Well, last Thursday was the season finale at the track (tear :-), but it went waaaay better than I expected, as I finished 2nd overall in the omnium.
The first race of the night was a 10-lap scratch race. I decided just to sit back and hang out to see what was going to happen, but with 18 riders it was getting pretty squirrelly at the back of the pack, so I started moving up with about 5 laps to go. There were a couple failed breaks, and I somehow contained myself and didn't chase. With 2 laps to go, Adam Mitchell and a Flanders guy took off. I knew it was too early for me to go, so I sat in for 1 more lap, then sprinted out of turn 2. I passed about 6 people on the back-straight, and narrowly pipped Adam at the line for 1st.
Next up was the Chariot (2-lap standing start). I was feeling pretty confident going into the prelims (3 heats of 6, with the top 2 advancing to the finals). I got a good start, and was by myself at the front to win by 20 meters or so.
I was feeling really good going into the finals, but the first races must have take more out of me than I thought. I got a terrible start, and came out of the first turn in 4th. Adam was on the front pushing the pace, and I just couldn't get any speed up. I went WAY wide in the final turn, and couldn't pass anyone. Adam held on to win, Ted moved up for 2nd, and I finished in 4th (the official results said 5th, but whatever). I'm still not sure what happened, but the whole race just seemed strange.
The final race of the night was a 40-lap scratch race. I was pretty worn out, and my calves were cramping up from my new position, so my goal was just to stay in the pack and hope for a sprint finish. About 15 laps in, 3 guys broke off the front, and the whole field shattered. Ted pulled me back up to the chase group 3 or 4 different times (thanks, man!) and then flamed out. There were 5 of us chasing kind of half-heartedly. I was trying to stay off the front because I was cramping up, and we ended up getting lapped by the leading 3 with about 6 laps to go. I hopped onto their paceline as they rode by, and ended up in 5th. This was the surprise of the night, because I generally get worse as the events get longer.
Overall, it was a great way to end the season, and a good confidence-booster for only my 2nd night of racing.
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