Category: B
Result: 1st

The hot weather took its toll on the turnout this evening, but there were still 28 riders, enough for 3 groups and as usual, I rode the B's. Warming up was a hot affair, and the usual high-speed train at the bottom of the track was conspicuous by its absence. People were saving themselves for the racing.

First race for me was an 8-lap scratch. I was in a reasonable position going into the final lap, but just didn't attack hard enough to make any progress and got third.

Next, we each did a flying 200 metre time trial. My time was 2nd fastest for the B's, despite riding a completely crap line. I misjudged the location of the 200m line and came down off the banking far, far too early, hitting the pursuit line about 20m before the the line. I was however, going pretty quickly and did 13.34 seconds or so for the 200 metres. A good time is below 13 seconds and an excellent time is below 12!

Then came the win and out. Last time I rode one of these, I won, so I was on the lookout for an opportunity to do so again, and was willing to take any chance to jump with less than 2 laps to go. Nothing seemed to be presenting itself until the bell when I began to wind it up for the first sprint from about 4th place. The guys in front eased up, and I came flying over the top and no-one came after me! Race won.

Hmmm, at this point I have something like a 3rd, a 2nd and a 1st. One event left, and if I do OK, I might do well in the evening omnium. It is a de'il tak' the hind-most, generally my least-favourite event. There was a slight variation this time round - no free lap with 3 riders remaining. Riding the de'il, it is important to know how many riders there are in the race, and therefore how many eliminations there will be. Of course, it is also important to know how many riders there are behind you so that you can keep track of how close you are to contesting the elimanation sprint.

From the whistle, I got into a good position - second, on the shoulder of the guy in the lead, and able to move up the track to defend my position as required. The lead rider was riding a little sketchily, so I told him to hold his line in the lane and then decided that I would try to take over at the front. He wasn't having this, and sped up a lot. So much so, that I was then able to ride behind him with the other riders in a line behind me. Great - the leader is expending lots of energy, and I can still defend my position as there is little chance of being swamped. As this was going on, we were steadily losing riders and soon there were only 4 of us left. At this point the leader was toast and we all came round him, and I again found myself following the new leader, who was also toast the next time round. Last lap, and I comfortably win the sprint for my second win of the evening, and enough points to win the evening B omnium. Hurrah!

After this, I attempted to ride the A's points race, but I must have swallowed too much air with the water I drank betweeen the events, as I was burping mightily, and was in severe danger of emptying the contents of my stomach. I stopped, and after an almightly belch, felt a lot better.

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