#3 on the road

The North Boulder Park Criterium was a welcome respite from the terrible weather we've had in Springs over the last few days. I headed up to Boulder hoping that the weather would hold out and the race wouldn't be too dangerous. I'd never raced the course before and was a little nervous about a section through an alley. The weather was beautiful and the course was actually pretty nice and not too sketchy. The transitions in and out of the alley were a little nerve wracking but I never had a close call. Throughout the whole of the race I never dropped further back than 8th place. I sat towards the front and sprinted for most of the prime prizes (4 of 6 in the end). I took a few pulls at the front but mostly tried to hide in the draft and wait for the sprint. It worked out great coming into the last turn in third. I waited until the road started to make it's gentle rise to the finish. When it was done, I'd won by a couple meters and had time to throw my arms in the air. That makes my 3rd win on the road this year.

Well, I still don't have enough points to upgrade to a cat. 3 yet. The ACA is a little weird on that. I don't totally understand the logic on their upgrade system, especially since I'm a cat. 2 on the track. It sure is fun winning races though. I'm planning on petitioning it after this coming weekend. It's the last crit of the season and my last chance at points. Even if I don't get any, I'm hoping they'll still let me move on up for more fast paced action next year.

I'll see all you mountain folk up in Eldora for the short track. That sounds like a good time.

Michael Giem