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Nikki. The first two rounds of the USGP were in Madison Wisconsin this year and everything seemed to be coming together for a great race weekend. Matt and Sarah were in town, the ground was wet and it was everything a big time race could offer with the home town feel.
Saturday, as much as I was hoping to ride the wave of a good performance in Vegas, did not go as well as I had hoped. After a good start and riding with the group of guys I had hoped to be with, a rider washed out in front of me in a corner. It threw me through the tape and onto my back. As I gasped for air and listened to the announcer, I knew there was no way for me to get back into the race and be competitive. I called it quits and went and heckled the guys on the run up.
Sunday was a new day and I had an hour less of racing in my legs than everyone else, so I was excited for the day of racing. At this point my goal for the day had become as little as not falling over and as the rain rolled in 15 minutes before start time, even that was looking slim. I'll take falling over in the rain over a parched course any day though. My start position did not change too much and as the rain cleared we were rolling into the coral.
My start was once again pretty good, and by the time I was rolling through the barriers, I had somehow made it even better. Anytime I am on Justin Robinsons' wheel I feel like I am in good shape. I was once again in the group I was hoping to be riding with. And then I slid out in the 180 out of the pit row, lost that group and sat in no man's land for the majority of the race. But, when the announcer broadcasts about your fall, it is kind of a clue that you are doing well. For a couple of laps I gave high fives as I rode the steep hill out of the hairpin turn. That was pretty fun.
I battled it out with a few guys for a long time, but for the most part it was just steady riding. As the laps came down, the leaders were catching up. With three to go, I didn't think I had much of a chance, but when I rolled onto two to go, I knew that if I pushed as hard as I could, I would be able to fight for the lead lap. So again, I was making a first lap effort to make it onto the lead lap and it paid off. Rolling across the line for 33rd.
A weekend of racing back in Chicago before I head down to Cincinnati for a crazy weekend of UCI racing.
Sundays race was a twisty, loose dirt power-sucking contest that really demanded a lot from every rider. The course was perched up on the hill at the park.....formerly just a short feature in previous races , it now contained the entire lap. Crashes and flat tires were common. Sean Coffey suffered a flat in the A single speed race, Matt Jordan as well in the elite men's race but the most noteable flat was on Scott Chapin's bike while he was getting a good gap on the elite mens fieldIn spite of losing a lot of time he rode back up to 10th place. With Don Myrah driving the pace at the front , there was little chance for anyone to get away but with about four laps remaining, Josh Snead escaped and stayed away until the finish with Dave Wyandt and Chris McGovern getting 3rd and 4th.Aaron Odell and Aaron Kereluk were also in the top eleven. Once again, the teams depth made it possible. In the Womens elite race Jill Fattor showed that she can really excel in the twisty loose dirt , barely missing a podium spot at 6th , with Sarah Kerlin and Stella Carey 7th and 8th . The very best on the west coast were there driving the tempo but they never got too far from our top three. Ryan and I were kept busy in the pits and at the repair stand-it seemed like a good number of the bikes were new and weren't fully dialed in. Kathleen Bortolussi made it to the podium with a strong 2nd place in the 35+ division and Tim Watson had a high (3rd)finish in the mens 35+A. Brett Lambert was 4th, hampered by a rider who twice t-boned him in the early part of his 45+ A race. Jeff Traugott rode to an excellent 10th in a very competetive 45+ B race, maintaining his top-10 overall position.
