Saturday afternoon was GIANT TIME yet again down in Enumclaw, Washington. The team took our test run from the Tuesday nighter earlier in the week where we placed 1,2 and applied it against a much stronger field and came out victorious. The Enumclaw crit was the second stage of a three stage omnium points race and we were firing on all cylinders after a somewhat lacklustre TT had left our team's strategy direction wide open.
Right from the gun, the race proved to be interesting with the eventual ominium leader Kele Murdin (Team Ultralink) going down in the first corner of the race. The course is a technical figure eight (fun!) and the ante was upped by scattered showers that eventually turned into torrential rain. Off the bat, I moved to the front in an attempt to keep the pace high. Half a lap in, I realized that Stacey Spencer (Colavita) had decided to let me get a gap, so I decided to start working it and punched it out of the corners for the next few laps. In my stint off the front (I think it was between 4-6 laps) I managed to get up to a 9 second gap and two primes - one useful ($50) and one ridiculous ("handmade" jewlery - let me know if you want it!), but eventually I was eaten back up.
The meat of the race was then punctuated by numerous primes (of which I managed to come 2nd in 2 - but of course 2nd in primes doesn't mean anything!) and a wreck - yet again in corner one - this one claiming our very own Alena. She hit the ground and slid out, but luckily nothing that would stay with her other than road rash and she was able to come back strong for Sunday's roadrace.
With about three laps to go, after a prime had been called, the heavens decided to really open up. Leah and myself were near the front and Jeremy made the call to have Leah go for it as she was our GC hope going into the next day. As appears to be customary in NW racing, the girls watched her ride away and only about a lap later realized that this was potentially VERY dangerous with such an engine out front. Leah hammered and rode the crit course like it was nobody's business while Claire and I marked wheels near the front. The Symmetrics duo of Leah Goldstein and Marni Hambleton made a couple of efforts to bring her back, but without the cooperation of the pack, Leah's lead grew to 10+ seconds in the dying laps of the race.
With just under one lap to go for the field, it became apparent to me (and probably everyone else) that she was going to stay away - which was incredible, but made my job clear. I positioned myself behind Alison Testeroete's (Expresscopy.com) who was on Murdin's wheel. We shot out of the final chicane and jammed the last 200m, but I came up a little short on Testeroete - however giving Giant 1 and 3 - not a bad day at the office!
A couple of notes on the race:
1) Leah, I bet you didn't think that you're first win would be in a crit! How awesome is she and how great is the team that we managed to get our GC rider to win the crit???
2) Pickle rocked out in her first 1-3 crit and fought to stay with the front group - you are a star!
3) Awesome work girls - I'm really, REALLY proud of us!
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