For the first time since we've been here, we got to race at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome. We showed up with plenty of time to spare and registered for the Pro/1/2 races that we'd be competing in. The following is the race report on the points race that I wrote for the team blog. The races prior to this one went well for Thomas, but not really for anyone else. Oscar rode very aggressively, attacking off the front many times, but being so short, the Win n' Out and Scratch race really suited Thomas' strengths the best. He placed 4th in both of those races. The points race played out as follows:
Being the very last event of the night, it was nearly eleven o'clock as we set up along the track getting ready to start the points race. We had been at the track since 6 pm that evening and had already competed in three events. I had no idea how my legs would hold up for this final 30 laps around the track. It seemed like there were many things going against me going into the start: every race we had already completed had been one of the fastest track events I've experienced, the last meal we had eaten was lunch, and it already the time of night when we usually go to sleep. We started in high spirits nonetheless.
The first sprint came and went very quickly as the 36-man field thinned down due to the fast pace. As soon as the speed had slowed a bit, right after the sprint, a couple of us had the same idea to attack. We yo-yoed off the front for a minute as others chased off and on, but eventually, after a couple hard accelerations two other riders and I broke clear of the front end of the peloton and quickly built a substantial gap. One of the guys I was in the break with was a familiar face, his name is Nik Reinert. I last saw him a year ago at junior track nationals where he won our the men's 17-18 points race, 3k pursuit, and madison. While I was off the front, Thomas and Oscar did an excellent job of sitting on the front of the peloton keeping the pace low and jumping on any attacks that people attempted, thus discouraging further attacks. My two break away companions and I rolled through the next couple sprints with me taking the second place points, but I was really starting to hurt. Then, after leading out the whole lap of the second to last sprint, I got made a minor error in judgement when I pulled up track to let the other two come through to pull, and I got gaped off their wheels. Just then, the two I had been with lapped the field, each gaining 20 points automatically. For the remainder of the race I was so close to lap the group, but just didn't have enough gas left in the tank. I ended up with third place at the end of the race which was considerable better than any of my other placings that night, so that made me happy.
After swinging by the gas station to grab a snack and a "big gulp" (64 oz of whatever your heart desires) with our $10 in race winnings, we returned home at nearly 12:00!!! By the time we had showered and eaten dinner, it was well passed our bed time, and all we could do was stumble up the stairs and pass out on our bouncy, plastic beds.
For more pictures and stuff, keep checking the team blog!
Being the very last event of the night, it was nearly eleven o'clock as we set up along the track getting ready to start the points race. We had been at the track since 6 pm that evening and had already competed in three events. I had no idea how my legs would hold up for this final 30 laps around the track. It seemed like there were many things going against me going into the start: every race we had already completed had been one of the fastest track events I've experienced, the last meal we had eaten was lunch, and it already the time of night when we usually go to sleep. We started in high spirits nonetheless.
The first sprint came and went very quickly as the 36-man field thinned down due to the fast pace. As soon as the speed had slowed a bit, right after the sprint, a couple of us had the same idea to attack. We yo-yoed off the front for a minute as others chased off and on, but eventually, after a couple hard accelerations two other riders and I broke clear of the front end of the peloton and quickly built a substantial gap. One of the guys I was in the break with was a familiar face, his name is Nik Reinert. I last saw him a year ago at junior track nationals where he won our the men's 17-18 points race, 3k pursuit, and madison. While I was off the front, Thomas and Oscar did an excellent job of sitting on the front of the peloton keeping the pace low and jumping on any attacks that people attempted, thus discouraging further attacks. My two break away companions and I rolled through the next couple sprints with me taking the second place points, but I was really starting to hurt. Then, after leading out the whole lap of the second to last sprint, I got made a minor error in judgement when I pulled up track to let the other two come through to pull, and I got gaped off their wheels. Just then, the two I had been with lapped the field, each gaining 20 points automatically. For the remainder of the race I was so close to lap the group, but just didn't have enough gas left in the tank. I ended up with third place at the end of the race which was considerable better than any of my other placings that night, so that made me happy.
After swinging by the gas station to grab a snack and a "big gulp" (64 oz of whatever your heart desires) with our $10 in race winnings, we returned home at nearly 12:00!!! By the time we had showered and eaten dinner, it was well passed our bed time, and all we could do was stumble up the stairs and pass out on our bouncy, plastic beds.
For more pictures and stuff, keep checking the team blog!
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