FLAT Out in Olympia Park

How do we even begin to describe yesterdays race? For starters, it was probably the world's shortest crit course measuring about 0.45 of a mile, well shorter than the posted course of 0.6 of a mile. Picture a small neighborhood construction zone complete with piles of building supplies stacked inches from the course, unprotected (no padding) street signs and fire hydrants, and an unfinished road with curbs on both sides that sat nearly 2 inches higher than the road (try hitting the lip at 30mph, not pretty). Now you can begin to understand the dilemma we faced as we debated if we should even race.

The race organizers held a riders meeting discussing various options with a very ambiguous tone, as no one seemed to agree. Our options were laid bare before us: 1) Have two heats, 2)Have one race and anybody that didn't want to race could get a full refund, 3)Split the race into Pro/1 and 2 heats, 4) Cancel the race and go home. We were in full support with a pro/1 and 2 heat and we thought we had enough backing but it was quickly vetoed after much debate with the majority of votes gravitating to option 2.

Why such a big ruckus? With over 100 riders on such a short precarious course, the danger of crashing increased almost exponentially as the field would stretch over most of the course when single file. After much debate within the team we decided to start the race which was shortened to 80 laps, while many riders played it safe and went home. As expected the race started off fast as everyone was nervous and wanted to try to lap the field in a break. The race was one big undulation after undulation as some riders would break off keeping the pace high and then slowing when they were caught. The most dangerous part of the course was leading into turn 3 which had a strong tail-wind keeping the speed high throughout the turn as everyone leaned hard into the sharpest bend of the course.

Keep in mind what the thought of hitting the lip of the curb can do to the pack, as everyone was nervous about crashing. Countless wrecks occurred here as everyone battled for the wheel in front, only to run out of real estate. It was in this turn that Jafer nearly wiped out as he leaned hard into the turn carrying a little too much speed. Luckily, as he began his slid, he clipped his pedal on the road pushing him into the rider behind of him who provided enough support as he bounced off of him, regaining control of his bike. Unfortunately, the rider he hit went down hard but was not injured badly and rejoined the race. Less than a minute later Jafer's rear tire blew out with a loud bang in turn two causing him to head to the Sram service pit, where he received a new rear wheel and rejoined the race the following lap. Earlier in the race Joey had to make a visit to the pit as he suffered a rear flat while Thomas had his own race mishap, spending more than a few laps in the pit.

With 16 laps to go, the race was neutralized as a Virgin Blue (Aussie team) rider hit the ground HARD in turn 3, forcing the officials to make the call. With no ambulance on site the race was on pause for at least 15 minutes, waiting for the ambulance to arrive and transport the rider to the hospital (no word on his condition yet). Not sure how many riders went down during the race but we saw at least four wrecks all in turn 3. The race finally restarted but the pace didn't fully return as there was a 4 man break more than half a lap ahead (the break happened before the race was neutralized so they were allowed the same time gap during the restart). Thomas once again showed his crit riding prowess placing about 10th in the field sprint, followed by Joey inside the top 25, with Oscar and Jafer midpackish.