AUGUST 29, 2010
Vacaville, CA - The Northern CA/Nevada Sr. District Criterium Championship was this Sunday in Vacaville. This race is also part of the California Cup series. Katheryn wanted to try to check "District Crit Champ" off her list before retiring, and I wanted a taste of race intensity before the Cyclocross season starts in a few weeks, so off we went. We were successful on both counts!
Here is Katheryn's Report:
Karen and I lined up with a strong field of NorCal riders for the District Championships in Vacaville, CA.
The 6 corner course was a 1.1m loop, that we would do 16 times, in the old downtown section of Vacaville and had a nice little kicker hill on the back section: nothing too steep, but enough to sap the legs after several laps.
The pace was brisk from the start and Karen did a great job of practicing her cyclocross start and led the first lap from the gun. I found a comfortable position in the pack and kept an eye on some of the strong riders. Things were active with a couple of riders getting a bit of a gap for about half a lap but they were brought back on the hill. A few more attacks went and I was patient to allow others to cover and keep the field together. With about 8 or so laps to go, there was a cash prime for the first rider across the start/finish line and I went for it and kept going. Sprinting from a bunch is definitely not my strength and I knew going solo was my best chance to win. I was not exactly planning on being solo for half the race though.
I quickly gained about 20" (seconds) on the field and the closest they got was about 11" (seconds), which definitely got me nervous as I knew if I did get brought back, I would not have much left to try for another solo move. Fortunately, with Karen doing a great job covering and shutting down any dangerous moves, my gap slowly grew again. With the small crowd cheering me each time up the hill and through the start/finish, I powered through the final few laps, very relieved to hear the bell for the final lap.
I crossed the line with a comfortable gap and Karen did a great job of sprinting for 3rd, narrowly being beaten out by a strong rider from Touchstone, Mary Maroon.
Thanks for reading! :)
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