RMR Crit – March 8, 2008

RMR Crit – March 8, 2008

Awakening to snow on the ground did not help me to prep for the crit race that was planned at the RMR speedway this last Saturday. I had the same feeling that comes on every raced day. You know…. that feeling of the unknown. I wasn’t sure how I would do but was excited to see how I could fair against other racers.

Upon arriving to the track I got changed quick and started warming up a bit while I waited for the U-man to finish suiting up. It was fun to be on my bike on the road rather than on a trainer inside. Once U-man was ready we took off to the registration booth. There I registered for the C flite. Coach had told me that I should try for the B’s but the race officials said no to that one. I was content to race in whatever category. I just wanted to get back into the adrenaline riding that I hadn’t had since the cross season.

After Registration I started to really warm up. The race this Saturday was on the oval at the RMR. I guess they normally race on the outside of the oval on a slightly larger track. I decided to follow a few of the guys that were warming up on that so I could scout the track for the next race there.

After doing a few laps I wanted to see a race so I went to the top of the bowl to watch what the A and B flites were doing in the races. I noticed a few things that I decided I would try during my race.

Finally it was time for me to race. I jumped to the front of the line so I cold get a good start position. The man explained a few things and then let us loose. Being that the racing I had done has only been cyclocross I was use to the fast sprints in the beginning of the race. To my surprise no one thought that a quick early sprint was good so I decided to slow down so I could get into a group.

From there the pace was fast and fun. A group of about 7 or 8 became what I guess was the break away. I tried to stay in the top 5 the entire time. It was fun to experience the teamwork that emerged in the front of the race. Once the official called 3 laps left I was trying to think of what I was going to do to finish this race off. From what I had seen in the others it was obvious to me that who ever had the best sprint would win. So my strategy was to lay down a long hard sprint to surprise everyone. Luckily it worked and I finished ahead of the rest with a bit of room to spare.

The race was a lot of fun. I felt good to win and I am excited to try and see what I can do in the B flite.

Eric R381