EV Spring Series 2 & 3 --- The C's.

#2 Zero Ave Circuit

Another large turnout for the C group this week. Cloudy skies, cool temperatures and semi-dry roads, no rain.

C group is lined up to do 7 laps of 55 km rolling course. Claire, Jenelle, Shani and I are set to make it hard from the start.

We roll out and make our way to the front, around the first two corners and up the first roller, a Coastal rider attacked. I jumped with him. We established the first break of the day and stay away for almost 3 laps with a 30 sec gap. Four riders started to chase, reeled us back in and bridge what was left of the main field to us.

Laps 3, 4, 5 are riddled with some attacks that don't stick and smack talk about who will contend the sprint. I am feeling good. I am in great position, our group is still together, we round the last corner up the slight uphill to the finish..I jump and sprint, sprint, SPRINT! I start wonder why I don't hear anyone else around me breathing hard??? Wow-- I must be killing them, but then I heard it....DING! DING! DING!! The last lap bell. Doh! Silly me. I think I need to go back to our Learn to Race Clinic and study "The Basics". At least I made it hard for some who thought I was attacking....Ya, that's what I was doing...ATTACKING. Ha!

It's going to be a group sprint. I pull myself together from my unnecessary effort and find my teammates to set up a lead out. We start jostling to get into position as the intensity elevates. Jenelle and Shani are near the front in the last corner and patiently wait till the right second. Shani followed the right wheel and packed in a good sprint to nail a another 3rd place finish for the Giant/Team Whistler girls. Jenelle also in great position duked it out through the field and finished right behind in the top 10. I roll in at back of sprint and I take a lesson learned in Lap Counting 101.


#3 Armstrong Hill
Spring Series training races, more lessons learned.

The numbers are smaller today and there are many people on the line that didn't race yesterday with fresh legs for the dreaded Armstrong Hill Course. Temperatures are cooler with an early start due to the time change. Still, no rain- unbelievable!

Today the C group is 53km and 7 laps for an uphill sprint finish.
Only Shani and I are on the start line today.

On the start line we get a formal apology from a rider who had potty mouth the previous race. Followed by pre-race pow-wow from Austin, re: the usual....yellow line rule, sprinting for 50th place, having our numbers visible etc. Note: Always listen to your race director Austin. We roll out.

We go hard off the start and manage to split the C group up before the hill climb. About 15 of us in this group, we hit Armstrong Hill super hard for 3 laps. On lap 3 all hell breaks loose. I start going backwards but catch back on to find out 5 guys have broke away. I try to get a chase going to catch the dangerous break, hoping we can reel them in and get Shani in there. But efforts are unsuccessful and I crack.

Shani riding super strong, keeps it together and stays with the chasing pack, and finishes the race of attrition in 11th place, which ends up being 10th place. After we find out the rider who earlier had given us the speech, won, but unfortunately had his number hidden under his vest. and is disqualified.