5 April 2008  |  Race Reports

NMBS #2 Phoenix- Short Track

The short track on Saturday was definitely set to be an interesting race. The course had a lot of flat, windy sections and drafting was going to be a huge advantage. To make things interesting there was a sharp left hand turn into a steep, loose climb about halfway through the lap. I tried to ride it a few times but I couldn’t quite make it to the top so I decided I would be running it cyclocross-style. Turns out this hill would be great for spectating and there were tons of high-energy folks out there cheering as we slogged up the hill- it really felt like a ‘cross race.

I had a good start and was second wheel until the run-up at which point I moved into the lead. There was a group of about four of us: me, Katerina, Wendy and Willow. After a couple of laps Willow had dropped back, and it was just me, Katerina and Wendy with me and Katerina taking turns at the front. I felt pretty good and tried to keep the pace high so that we could grow the gap to the chasers. With about 3 laps to go Wendy crashed and Katerina and I were able to get away. Katerina put in a huge attack with about 2 laps to go, and I just couldn’t go with her. I kept it steady and rode in by myself to finish second. Not too shabby. It was a bummer that Wendy crashed because it was shaping up to be a really exciting race, and with all the drafting tactics were going going to be crucial. Guess we’ll have to wait for another chance to test our tactical prowess…