Ladner Crit

Last night we raced the Ladner crit here at BC Superweek. It was a short, flat and tight, 4 turn course over a 700 meter circuit. I started off at the front, but the first 5-10 laps started out like a sprint, so I was shuffled to the back. Throughout the race riders were getting shelled from the pace and I would pick them off. However, I could never find good lines to pass a lot of people through the turns, so I could never make it to the front of the race. This is the first time in a long time I have been unable to actually participate in the action at a race. It was like a 1 hour motor pacing session. Evan was able to make his way to the front even though he flatted mid race and was put back in at the back of the race. He stayed up there and was able to come away with 9th place yet again. Today we race the 100 mile UCI 1.2 Tour de Delta road race. It should be a fun one.

North Delta Crit

Last night the North Delta Crit kicked off BC Superweek. It was a tough 4 turn, 1 km circuit that we raced for 55 minutes plus 5 laps. It was my first race in a few weeks, so I was a little bit nervous going into it. The race started with relentless attacks from the gun. I started at the back and settled into the race rather than try to just move to the front immediately. I have found when you just try to pass everyone in the first 5 laps I may blow up, so I like to settle into races. Winning moves usually do not go until 15-30 minutes into a race, so I have found this to be an effective strategy. After 3 laps I looked back and was last wheel as riders were going out the back. That lit a little bit of a fire under me, and I picked off riders a little more quickly than I normally would have. Evan was covering some moves early. After about 15-20 minutes of racing the pace lulled, so I took this chance to surge to the front. There was a move with all teams represented, so I bridged up to it. However, I dragged the whole field with me. An effort like that makes you pay a price on a course like this, so I had to sit in for 10 minutes or so. During this period Evan and Oliver did a great job covering. With 10-15 minutes to go I tried covering again, but once again brought the whole field with me. After this point Silber and Rally seemed to be controlling the race for a sprint finish. Evan ended up coming 9th in the field sprint. This race was a good effort by our smaller team battling teams of 6 up here. It was one of the toughest crits I have ever done according to the watts, so it was a good way to get thrown back into the fire. We race another crit tonight in Ladner.

Stillwater Crit

Today was the final stage of the North Star Grand Prix. We tackled 23 laps on a 1.3 mile course that features a 200 meter climb that averages 13%. The plan for the day was to protect Nicolai and set him up for a late race move. The pace set off fast from the gun, and riders were getting shelled like peanuts each time up the climb. For the first 10 laps I stayed near Nicolai and looked after him. After 12 laps the field seemed soft, so I went with a move that ended up being the break of the day. I did no work in the move and figured it put us in a strong position if Nic bridged up late race. I was ready to drill it for him if this situation happened. Guys were attacking off the front of the break but were fading, and our gap on the field was huge. With 4 laps to go the break seemed to be fading, and I felt super. So I attacked with 3.5 laps to go and immediately got a 15 second gap on the break and had about 30 seconds on the field. About a minute later on the descent I got a rear flat, and my race was over. Sometimes things that are beyond your control happen in bike racing. That is the beauty of the sport. You can't get down about it, and you have to move on. Situations like this have happened to me before, and I am sure they will happen again. With about 2 laps to go the field caught the rest of the break, and Nic was positioned near the front. He came to the line with 5-10 riders and came in 4th on the stage. Tactically we raced a super race today. The North Star Grand Prix was super fun, and we killed it as a team.