Criterium Season is Here!

My last blog sought to find some positives in what has been a tough season. Well, I've got some straight-up good news since then: Two top-5 finishes!

Why? How? The criteriums have started. I'm the worst 135-lb. climber I know, but a decent sprinter for my weight. If the sprint is pretty open and it's not a long dragstrip, that is. Being smaller (and of a more cautious sensibility), it's tough to fight for position against the big guys and I don't have a long, high-speed sprint. Give me 150 meters and a slight uphill or headwind!

My first good finish was the Mississippi Criterium. 4th. This year they took the race up a notch and had some great primes and prizes (thanks especially to Rapha, www.rapha.cc - so nice). Our field was about 60 guys or so and they shortened the course by a block. Eight turns, maybe 1k for the loop. It made for some tight, hectic racing. My teammate was an absolute rock star, keeping me in good position and putting in huge attacks to keep the other guys working. I think I could have even managed a place or two higher if I had picked a smaller gear coming out of the final corner. No complaints, though!

Just two days later was Monday PIR. It's the weekly racing series out at our local raceway. 1.9-mile flat oval with a chicane on one end and a sweeping 180 on the other. Two long straights connecting them. It's a points race with intermediate sprint laps. Put 60-100 guys out there all lots of horsepower, and it's an amazing workout. Just sitting in all race at 28-30 mph is good motorpacing! Anyway, I had been working all race for another buddy, but to no avail. The race that night was too slow with unpredictable accelerations and I found myself on the wrong side or too far back when things actually happened. I was cramping by the end, but found myself near the front going into the final sprint. Luckily, my buddy was right in front of me and had a good sprint for 4th. And I managed to stay behind him for 5th.

I guess that means all the work I've done is starting to pay off. Don't want to read too much into it, though. Being a sprinter is always a roll of the dice. Good sprinters often find themselves way out of the contention due to last minute surges and re-shuffling. Having a teammate who knows how to help makes dealing with those variables exponentially easier!

Anyway, just thought I'd share the good news. I hope your racing and riding is going well, and that I've got more good news to come!