Track Race Report by Joey

Being the very last event of the night, it was nearly eleven o'clock as we set up along the track getting ready to start the points race. We had been at the track since 6 pm that evening and had already competed in three events. I had no idea how my legs would hold up for this final 30 laps around the track. It seemed like there were many things going against us going into the start: every race we completed was one of the fastest track events we've experienced, the last meal we ate was lunch, and it was already past our bedtime. We started in high spirits nonetheless.

The first sprint came and went very quickly as the 36-man field thinned down due to the fast pace. As soon as the speed had slowed a bit, right after the sprint, a couple other riders had the same idea, to attack. We yo-yoed off the front for a minute as others chased off and on, but eventually, after a couple hard accelerations two other riders and I broke clear of the front end of the peloton. We were able to quickly build a substantial gap. One of the guys in the break was a familiar face, as I saw him a year ago at jr track nationals. Nik Reinert, won the men's 17-18 points race, 3k pursuit, and madison, where I also competed. While I was off the front, Thomas and Oscar did an excellent job of sitting on the front of the peloton; by keeping the pace low and jumping on any attacks they discouraged further attacks. My two breakaway companions and I rolled through the next couple sprints as I took the second place points, but I was really starting to hurt. After leading out the entire lap on the second to last sprint, I made a minor judgment error when I pulled up track to let the other two come through to pull, and I got gaped off their wheels. Then, my two breakaway companions lapped the field, gaining 20 points apiece automatically. For the remainder of the race I dangled behind the field, but didn't have enough gas left in the tank to lap it. After a hard race, I took third place which was considerably better than any of my other placings of the night, which made me happy.

After swinging by the gas station to grab a snack and a "big gulp" (64 oz of whatever your heart desires) with our $10 in race winnings, we returned home at nearly 12:00!!! By the time we had showered and eaten dinner, it was well past our bed time, and all we could do was stumble up the stairs and pass out on our bouncy, plastic beds.
Scratch Race