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Zach Williams
Merced Bay Front Criterium
2/18/06
5th
Juniors
Field: 15?
Teammates: Tony, Ye, Peter
I got to the race at about 9:00 in the morning for an 11:20 start. After registering I met with Peter and we warmed up together before the start. It was about 45 degrees outside so it was very important to be warm and ready before heading to the line.
At the start/finish there were maybe fifteen juniors, myself, Peter, Ye and Tony included. At the whistle, as usual, I had trouble clipping in so I drifted towards the back of the field for the first right turn. After a few laps off the back of the field, which was pretty strung out, I got fed up and accelerated to the front. This turned out to be a pretty good move since the pack split shortly after.
The front group consisted of Ye, Tony, a couple of Davis guys, someone from Easton-Specialized, and me. The pace varied throughout the race as the front of the pack gained and dropped racers. I pulled the front group for a couple of laps, trying to distance us from some guys that kept trying to latch on the back. Towards maybe the 5th to last lap the Davis riders attacked, but thanks to a strong chase lead by Tony we were able to catch them. I stayed up at the front for pretty much the rest of the race until the final sprint, which Ye won. I finished in fifth place so I’m really happy, especially following a pretty poor finish at Cherry Pie.
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