Wente Crit 09 from Carol

I was ready to roll, and my body felt ok, considering being sick for a couple of weeks. I started off strong, and was in a good position throughout most of the race. There are some sweeping turns and the wide road didn't help with keeping the lines nice and safe... I got a little freaked out a couple of times on the back side of the course when we would be 3 - 4 riders across and 10 deep... of course I was in the middle.. not sot fun for taking one of the sharper turns of the course. I tried to stayed protected for the most part, but got fed up being in the bottleneck effect, so pulled out in front for a few laps. Much more comfortable, but burned a lot of matches. I made some futile attempts at some primes, and missed them by 1 or 2 riders... I wasn't committed, although I should be.. :-) I really wanted to get a top 5 or even 10 finish, and I was in perfect postition coming down the back on the final lap. Because the road is so wide, gals were coming up on the right and left of me, and holding my line through the last turn, into the wind, the sprint was on.... 400 m or so out.... I got boxed in a bit, and swung to the outside, but by the time I got out, it was too late. I hammered as best I could and felt my front wheel lift off a couple of times (pulling too much with my upper body? wind?). I got 11th; but I did learn some key things: 1) Just stay protected.. it's the riders in the back that are the dangerous ones on that final lap. 2) If you want a prime, have that be the goal before the race even starts. 3) It's a lot of positioning, planning and some luck to be set up well for the final sprint. 4) Hammer hard and stay upright! Another great DBC experience, though! Thanks for the cheering and great support!
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Carol Hockridge
ONE Pilates and Cycling www.saccore.com
916.457.7127