Sprint Into Spring Crit

Posted by Dan on 5. May 2009 02:00

How does one close a spring weekend that starts with a wicked time trial up a mountain? With the Sprint Into Spring Crit at Fort Lee, of course. This is the same race as last year, but earlier and less hot. A little more rainy, but definitely less hot.

We got a late start and missed the Cat 5 race. Steve M and Steve K both raced in this one while the sun was out and the temps were in the high 60s. They both had a good race with respectable finishes, though I don't know what they were.

Benny suited up for the Kids 10 and Under race. Huge field with a wide range of talent. Sharon Leary allowed her bright red Pontiac Solstice to be enlisted as a pace car. Benny had to work right off the line to get a clear shot, but once he broke through, he took off. Now here's the kicker: they shorted the kids race this year so the little ones could make it all the way around. Benny had already taken a lap around the course with the juniors so he was familiar with the whole course - not the abbreviated one. The first three riders followed the pace car down the shortcut while Benny led the rest of the pack around the long way. He crested the hill with a straight shot to the finish and made for the line, spinning at 100+ RPMs. He looked like a hummingbird. A little girl came up behind him, prompting Benny to engage in some serious dicing and weaving, causing her to back off a bit. Benny secured 4th place and can brag that he's the only one in the top 4 that did a WHOLE lap!

Kyle, Wick and I did the Cat 3/4 race. After a decent warm-up, the rain poured down like it was mad at the women who were just finishing up their race. It was still raining when we started but it blew over early on. 45 minutes of breakneck speed brought on by our own Kyle Knott who led the charge for quite a while. Wick pulled off, not feeling in good form following yesterday's stellar performance at Wintergreen. I bridged one decent gap, reuniting a chase group with the main group and then fell off the back. I paired up with TriPower rider Jerry Hadley and we worked our way around the course about 15 seconds behind the main field. We didn't lose any time to them, but we didn't gain any either. About 5 laps to go we picked up a third, but it messed up our rhythm and we lost time on the main field. Kyle got 2nd in the sprint and I managed to finish 14th of 15.

The Cat 4 race was a bit better. 45 minutes with a dry course and no rain. This time around, I wasn't bridging anything for anyone. The pace was hovering around 24-25, so I spent a lot of time around 15th wheel. When Dominik Meier of Team Nature's Path went up the road, we all knew what was going to happen. With at least 4 of his teammates left in the main field, it was Blockfest 2009 at Fort Lee. Taking a page from the Tim Faller Book of Racing, I hunkered down into TT mode and casually went by the leaders pushing 300-350 watts. Head down and breathing heavy, I was in for the long haul. My pacing strategy didn't take the small hills into consideration and I began to slow a bit, but it didn't matter as TNP riders came to my rescue, helping by slowing me back down. So with only a lap or two to go with Dominick and Chris McMillian off the front, I made my way to the front and geared up for the race for third. This time, I was determined to catch someone's wheel and let them take me to the line, but I found myself on the front coming around the last corner. I let up a tad and waited. I jumped on the first wheel that went by, but he was TNP and looking for teammates. Apparently his job was lead-out man and he wasn't interested in giving me a lift. Go figure. So I hit it and got third in the sprint. I'll take it.

Thanks to Lydia for taking and fixing a ton of pictures.