Main Event Crit, Poughkeepsie
The ‘Main Event Poughkeepsie Criterium’ has eight corners and a four-block long straightaway leading into the start/finish. With six Swanky’s making the journey, we were determined to make this race go our way. Our plan was simple—attack. And then attack again. And again. And again, and again, and again, until something stuck. (We're simple people, ultimately.)
The pace was high from the gun and we were strung out single-file by the second corner. It only took a moment to realize that anyone too far back was going to have a hard time of it. Emma was already up front with Meg right on her, Andrea & I moving up, and Eve and Courtney were using the energy of the pack to save their legs. Three laps into the race, Emma attacked. She was quickly joined by four other riders (including Sanchez-Metro rider Kelleigh Dulaney).
Behind her, I’d caught on to the chase group, then bridged to the single rider between the two groups. She gave an incredibly hard effort, but was unable to close the gap, finally realizing that with ten laps to go, she was burning herself out towing me around—she sat up, and the four girls behind us caught up. There were no other Swanky’s with them, so I realized my purpose was the same that Andrea had identified in the pack behind us—to make sure Emma didn’t get caught.
Through the remainder of the race, the gap remained stable at 25 seconds—and the lead pack completely visible to us, several corners ahead. Just far enough to dissuade the unorganized pack from chasing, and just near enough that I couldn’t let my guard down for fear of someone trying to jump from our group.
After testing my legs on a prime sprint, it came down to the final sprint. The girl who had tried to bridge to the leaders early on attacked from the right side with three blocks to the finish line. I jumped to the left, shifted up and went after her, seated the entire time. Towing her back in inch by inch, I ultimately took the field sprint by less than a bike length. Emma took 5th in the lead pack, and I took 6th overall. The rest of the team came in with the field, having done their jobs with stunning efficiency. Two Swanky’s in the top 10—woo-hoo!
The pace was high from the gun and we were strung out single-file by the second corner. It only took a moment to realize that anyone too far back was going to have a hard time of it. Emma was already up front with Meg right on her, Andrea & I moving up, and Eve and Courtney were using the energy of the pack to save their legs. Three laps into the race, Emma attacked. She was quickly joined by four other riders (including Sanchez-Metro rider Kelleigh Dulaney).
Behind her, I’d caught on to the chase group, then bridged to the single rider between the two groups. She gave an incredibly hard effort, but was unable to close the gap, finally realizing that with ten laps to go, she was burning herself out towing me around—she sat up, and the four girls behind us caught up. There were no other Swanky’s with them, so I realized my purpose was the same that Andrea had identified in the pack behind us—to make sure Emma didn’t get caught.
Through the remainder of the race, the gap remained stable at 25 seconds—and the lead pack completely visible to us, several corners ahead. Just far enough to dissuade the unorganized pack from chasing, and just near enough that I couldn’t let my guard down for fear of someone trying to jump from our group.
After testing my legs on a prime sprint, it came down to the final sprint. The girl who had tried to bridge to the leaders early on attacked from the right side with three blocks to the finish line. I jumped to the left, shifted up and went after her, seated the entire time. Towing her back in inch by inch, I ultimately took the field sprint by less than a bike length. Emma took 5th in the lead pack, and I took 6th overall. The rest of the team came in with the field, having done their jobs with stunning efficiency. Two Swanky’s in the top 10—woo-hoo!
posted by liz @ 9:27 PM
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