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What Tim saw:
Category: 1/2
Result: 1st
The last EB of the season was certainly a busy one. It seems like the fields were back up to full size after the cancellation a few weeks back, but there were crashes galore.
Kent got his front wheel caught up in one in the 4/5 race, but I believe he made it through without going down. In the 3/4 race we had Kent, Paul, Richard, and myself with maybe 100 riders? During the race it was tough to hold position, but in the end it didn't matter as the race was called on the last lap due to a major crash on the previous lap. It was a real shame too because it looked like Paul had 2nd place nailed down when they called it!
It was also a shame that I got involved in the crash, but at least I didn't get hurt. I was up where I wanted to be with a few laps to go, riding the various attacks from right to left, then it slowed and we were engulfed. I was stuck in the middle like a sardine in a can when two guys up in front of me bailed and I had nowhere to go. I slowed as much as I could before I hit the guys bike and rolled over him and his bike. I think maybe 5 buys piled up and the guy at the bottom looked like he was hurting pretty good, although not seriously I think. Since we were only going mid 20's it wasn't that bad.
I didn't even hurt my bike or my new jersey! I skinned my knee and hurt my shoulder a bit, but I was more than up for the 1,2,3 race. It was really fast today. Our average was 26.25. All I could do was hold on and had nothing left to sprint with. Oh yeah, there was a crash in that race too a real rarity, fortunately it was behind me!
P.S. I forgot to mention, Brian was out there too, giving it his best. He survived the mayhem and put in a helluva a charge with one to go, but couldn't quite hold it! That's what the EB's are for, to see what you can do. Great to see you out there Brian!
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What Richard saw:
Category: 5+/4 and 4/3
Result: Mid-pack
Tim is right about the crashes - there did seem to be a lot of them today. I cannot comment on the 5's rce as I didn't see it, but I know that at least Carl rode it.
We had Kent, Brian and myself in the 5+/4 race. This was a tricky race as there was a lot of slowing into corners and hard efforts required out of them. I had a little fun mixing it in the early stages getting into a couple of short-lived early breaks, but there was no way a break was going to be given much of a lead.
I probably had a part in the move which caused Kent problems in the crash with 3 laps to go. There was a train of riders going forward on the inside including young Daniel Holloway (a prodigous 15 year-old who looks like a very promising rider). There was a gap behind Danny, so I moved one spot to the right to fill it. Shortly after doing so, but not immediately, there was the sound of rubbing wheels behind me (I didn't feel anything myself, so I don't think my rear made contact), and then there was the all too familiar sound of people going down. I learned afterwards that Kent was involved.
Going into the last lap, I was a bit too far back, but I found myself behind Brian. He had a gap open in front of him so I asked if he would lead up to the front. This he very kindly did putting us into a great position going into the final lap. Maybe it was a little to early, as we were then washed away a bit on the back straight, but that was when the opportunity presented itself. In the finale, I was feeling the efforts I had made earlier in the race so wasn't able to contest the sprint. It was a fast race, averaging something like 25mph.
As Tim reported, I also did the 3/4 race which I found easier than the 5+/4's completely due to the fact that the cornering was far smoother - people were actually pedalling round the corners which kept the speed more constant. I am pleased to report that I was nowhere near the crashes in this race, though I did see both of the final lap crashes.
There was what looked like a huge stack in the middle of the field right as it crossed the finish line with one lap to go. There was no bell and I heard someone suggest that the absense of the bell perhaps contributed as people were maybe looking at the lap-card rather than the folk in front of them.
The second crash was on the back straight - there was a rub of shoulders and the guy on the left steered away rather than towards the other guy to disengage and suddenly had no suport so down he went.
Paul managed to get himself in a really good spot heading towards the finish - he was in 4th place on Stephen Alfred's wheel - trackies know that Alfred is *the* sprinter at Hellyer Park. Alfred would have won the race, no question and PP was ideally positioned to follow him for 2nd. However, there was still a rider on the deck at the finish line so we were called off as result.
A good, fun day: I was pleased as this was the first time I had double-dipped at a criterium and was surprised that I was able to hang comfortably in the second race. Better yet, the Patriots won as I wanted.
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