I've been participating in the Team Velo Girls midweek madness ride for the past few months and, after many encouraging words from team members, I decided it was time to branch out and try a real race. The timing of the Burlingame Criterium was perfect. I recently graduated from the Girls Got Skills Clinic and participated in last Saturday's Criterium Racing 101 class, I was ready to go...
The weather was awesome. By 6:30AM (team meeting time) the fog had lifted, there was a very light breeze, and the sun was gently warming the asphalt. With the leadership of Evan and the rest of Team Velo Girls we warmed up on our trainers and discussed team tactics. The team strategy for the race was to lead out Anna for the final sprint and perhaps try for a prime or two. This being my first race, my personal goals were a little simpler -- enjoy the race, try it out, and help the team if I could. I wanted to keep with the pack, try multiple lines, different positions in the pack, etc.
Before I knew it, it was time to head over to the start line. The Cat 5 men had completed their race and we did one quick warm up lap and lined up at the start line waiting for the start. Velo Girls had a strong presence with Anna, Kim, Jen, Evan, Jeanine, Tina, Mary, and myself at the line. Protech and Metromint also had a good presence at the line. The total field was just over 30.
After instructions from the starter and a quick whistle we were off. I started off in the back third of the pack and just hung with the pack. I saw Kim, Anna, Evan, and Jen in front of me, safely in the front third of the pack with Metromint and/or Protech pulling the pack. The pace was fast, but not too fast. I tried multiple lines, outside, middle, and inside of the pack.
As we passed the start/finish line, the bell rang indicating a prime, it was for a child's haircut and nobody really responded. A few laps later the bell rang again and it was for a $25 gift certificate somewhere. Evan was just on my right. I glanced right and from the look in her eyes, I knew that she was going for it. Seconds later Evan took off and headed towards the front of the pack. She looked really strong. The pack reacted and the pace quickened, girls started to drop off the back. On the last long turn before the start/finish Evan then turned on the afterburners and started her sprint early. Two other girls responded and the race for the prime was on. It appeared as though Evan was going to capture it but just 15 yards from the start finish one of the other girls overtook Evan. Nice try Evan, you were so darn close!
The race continued at a good clip for the next few laps. I had accomplished my goals of trying different lateral positions in the pack but hadn't tried the front. So, I decided to see what the front of the pack felt like. With only 6 more laps to go, I moved towards the outside of the pack and accelerated towards the front. At the same time, I heard a loud pop, almost like a gun shot. (It turned out that someone blew a tire.) The pack hesitated and I kept going. Before I knew it there was nobody ahead of me. I pulled for one lap and as we approached the start finish again the bell rang indicating another prime, a $100 grab bag. I thought to myself, what the heck, let's go for the prime.
The prime lap felt like forever. The pace increased by ~2 MPH and being in the front of the pack was hard work! I had been tucked nicely in the middle of the pack and didn't have to contend with the headwinds on the back side of the course. My legs started to feel heavy and I started to wonder when somebody else was going to pull. Little did I know, everyone was enjoying my pull--nobody's going to give up a free ride.... We finally reached the last straightaway. I felt someone attacking on my left. I tried to respond, I wanted the prime so badly. Unfortunately my legs just didn't have it and I lost the prime in the last few yards. Nevertheless, I heard praise from the field, a couple of the girls stated "nice pull" and I easily re-integrated into the pack.
The pace continued to be strong for the last 4 laps and I slowly fell further and further back into the pack. During the last 2 laps I saw Jen, Kim and Anna start their leadout for the final sprint. The pace quickened during the last lap and towards the last corner I saw a bunch of activity in front of me. As I rounded the corner to the final straightaway I saw our teammate Anna Woldring sprinting towards the finish. I glanced up again and saw Anna clenching her fists in celebration -- she won!! What an awesome finish.
Thanks to the entire team for making my first race such a success. It was a perfect race and I can't wait to race again. Also, a big thanks to everyone who cheered us on. I saw many Velo Girls (Lorri, Janet, Dani, Lesley, Winnie, Laura and more!) in the crowd providing encouraging words (or should I say yells!).
