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Albany crit
7/11/04
1st Place
Junior Girls 13-14
Field: 5
Teammates: none
The Albany Crit was the final event for the junior points series . I was tied with Kelly Lafleur for first place going into the race, which had been a goal of mine all season . I live right near by so, I was able to warm up on my usual route . We rode about 10 miles for warmup and I got back to the race course with 15 minutes to spare . I was pretty nervous, because I had to win the race to win the series. We stared 1 minute behind the 15-16 group. I got dropped by the really fast 13-14 boys on the lap1 since they were trying to chase the older kids who started ahead of us. So, coming into lap 2 I found myself with the Lafleur sisters and Zach Wick chasing the faster group. After a few laps they lapped us and we caught on, even though we kept getting gapped and having to chase back. By the time we came around to the finish line again Kelly and I had been dropped and were chasing . I motioned her to take a pull and she said “ I can’t , you are going to fast”. I knew then that I could drop her when I wanted to since I doubted she was bluffing in this case. As we rounded turn 2, she pulled up next to me (I had slowed down) , she began to tell me about Track Nationals , clearly trying to distract me. I stared to listen to her and then thought better of it. As she was speaking, I attacked and tried to bridge the gap to the fast group. By then, the lead group had splintered and the group I did catch consisted of Dawn Tisdell and Kim Lafleur, both of whom were 15-16 girls, plus Nicholas and 1 other boy. I just sat on Kim’s wheel the rest of the way and hoped that Kelly wouldn’t catch me which she did not . The only scare was when the other boy (whose name I don’t know) crashed on turn 4 but we all managed to avoid him. On the last lap, Nicholas led me out and I just lost the sprint to Kim . But, I did win the Junior Points Series and I have the chance to win that age bracket twice more . Overall , it was a fun race and thanks to Nicholas For leading me out. Also , thanks for all the cheering during the race. It was really great!
Junior National Crit Championships
8/21/04
1st place
Junior girls 10-12
Field: 16
Teammates: none
We planned to get there with an hour to spare so that I could warm up well. I was fairly relaxed since I had already proved myself riding the RR with an arm brace . Even so , I felt like I had a chance at winning since I wasn't going to get dropped in the crit and I have a good sprint. I did not like the course though and I thought that it would not break up much. Also , the course was dangerous since it went through a parking lot with rough pavement and a ditch about 150 meters from the finish in the parking lot. I noticed as we left the hotel that it had started to rain which had been the pattern in the afternoon all week long and the crit was at 2:00. When we reached the race course itself it was raining even harder and getting worse. We sat in the car for about 25 minutes waiting for it to abate. But instead by 1:30 when the boys race happened it was hailing and I didn’t think I was going to race because I did not want to crash and I did not think it was safe. Despite the rain, they did not cancel or delay the race, although they did shorten it by a few laps. Then with about 15 minutes to my race it stopped raining for the moment. We went out to "warm up" by going up a steep driveway and then they called us to the line .
By then it was raining hard again and on the line I was nervous about starting. I did notice that Coryn Rivera was on yet another bike (the third I have seen so far) with the same Zipp 303s from the day before.
We started the race and it was pretty nervous on the first lap, with the slower kids leading the way. Then on the 2 lap, I was just out of Coryn's sight to the left and I attacked near the start/finish. I got a small gap and then got caught by a few other girls. I had noted that the ditch on the final turn to the finish was full of runnning water and I was not too happy about that. On the third lap I intended to attack again .
Towards the end of the 2 lap Hollis Owens, I think ,attacked.
She did not do much pulling though and that made me mad so on the finishing straight I meant to attack. I sort of got stuck between 2 riders and had to inch my way through.Then I attacked with a vengence and got a good gap .I kept checking back and the gap was not getting any smaller.Then, I slowed to brake though a sharp corner and Coryn made up some ground .When she got closer I thought we could work together but when she caught me and I beckoned her to pull through she said " I can't ,I am too tired". I thought she was bluffing but it still gave me hope Then we got caught because I wasn't going to pull her around the course. After this , we were going quite slow and I had time to recover so my legs stopped hurting all together. On the last lap I accelerated again and Coryn followed me and I tried to make her pull. While I was doing this ,who accelerates by us but Kendall Ryan who pulled us for a few seconds before Coryn attacked with me on her wheel. She tried to make me pull , but I was not going to do that 200 meters from the line. As we went through the ditch, I lost some ground because I went slower through it . She began to sprint ahead and I thought " I am the better sprinter here and I am not going to lose the National championships 100 meters from the line" . So I went tearing past her and by the finish I was a second ahead of her and I let out a yell of relief and joy .So now I am home and get to rest. |
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