TRACK NATIONALS

Track Nationals: 50 lap qualifier, 80 lap Points Race Final Wow, what an experience... As an amateur cyclist in all disciplines, I was pretty intimidated and nervous about the level of competition I had agreed to enter into. The first feat was getting onto the track itself. It is nothing like anything I have ever seen or rode on. I think it is 47 degrees steep in the corners and much shorter distance than Hellyer. Even in the pole lane (the part closest to the bottom), you are riding almost horizontally and you feel like you have to ride fast to keep from sliding down. I was so impressed when I saw the legend herself, Sarah Hammer, in action. She deserves every title she has and it will be a long time before anyone threatens to dethrone her. She is truly amazing. Just read a little about her on cycling news and you'll see what I mean. O.k. so back to my races. There was no qualifying heats budgeted into the schedule when I first arrived at the track, but the turnout was about 30 women and the limit for these races is 24 so they forced 2 qualifying heats into the schedule on the morning of the points race final. Each heat had 14 girls and only 10 would qualify, so basically all you had to do was score and you were in. I was in a heat with Katy Compton (cyclo-cross national champion), Theresa Clif-Ryan (Crit Nationals Champion), and Sarah Uhl (Previous National Points Race Champion) to name a few. 50 laps meant 5 sprints and I didn't want to kill myself before the final, so my plan was to score points early and then just chill. First sprint I thought I was positioned well enough to score but the bell lap was so fast that I wasn't able to move up at all for the sprint. Now, I'm a bit nervous and worried that I won't be able to outsprint these girls. Next sprint with 2 to go, Theresa Clif-Ryan attacks and I go with her. We've got a small gap on the field going into the bell lap and she just turned the motor on and gave me a free ride to the line in second. So, now I've got 3 points and I'm probably safe to qualify, but Rob yells to me from the sideline "you need points." Now we're at 13 to go and there's 2 more sprints so I attack and get to the front. Everyone is on my wheel but the field is strung out behind me. So, I just ramped it up a little more for the bell lap and the only girl who tried to contest me in the sprint was Katy Compton and I was able to hold her off for 1st. Now I have 8 points which puts me in first place going into the last sprint. I was pretty much cooked after the last effort so I just hooked myself on the back of the field and tried to recover during the last 10 laps. Theresa Clif-Ryan and Katy Compton went 1,2 in the final sprint which put them into 1st and 2nd place overall and me in 3rd for the qualifying race. I was pumped and it gave me some good confidence going into the final. Points Race Final: 20 riders, 80 laps Now I get a chance to ride with Sarah Hammer, Becky Quinn, and all the other studs that weren't in my heat that morning. After the first sprint, Sarah Hammer takes off like a lightning bolt and laps the field in 3 laps. It was unbelievable. She is just so strong. Not only that, she won 4 of the 8 sprints giving her a total of 40 points in the end. I scored 3 points in the 3rd sprint of the race and got nipped at the line for another sprint and got 5th. With 17 laps to go, I took a chance and attacked out of turn 2. To my surprise, no one chased at first and I was able to get a half a lap on the field. Unfortunately though, with 13 laps to go, a Lipton rider attacked out of the field and they decided to chase her down. I was just praying that I would make it to the line before they caught me and at least get the points for the sprint, but the chase was on and I was swept up on the bell lap only to fall to the back of the pack again and try like hell not to get dropped. My legs were screaming, but I knew there were only 10 laps to go and I had earned enough points to put me in the top ten if I could just hold on. If I had lapped the field I would have come in 2nd place overall!! If I had scored points on that lap, I would have been in the top 5. It was worth a shot either way and I was complimented by Floyd Landis after the race. Yes, he made a guest appearance at the track and a few announcements at the start of our race. Even better than Floyd Landis though was the support I got from local fans and teammates who screamed like hell for me when I was out in front. Thank you all for being there and supporting me in my race. I will be back next year and I will be better prepared and hungry for that top 5. - Shelley