Race Recap

Here we go again. Last night was fun. I was pumped to ride my first keirin, but unfortunately Bob's moped was busted up.

The first race was a 12-lap tempo, with the top two places on each lap taking 2 and 1 points, respectively. Ted and I went hard from the gun and took the first 3 laps before we got swallowed up by the group (Ted subsequently got spit out the back, lapped, and lost all his points). I tagged on to the back of the pack for a few more laps, then started to lose some ground. I had to sprint for the line with 1 lap to go in order to avoid getting lapped. My 5 points got me 4th place.

Next up was 3-lap sprint heats. This was the replacement for the keirin. It was basically a 4-up match sprint. Olephant (sp?) led us out for the first two laps in a slow, swervy, tactical manner. I jumped heading into the last lap and won handily.

Fast-forward 45 minutes.

Sprint finals. This heat was 6-up, which kind of nullifies any match sprint tactics. Timmer told me he was going to lead it out. Sweet! He was in position 1 and I was in 2, so I had no trouble getting on his wheel from the gun. I sat in relatively comfortably for the first lap-and-a-half, and then I started to feel other riders swarming around, so I jumped hard and never looked back. I ended up winning by around 15 meters. Ted got 3rd behind Lionel Space, who it turns out is a big stud with an awesome name.

The last race of the night was a 50-lap scratch race. In typical Tenacious T fashion, I put in too big of an effort on the front trying to catch a break and blew up. I got shelled out the back and dropped out after about 15 laps.

I grabbed a Blue Moon and sat in a comfy chair to watch the rest of the race. The race played out exactly as I knew it would, with Timmer executing his top-secret scratch race tactics to perfection for the win. I refuse to divulge this secret, because one day I may be around at the end of a long race and use it to win. Oh, who am I kidding?

I ended up 2nd in the omnium and lost my amateur status by winning $30 for taking 1st in the 3-lap Sprint race. Great Success.

We stuck around to watch the 1/2's do an 80(!) lap points race. Ben Dubie showed some heroics by rebounding from a crash in the Miss & Out to hang with Big Pro Bergman for almost the entire race. Impressive. Bergman lapped the field 4 times, and Dubie 3. Where are Crosby and Winger when you need 'em?

Ferris crashed in the Miss & Out, too. He was wicked pissed about it.

Also, I'm taking suggestions as to whether my race reports are too short, too long, or just right. What say you?