Race Report 3

Third race. My goal: to break into the top five. There is a change of location from a closed race track to a road circuit in an industrial park. It's still just turning in one direction, just the other direction.

I felt about as good as I did before the last one. On the ride out to the race I already felt worn out. I was pretty sure that I was merely going to be there for the ride. Our race started more than an hour after we got there to register so we ended up standing in the sun collecting a pretty good first degree burn. I forgot to put on any sun screen.

My bladder indicated that I still get a few pre-race nerves, but things got rolling like they always do. A bit of sorting out, not too crazy off the start. My colleague pointed out the guy that ran away with the last race, so I marked him and stayed with him, going when he went and not letting him break off the front (as he did last time). The first half proceeded without drama.

Things then got a bit interesting. There are always two grades that are on course at the same time, overlaping each other over the course of the morning. The grade above us rolled out and just sort of cruised around in no particular hurry. The rules state that the lesser grade must move aside and slow down so that the grade above can proceed with their race. The grade below is not allowed to mix with the grade above as they pass, and must, in general, keep their distance, including behind them. As a result, we all had a break for a few laps until the faster group decided to go racing.

Maybe it was because everyone had a bit of a breather, but things started to get a bit more hectic, resulting in a little more jostling for position within the group. I ended up having the first of the close calls, overlapping my front wheel with the rear wheel of the guy in front just as he decided to move to the left as my weight was shifting to the right. It all happened in a second, but unraveled in slow motion. I have no idea how I didn't go down and take ten to fifteen guys with me, but it was, in the end, just a big wobble from me as I just barely snuck in behind his wheel and a few shouts from the group behind. I shall not be overlapping wheels again.

Before the end of the race there were about three or four incidents that were a cause of some concern from the rest of the group, but surprisingly, no one went down. Not for lack of trying.

As usual, the call goes out to signal two laps to go and that's when things pick up significantly. I had been pushed back to the rear half of the pack over the last two corners, so I had some work to do to get back up to a position to challenge. The second last corner is a slight bend followed by a tight (greater than 90 degrees) but still pretty quick corner onto the finishing straight. In that second corner I left a little less than a bike width between myself and the curb, but it was enough for a handful of aggressive racers to start flowing through. I had to be a little more aggressive before the last corner to make up the spots, and made up a few.

Last corner. Pretty messy. Bikes everywhere. Hard left, and then time it perfectly.

It was a little desperate with guys battling for position into the last straight. It's a long one, so if you go early you'll be done for. Cornering is not something I excel at, and as a result a gap of a few bike lengths had opened up in front of me. Doesn't sound like much, but even half of a bike length is enough to lose any drafting effect. I popped out of the saddle and much to my surprise, I closed it pretty quickly. Either I was stronger than I thought or the guy in front was just tired. Even though I don't remember anything that happened around me, I suppose my peripherals helped a brother out and after sitting on his wheel for a few seconds, I pulled out and launched my final attack with everything I had. Even my head was trying to pedal, and as we all crossed the line I new I had finished well but couldn't be sure of where, exactly. My body was screaming for oxygen. I knew I had a top five, but was pretty certain it was fifth. Maybe fourth.

The top five are called up receive some prize money, which is great, so I stuck around to see where I ended up. For my class they started with fourth, and it wasn't my name that was called. Fifth it was. My goal has always just been to improve on my last race, which I definitely did, and I was happy with that. Felt pretty good about that sprint too.

When they called third and it was me, that was icing on the cake. Podium! And the winnings covered a portion of my race license for the year. It's not exactly going to become a career, but I'm looking forward to pedaling my bike around in 2012.