner, passed few guys in the sprint and ended up 9th overall. Results were split by category and that brought me 3rd place in 45+. Too bad they did not split results further to 3 vs. 4, I would have ended up even higher :)

Cheers,
Vlada

1 comment:

Matthew Werner said...

And if they'd split it further into guys who can cuss the best, you'd've come out on top!

Great race, Vlada. Congrats on another podium finish.

What's with all the crashes??