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What Carl saw:
Category: 4 & M35+ 4/5
Result: 7th & 3rd
The Timpani crit. was my first race after taking a planned month off from racing and one that Brian J. and myself had been planning to do for quite a while (Brian's #'s were 201 and 500 - given with pre-reg receiving order).
The first race was the Cat. 4 race. Brain J., Richard and myself were in the race. Before the race it was decided that Brian and Richard were going to try to work to help me during the race and to try to set me up for the sprint. From the start of the race the field seemed to be pretty aggressive and I felt it was a race to watch out for bad thing to happen, and about 5 laps into the race there was a crash in turn one (this corner was the scene of many crashes during the days events).
During the race I tried to stay towards the front and would occasionally drift back then make a push, usually on the outside on the long straights, to get to the front and sit in. Richard and Brain also were doing a good job in both staying towards the front and keeping out of trouble and the crashes. There was a prime with 6 to go followed by a prime with 5 to go and Richard won the last one. Richard then pulled the group around for about another lap to help soften the field.
On the last lap about halfway down the back straight Brian came by and said lets go and pulled me almost up the final turn (Thanks!!) were I had planned to take a wide line to hold my speed and start my sprint. I made the turn OK and was just starting to sprint when I got pinched off at the outside curb had to tap the brakes make a move and try to wind it up again I crossed the line thinking I had a top 15 which turned out to be 7th.
The next race Brian and I did was the +30 4/5 race with the plan being for me to lead out Brian this time. This race was a bit more tame and I believe due to some instructions at the line from the official no crashes. Being that it was my second race I basically did my best to sit in and stay protected and save my energy.
The pace of the race picked up right before the 5 lap count down and I was starting to feel the previous race in my legs then with about 4 to go the group strung out and I pushed myself to stay towards the front and then there was just a little let up in the pace so that I could recover and I looked around for Brian to see if he wanted some help for the sprint and he was not around so I decided to see what I could do.
Again on the last lap on the back straight I started looking for a train to pull me towards the front and low and behold two Berkeley riders come charging on the out side and I jump on there wheels and get pulled onto the last corner in a good sprint position on the outside. I cranked it up and felt a guy on my left coming up and then dug in and pushed a bit harder and beat him to the line by less than a half of wheel length for 3rd place.
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What Richard saw:
Category: 4
Result: Mid-pack
The Timpani criterium was fun, if a little crash-prone. I was happy with my
ride, though I did a bit too much work to have any real sprint left at the
end.
I spent the first few laps close to the front, thinking about contesting a
prime, but was unable to get myself into a reasonable position to do so.
The turn which caught me out was turn 2, as I think it is more than 90°,
and that, coupled with turning into the wind always made it feel hard to
accelerate out of it.
After a while I slipped a little back and was in a position to get the
feeling that there would be a crash. Sure enough, there was one inside me
on turn 1. I was able to slow and drift out a bit, getting bumped on the
right by something in the process. There was a ricochet crash on the
outside of the turn for good measure. Later on, there was another crash on
the inside of turn 1 - this time I was on the outside so avoided it easily.
With 5 laps to go, I thought I heard bells being rung for a prime, so on
the back stretch, I went off the front, taking a couple of guys with me. We
worked to build a little lead and coming round to see 4 to go, I made sure
my wheel was in front thinking that I was taking the final prime. Not to be
- the bells I heard were from the crowd, not the officials. Pah!
On the final lap I made the mistake of trying to advance on the inside of
the bunch and got myself blocked in turns 3 and 4, leaving me with no speed
coming out of 4 and drifting backwards as the bunch sprinted to the line.
Given how bad I felt later in the day, it is a wonder that I was able to
ride as I did. Time for an easy week I think.
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