Highs/Lows.

Sherman Park Criterium, 6/13/09
Race #22

2nd/~50

Thanks to xXx for, yet again, putting on a great race. It is not easy, and their hard work is much appreciated.

Racing in the rain is fairly new to me. I once said that I have absolutely no interest in starting a race in the rain. But thanks to those hard working people of the internets we have something called “pre registration.” Which means, mostly simply, “dude, you already paid for it.” Dan and I were even talking about that at 7 this morning, as we began to head south, in the rain.


Short version: Well, I got points. The race overall--a mixed bag.

T1 Report: My diabetes was spot on today. Riding to the race is really helpful in my BG management—I just wish there was more racing in Chicago.

Two teammates got caught up in that amazing crash with 2 to go. Which by the way, was the longest sounding crash I have ever heard. It’s like a sound effect you can grab free online—the kind that are uncomfortably longer than you’d like. This crash, it just wouldn’t stop. I mean, I know that guys were sliding all over the place stopping other riders, but I actually thought the crash was going to catch up to me…Luckily, Jordan escaped the carnage but was gaped off behind it; unfortunately, Drew and Dan were both nailed by sliding riders and suffered some ugly road rash—I hope both heal up quick!

On the up side, all the monkeys were looking very, very strong. Given that and I know that racing is racing, and this is really obvious—but I’ll say it anyway, after one more parenthetical clause, a dependent clause separated from the stem by commas—that crash really changed the dynamic of the final lap. The other guys I was keeping an eye on were caught out by that crash, so I was nervous because I didn’t see them. So, when Dan began his leadout and I sprinted on his left I fully expected a few riders to come around the far right side. But that never happened.

Dan gets major props for being the strong man once again. After his leadout he held on for third. It was awesome to have two on the podium.

Sprinting:
I was comfortable following Dan’s leadout. I kept spinning and jumped around him in the same gear and accelerated easily, I shifted once more for the long haul, then once more, I stood and tried to over take the leader. On this I need to work on my form—I’m loosing some transfer when I stand to sprint. Anyway, I couldn’t make it up to him in that gear; I hit a plateau and finished just off his rear wheel. I think I jumped too late and then shifted too early and definitely once too often. Had I spun up to my max I may have gained some more ground in the final 100m. Lessons learned.

As far as racing in the rain. It sucks.