Sunday, September 12, 2010

Dothan Cityfest Criterium

The city of Dothan, Alabama put on a wonderful nighttime criterium last night. The course was about .7 miles long and had 4 ninety degree corners. From the start/finish straight the course was uphill until turn two. Then it went downhill into a fast and open turn three and slightly downhill into a slightly off-camber turn 4. Team Ion- United Healthcare fielded two riders at the race: Brian Hill and myself. We wanted to race hard, get into a breakaway, and try to win the race. The race was 40 laps in duration and the attacks started from the gun. Andy Crater was very aggressive. Brian and I made sure that either of us were in every split that happened. I was feeling good on this course. My Blue AC 1 and Industry Nine wheels were tracking amazingly through the fast turns. Many of the early splits were brought back by the many teams present and everyone was fresh. After about 15 laps I got up the road with Andy Crater, John Atkins, and Brian Toone. We managed to work very well together and quickly got a gap of 40 seconds on the field. During this time I was hydrating well with my Ion Competition energy drink and staying as fresh as possible. Brian Hill, my teammate, was doing an awesome job covering attacks in the field while I was off the front. As we were off the front for more and more time it became apparent that Andy and I were stronger than Brian and John. Andy rode hard up the hill but we could not shake Brian and John. With about 5 laps to go we lapped the field. At this point people in the break quit working and started to play around. No one wanted to be at the front. With half a lap to go I went fast into the downhill turn three and sprinted to turn 4. Andy Crater got by me before turn 4 and managed to take the win. I held on for second and John Atkins finished 3rd ahead of Brian Toone. In another split my teammate Brian Hill was beaten to the line by Emile Abraham, so Brian ended up 6th. Overall we had a good race and were happy about it. First I would like to thank God for giving me the fitness to race well and stay safe. I'd also like to thank my wife, my mom, and my sister for driving me to the race. I'd also like to thank the city of Dothan, Alabama for putting on a great race and my teammate Brian Hill for helping me out to my second place finish.

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