Saturday, 2 February 2013
UA Biopark Blast Criterium
1st Place, 2 Prim Wins

Ho Vinto…Victory!
Todays UA Biopark Blast Criterium really was a BLAST! 🙂

   T’was a beautiful Tuscon day with the sun shining and a toasty 75 degrees to start off this heated crit.  Start went off and rolled out pretty smooth and relaxed getting a feel for the curves and the group.  After a couple start laps some obvious team strategy started playing out.  Team Landis-Trek was in full force and ready to attack!  The first bell rang for a prim lap and the Landis-Trek ladies lined up in front.  Rotating around they pull through all four curves and easily got the win, uncontested.
   At this point I knew it would be this green and yellow team against the rest of the group.  So a few more laps passed and another prim lap where I couldn’t manage to outsprint their teamwork.  Then came another prim lap,  and an opportunity to test the field.  I threw in a kick after crossing the line and looked back to see if someone was following… Nothing… I blasted through the second turn, windy straight, third turn.. Still no company.  So the last curve came and I leaned in and pushed all the way through the line.  Just as I was sitting up to get some recovery a Landis girl came up, passing me on the turn and said “lets keep going”.  Ok!!! …About 10 minutes to go, why not try.
   But after just half a lap she queued for a change and I moved up with speculation… Was she just trying to draw me back for her team, or tire me out for the last laps?  Whatever… gotta go with it.
   I kept an eye on the group as I led the two of us through almost every lap.  She only exchanged for about half a lap at one point, while I fought the wind all of about 7 laps in total.  Even after all the work I had been pulling, on what we thought was a prim lap I was able outsprinter her.  (In the end they gave the prim to the group instead of us, not cool, we were out in front and prims were not indicated to the group but to the race… US)
   So last lap came and I knew I had to do something to avoid a last straight away sprint.  I stood up for a kick and pushed through one curve.  Looking back I saw she wasn’t breaking and had the energy to hang on.  So I chilled on the windy straight, then until the last two curves came, awaiting the last 400m stretch to the finish.
  But just before the last curve came I hear my companion say something like “I won’t fight you on it”.  Never know, never let down, NEVER STOP FIGHTING.  Round the last turn, stood up and threw everything I had left into that last bit of street.  The finish line grew closer and closer and closer and closer, I flew over the line, threw my hands up and felt the relief and excitement of a victory.

   So much fun and the rush of a race is like nothing else.  Working hard for 30 minutes may not be much but with all the strategy and accelerations that come with criterium racing its a rush to play the game and come out on top