Saturday was our State age-based Crit Championship. It was held at The Driveway, very cool motorsports facility that’s a tight twisting course with a short popper hill that puts the burn into the legs and can help break things up. Even this time of morning it’s already in the 80’s and the humidity is bringing on the funk.
I went in knowing that I’d be heavily marked, that there were some guys that I’d have trouble with in a sprint, and that there was some strong talent including two teammates who had been laying waste to that age group all year. Several other teams had a pretty good presence, I was on my own.
Pre race conversations with the competition went something like this:
“So what are you going to do?”
“Ride hard from the gun”
And that was pretty much my strategy. Got to make it hard so it didn’t come down to a field sprint. If I blew up in the process, oh well.
So I went off the front about 90 seconds in. Look back, and I have three very strong guys on my wheel, and a gap behind. I stay on the front drilling it so there weren’t any lulls. After a couple of laps I pull off and throw the elbow, current points leader pulls through, as does his teammate, as does our other break mate. We’re not flying, but we’re moving well. I notice I can gap folks in a couple of the technical corners and coming over the kicker hill; file that away for later use.
Couple of laps later another 4-5 guys bridge up, including a sprinter who won the State Cup a couple of years ago. My break mates sit up slightly and we slow. There’s a bit over 40 minutes to go and this might come back together.
I go. Hard. Get a gap. 350w for the next 5 mins. Holding the gap at 10 seconds and they are chasing hard. Another 5 minutes and the gap isn’t moving. Keep the head down, you can’t let them think they’re closing.
Then it creeps up a bit. Thirty minutes to go it’s now 15 seconds. The wind is kicking up and that’s not good for one guy OTF, so I’m resurrecting the old Moto GP skills and skipping the tire through the fast horseshoe bend. A second here, a second there. Stay tucked when the course straightens. Keep it around 325w.
Gap jumps to 20. Then 30. Then back down to 20. Watch the clock. Stay steady. Start passing backmarkers and that gets me a few hairy moments trying to figure out which way they are going. Guys are blowing from the heat and the pace, I’m drenched in sweat which starts running into my eyes. I don’t wipe them, I know that’s just going to make the burn worse. Just deal with it.
Finally the lap cards come out. I can see the wind go out of the chase group, they drop further back. I come onto the pack and sail through yelling “coming left!”
They get a free tow for the last few laps. I keep firing away, we’re past the free lap and if I flat I want as much time as I can get.
Last lap the guys I’ve been towing come around as we near the line to sprint out their positions. I go across pointing at the team logo on my chest then raise my hands.
Had planned on racing down in age an hour later to help some of my teammates, but I’m pretty much wrecked, so I make my apologies and collect my State Champ jersey and winnings.
Go home and do laundry.
