Golden State Criterium

i almost didnt race on sunday. however, although i was still congested and phlemy, since i flaked on saturday, i had to race. and the choice of rancho cordova over salinas came down to distance. in the end, i wonder whether it was the better choice -- as you may have noticed from the results, there were only 5 girls! so all of us finished in the money. with only a field of 5, the referees asked us if it would be ok if they shortened the race from 60 minutes down to 40, and we were all in agreement. at the line, we were chatting about just using the race for paceline practice. but to make things interesting, not only for the spectators, but for us as well, the refs decided to change the format and make it a staggered start. there were three cat 2 riders and two of us cat 3s (karla and me). so we got a head start and then it was up to the 2s to catch us... i guess one of the benefits (or disadvantages, depending on how you look at it :) of being a higher category rider. this turned out to be one of tougher races ive done. from the get go, we were working hard to make sure wed stay away, with very little to no respite at all. and it was a bit windy, a swirling wind, so you never knew exactly where youd catch a headwind or a tailwind. karla and i worked well together, taking equivalent pulls, keeping up a pretty fast pace. we decided to sprint for the first prime, but she easily out-sprinted me. then we lapped one of the cat 2 riders. about half-way through the race, i could feel the fatigue starting to settle in. karla is really strong! slowly, my pulls got shorter and she began to take slightly longer pulls -- and she was really nice about it. as the second prime approached, i happened to be pulling, but i told karla to go ahead and take it. and then at about 4 laps to go, i said to karla that if she has the energy, she should go for it and not feel obligated to stay with me. so with 3 to go, she rides away. with karla gone, i am still able to keep up a good, fairly consistent pace. but then with 1-1/2 laps left, i look back and see linda from alto velo in the distance. (shed dropped the other two.) if memory serves, lindas a good time trialist... yikes! i put my head down and try to focus on my own speed and just getting to finish. amazingly, as i make the last turn, im able to pick up my speed just slightly more, and finish in 2nd. wow! if wed had couple more laps, maybe even less, i know linda would have caught me. for my efforts, i got a good chunk of change! sweet!

-Rita

2008

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