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| RUCT Racers: David, Peter, Georgia, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Mark(left to right) |
The starting field for the crit this morning was, once again, 40+ riders. Unlike yesterday, however, when we set our tires on the line the weather was perfect: 70 degrees, sunny, dry pavement, and clean turns. Ideal racing weather.
The race started with a tentative first lap as everyone got acquainted with the turns, then settled into a nice 22+ MPH pace. Cruising along. Everyone would string out in the turns, then bunch back up on the long straightaway. David had to drop due to cramping. A few minutes later, one of the riders hooked handlebars with another and several men went down. The field mostly escaped, though, and the race continued.
About 10 minutes into the race, the bell jangled and "PRIME LAP!" rang out. The field accelerated through the turns, and up into the straightaway. My legs were feeling good, so I moved up the pack, and onto the front. Three of us were lining up to contest the sprint, with several more lurking in the front of the pack. We came through the last turn toward the line, and everyone went. I tucked into the drops, and gave it the 'ol college try. One by one, riders fell off my wheel. Whizzing across the line in 1st, I thought to myself, "Well, at least something went according to plan this weekend!"
Then I realized we still had 20 minutes of racing to go. I fell back into the pack to let my legs recoup a little. The laps clicked by. An A&M rider hit a cone and rolled onto the pavement. Then it was "ONE TO GO! ONE TO GO!"
Coming out of the last turn before the straightaway, I made a fatal strategic error. I'd fallen too far back, and was drafting the last rider out of the turn, from UNT. He made an effort to grab the back of the lead group, but his legs failed and we fell back. By the time I realized what was happening, a 20 foot gap had opened. I bridged the gap just before the final turn, but toasted the last of my energy to do it. Going toward the line I sat up, knowing a top 10 finish was out of reach.
I finished 14th, far down the field. Today was an object lesson in how important it is to race smart, not just hard.
Results from RUCT:
Men's C
Mark - 14
Peter - 16
David - DNF
Women's B
Sarah - 4
Georgia - 7
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Disclaimer: the events reported here are what I did and/or saw today. This is in no way intended to be a full race report.