06.02.07

sorry this is a little late -

the dash for cash crit was a good day for the form fitness women indeed
(thanks for the race report lead out jba)...

we all went into the went into this one with individual, as well as
team goals. my goal was to win a race before upgrading (despite
having gotten enough upgrade points last weekend, my coach and team
felt it was important to take the opportunity to go for a win and
understand what it means). they were right; it feels good.

i knew that in order to be successful i would have to pay better
attention than i have in the past several races :). my team mates knew
this, too. ashley, racing the 1/2/3s, got to the race early and set
her trainer up on the side of the race course so as to scream the lap
#s out to me. natalia and colleen also reminded of lap #s at various
points throughout the race.

i was so nervous that i nearly goofed the race from the warm-up lap (i
did two laps and nearly missed the start - rolled through start as the
gun went). uugh. so, settled in for a few laps and just took stock of
the field. there were bunch of women from vella bella, metromints and
the velo tech team, whose best 4 rider beat me in last weekend's mem
day crit when i got boxed in on the final lap; i knew, though, my
sprint can beat hers...

...but, i had to test the rest of the field - to see if there was
anyone who could hang with me in the sprint. i planned to test this
with the prim's. when we heard the bell for the first dash for cash,
i positioned myself in #4-6 and coming around the 4th corner and
actually took the opportunity to get colleen on my wheel to sling shot
her for the dash. this effort failed when i noticed a rider i did not
recognize attack from inside right and i jumped to match her speed and
race her to the line. the good news is that i ended up taking her and
the prim' relatively easily and stayed close on the next several
prim's to get a sense for the rest of the competition. ultimately,
with these efforts, i felt i had a good sense for the sprints of the
riders in the field.

after 20 minutes went by, i started to focus on lap numbers. natalia
and colleen both rode up to me at various times and gave me the
numbers, as well. both natalia (back in the thick of things after a
brutal crash at mt. hamilton a week earlier) and colleen were
patrolling and herding the field. it felt great having three form
kits in this race. people took notice of us, tried to stick our
wheels...it was great.

colleen, in particular, did a great job for me, esp. during the second
half. she left it all on the line so that i could get the W. with
about 4 laps to go, she just took command of the pace and of the pack,
pulling in front of me and letting me sit on her wheel with a solid
and steady pace and protection from the wind and surges.

coming around the final lap, my stomach was full of butterflies. i
definitely had a strong sense that i could do win but the difference
was actually proving it. i'd tested the field in sprints, no real
breaks had gone thanks to my teammates, and colleen's steady riding
had enabled me to recover for several laps. still, my heart was
fluttering and the field was starting to push.

as i turned to my right before the 3rd corner to talk to colleen, we
got attacked from the left - some minties and the velo tech women. i
jumped and grabbed their wheel in third position as we raced towards
the 4th corner. i just stuck that wheel with the pack chasing the
three of us. as we rounded the final corner, i decided to start my
sprint and i dont remember much after that. i think i went early
because if felt pretty strong and because i was worried that i'd get
boxed in again. the excitement and hunger for the win powered me
forward and i took off...crossing first. it felt great.

i realized my individual goal (got my first win); i am very glad and
feel somewhat lucky that i did. but the gratification from from the
team work and the team's accomplishments was really something this
past saturday.