Race: MABRA Track Championships 30+ August 23, 2008
Field: 9
Course: .33 mile, 33 degree bank velodrome; T-Town
Weather: hot
Result: 6th overall (omnium)
I rode up with Bo and friends to T-Town, leaving at about 6am. Upon arriving, I quickly learned I was a little outgunned equipment wise. I had no aero equipment…and aero bars are allowed in the TT events (1km and 3km). Having this equipment would have definitely made a difference in my times, but not so much the end result, since there is still much improvement needed on the engine.
200m qualifier – 51×15
Flying 200m qualifier. I got some good advice during warm-ups on how to ride this event. The advice paid off and I got what I consider a respectable result, placing 4th and qualifying for the sprints at the end. I won’t mention that 8 qualified for the finals and only 8 competed 
My technique was to utlilize the banking to aid in getting up to speed before the start of the 200m. Slowly continue to come down on the track to help with the transition to the turn, which because of the banking wasn’t hard taking at full speed. Next time I would want to try to leverage the banking a little more and enter the turn on the inside because I doubt it would be a problem to hold that speed.
Result: 4th – 12.77
1km TT – 51 x 15
3 laps of pain from a standing start (someone holding you). I estimated and tried to pace myself for about 80 seconds of effort, and while I was correct about the time, my effort was not paced all that well. The simple strategy was to work the first lap to get up to speed, cruise the second lap, and work the last lap to give it everything I had left. I went out hard around the first turn to get up to speed, too hard. I eased up towards the end of the first lap into the cruise phase but quickly started to fade during the second lap. I was just pushing the pedals over concentrating on a good pedal stroke to maximize efficiency since my power was dropping fast. The entire third lap I just held on trying to push and pull the pedals to keep going. After the finish…i just hurt.
Next time I need to do better pacing. This is a brutal event and I made the mistake of going out to hard. Practice makes perfect, and this is a great example.
Result: 5th – 1:19.93
3km TT – 50×15
3km Time Trial from a stand still. This is also known as the pursuit since I start across the track from another rider. Similar to the 1km only 3 times as long. This time I was conservative with pacing and even switched to a lower gear, which I think was the perfect choice. I started off getting up to speed through the first turn then quickly settled in. My plan was to pace this similar to a 5 minute effort. In the end I passed my opponent with about 2 laps to go. Despite the pass, my time wasn’t all that impressive, it just so happened my opponent was really slow. Next time I plan to do better, since I think I could have gone a little harder.
Result: 6th – 4:27.68
Points Race – 50 x 15
A mass start race for 25 laps with points given to the top 4 places every 5 laps. Points are given as (5,3,2,1) for the 4 places. This was just one huge mess. 6 riders started, 5 finished, and I got 5th place based on points. 2 riders lapped the field twice leaving me and 3 others sprinting against each other. There were several laps we were all together, and to tell you the truth, I have no idea how that works when the bell is rang and we cross the line for points. I think we are all considered a pack at that point and people who lap the field just get 20 points. Anyway, at one point I sprinted hard to win a sprint but came up short as one guy appeared to be just playing with me and edged me out at the line so I settled for 2nd place points.
This definitely has potential to be a very fun race, but I up against some fast guys and was doing all I could to hang on at times since 25 laps is a long way with all that sprinting.
Result: 5th – 4 points
Sprints – 50 x 15
2 lap race, where you draw for position. Position 1 is required to lead the race at a walking pace for 1/2 lap unless the position 2 guy decides to come around. After that anything is game for the last 1.5 laps. We had heats based on where you qualified, and my first heat was against Paul Basler, the eventual overall omnium winner. Bo helped me with strategy, and I was expecting him to just try to ride me off his wheel, which he probably could do, but I am an unknown amongst these ranks so he didn’t realize that. Baird, whom we drove up with, was in 2nd place overall to Paul in the omnium and would buy me dinner if i would knock him out in the first round…helping Baird on his quest for 1st place overall. This gave me extra incentive and I started nervously working on all possible strategies in my head.
I lined up in position 2 to Paul Basler, so he had to lead the first half lap. We pretty much crawled around the track just keeping an eye on each other. He varied the speed up enough to throw me off and I ended up in front of him…rookie mistake on my part. Shortly after the bell lap, I attacked from the front inside position. It wasn’t quite hard enough as Paul came flying by me on the inside. I quickly jumped on his tail and was a little off his wheel but still in the draft. I was in control and inching up on him as we entered the turn. I used the slingshot approach in the turn and pulled out of his draft half way through the turn. It turned into a drag race for the final stretch and I narrowly took the win. I was very pleased to beat him, unfortunately Baird got knocked out in the first round as well, so Paul went on to win the omnium.
Second round I was up against Todd Hipp, who seemed to be dominating everyone on the track. Another guy who could ride me off his wheel. This time I drew the inside line and had to lead for half a lap. We literally crawled around the track with Todd trying to keep things really slow from the back position and me trying not to get too far ahead of him. There were actually a couple time I nearly fall off my bike because we were going so slow in the steep banks of the track. I kept thinking to speed things up, but I wanted to keep Todd not far behind. This had to be one of the slower races of the night as we crawled the entire lap and then some. I even remember the announcer cracking jokes as they rang the bell lap stating they should keep ringing the bell until we started racing. On turn 1 of the last lap, I once again attacked from the inside. Similar to the last race, Todd followed and came right by me on the inside. I quickly took up chase and got in Todd’s draft. This time Todd was too fast and I could not come around him, as I was struggling a bit just to hang on as he accelerated through the finish.
I heard them mention a race for third place over the PA, and that meant I got to race none other than Bo Lee who got barely beat out by Dan Underwood in his semi-final round. This time Bo wasn’t really up for giving me advice I knew he was tired and ready to pack it in, but he claimed to have one more match left. He drew the top position so I had to lead it out. As all the other races, we pretty much crawled for most of the first lap until Bo took the high route to get in front of me. I got behind him for a few seconds and then attacked harder than ever as we entered the last lap, catching Bo off guard. I swear the wheel shifted with all the torque I layed down, need to learn to really crank down on those rear bolts. I was at the top of the track at the start of my attack and charged down using gravity to help me speed up. I immediately gapped Bo and he spent much of that lap chasing to get in my draft. I remember listening to the announcer (I think) during the race as he claimed Bo was charging hard to catch up. Well he caught up on the final turn and I could feel him right behind me on the final stretch but i just kept hammering as hard as I could getting close to spinning out my gear. I held him off, and I actually think he gave up a little before the line.
The sprints are a whole lot of fun and I am very happy with my 3rd place result, especially considering who I was up against.
Result: 3rd
In summary, I am very pleased with the outcome. My 6th place overall finish might not sounds impressive, but everyone who beat me has quite a reputation for themselves and experience on the track. I wasn’t too far behind and I have room for improvement due to my lack of experience (and aero equipment). I plan to come back next year with some more experience and some aero equipment to give me a little more competitive edge. Special thanks to Bo, Bill, Peg and Baird and friends for all their helpful advice. I learned more hanging around them then I did at 3 track events in Richmond where I was on my own.
I just stayed
