Downtown Lexingtion Crit

Nick and I journeyed south of the border for what turned out to be a beautiful but rather windy day of crit racing in downtown Lexington Kentucky. The crit was the first for the both of us this year and I was hoping it would prove to be a fitness barometer, of sorts. Kudos to the race organizers, who did a very good job with the course lay out and design. It was a classic figure eight, with wide and well maintained roads. The corners were smooth and fast and allowed for pedalling through turns. Road marshaling was respectable and the course was about as safe one could hope for.

At the start line, there were about 40 to 50 Cat 3's and 4's. Only a few familiar faces; Cory St. Clair from Turner was present, as well as familiar Olimpis riders. I exchanged pleasantries with a dude who had just raced the Master's race and was covered in road rash. He was going to give it another try and it didn't instill a lot of confidence in me.

Well, as crits go, it was all about the start with this one and things were strung out immediately. I had a flash back of my earlier attempts at the Hyde Park Blast Crit. From the start, the pace was unexpectedly fast and it quickly took me to a place I like to refer as, "I'm-in-too-much-pain-to-talk" place. I spoke to a fellow afterwards, who said his average was 25mph (Nick and I were both too nervous to remember to reset our computers, after our warm-up).

Anyway, Nick had respectable placement and he was, what seemed like an eternity in front of me. I would see specs of Process Blue go through a turn, as I was just finishing the turn before. I felt decent but was never able to move through the pack at will. Gains were only made in small increments and I struggled to join Nick, who was near the front.

At some point, Nick and I had somehow switched spots and I barely recall us passing each other. I found it strangely difficult to estimate where I was, in relation to the rest of the pack. The whole time, I felt like I was on the precipice of a cliff; the last rider, dangling at end. Nick and I estimated there were about 5 crashes total (in the mere 30 minutes of racing) and I can say there was only one close call for me: when I swerved around a bicycle that was absent a rider. At least two of the five crashes occurred on the same lap, which really put me in the pain box, as large gaps were formed and riders struggled to rejoin the lead group. I thought I was never going to bridge when a group of 6 or 7 riders where able to bridge to me and I was able to find a wheel. Thankfully, they managed to rejoin the lead field, with me in tow. A break had been established and two guys were 10 seconds off the front. I do not know if they were every caught but the pace never really backed off.

With four laps to go, I was fortunate to be in the top 15 to 20 riders (minus the two man breakaway?). The earlier shenanigans seemed to be over and I was feeling okay, but I didn't have a lot of matches left to burn. With one lap to go, I was giddy. I had decent positioning but was still wishing I had just a little but more umpf...if you know what I mean. The finish line was only about 25 to 30 meters after a turn and slightly up hill but thankfully no cross or headwind at the finish. I'm guessing I finished somewhere between 15 and 20th place...maybe better..who knows. All and all, I feel pretty good about things, considering it to be mid May. It was a fun day with Nick and we both managed to finish unscathed.