Dixie Crit!

Tonight, I did my first criterium race. I'd always been intimidated by these types of races (fast, flat, lots of turns around a tight course). I've always been a much stronger climber than anything else, so these races definitely do not play into my grimy hands. I got a short warm up, mostly because I lack the foresight to arrive early and register quickly. After a few laps to kind of get the lay of the land, I toed the line and got the obligatory Cat 5 pep talk which inevitably goes something like this, "What are you racing for tonight? A hat, that's it. No money, so be careful about sprinting for 60th place...blah, blah, blah." After the little discussion, we were given the "go." The race started off pretty harmless, with an easy enough pace to sit in extremely comfortably. I was thinking, no big deal here, the cornering wasn't as hard as I thought. I think having started off as a mountain biker definitely helped with the handling skills as some looked less than confident in the corners. The time started to peel away, and all of the sudden the director said, "Ten laps remaining!" The pace quickened. I took a turn on the front, then worked my way back slightly to get a rest, and noticed three others took off off the front. I figured, no big deal, we'll reel them back in. I sat in for about four more laps always in the front three or four of the pack and realized that we weren't pulling back the break. I looked around, anounced my intentions and stood up to sprint.

Suffering in my bridging attempt

I started to bridge the gap and was feeling pretty decent. I thought for sure that someone from the pack would have come with me to help close the gap, but when I looked over my shoulder I found myself alone in no-man's-land. My fellow CLMer's were cheering for me at the start finish, but I couldn't go on in that situation so I dropped back into the pack and figured I would be racing for fourth. I worked back to the pack with about two laps left, but was feeling pretty cooked from my frivolous efforts on the front, so when it came time to sprint in the end, I didn't have much power on reserve. I finished somewhere around 8th. Overall, I was pleased with my effort, and I've got another bit of knowledge and experience to use in the next race. Hopefully, next Wednesday, myself along with some of the CLM will head out to do the Wednesday Night Crit in Wilkesboro...we shall see!

Race Action

Dixie 4-12-10 from Barry Stevenson on Vimeo.