I remember going to watch the Burlingame Crit when I was a newly upgraded Cat 3. I was petrified of the race –technical with uneven pavement, a competitive field, all which tend to lead to a handful of crashes. I vowed never to do the race. Fast forward three years … I conquered my fears (some of them at least) and I decided to make it my focus race for the year.
Most of the PROMAN team was off racing Nature Valley, but Nicola and Kristin decided to join me for some Burlingame fun. We had ~45 girls which is a great turnout for a local crit. Metromint, Velo Bella, Tibco, Los Gatos, Dolce Vita, Morgan Stanley all had strong teams with great sprinters. Nicola spent the week DS’ing for the team in Minnesota and flew back late Sat night. Knowing from experience what a heavy workload and travel does to your body, I didn’t expect her to physically be able to race to her ability. My plan was to race smart, not waste energy chasing things down that wouldn’t stick and position myself well for the sprint. The mini cannon went off. I was lucky to get a good position on the first lap and lead through the first few corners until I hit the nasty headwind on the backside and had to let up a little. I knew the wind would keep things together. Plus, there were a few strong teams that were deep enough to work and bring back anything threatening. The race was a little slower than I would have liked. I was having a tough time staying at the front, as the group mushroomed in the windy section and hit the brakes in the corners. I kept losing my position and was working to move forward. A few breaks got away, but nothing was long lived. The race went by quickly and the next thing I knew we only had 5 laps to go and I started to move up through the pack. With 3 laps left, there was a group of 4 with a few seconds on the field. Kristin was in front of me and I asked her to bring me up. We joined the lead group with the pack in tow. Kristin was working hard to stay near the front, with me holding her wheel. She managed to make it to the front and was pulling hard. We had the group strung out, but I knew she wasn’t going to be able to hold the pace. With a lap and half left someone came up hard on the left and I yelled to Kristin. I was soooo happy when it ended up being Nicola. I don’t know how she did it, but she drilled it from the back of the pack to the front and took off. She pulled the pack for three quarters of a lap...the perfect leadout situation. The pace was so fast that no one was able to come around us. Kristin jumped on the backside hoping to get a headstart on the sprinters to the line. As I let up a little in the wind, Alexis (Tibco) came around me and led me to the last corner. She jumped hard, I used her draft and managed to come around her for the win.
It’s a great feeling to set goals for yourself and accomplish those goals through teamwork. This win is important to me because of the sacrifices that made it happen. I’m proud to be part of the PROMAN team…. – Tracey
Most of the PROMAN team was off racing Nature Valley, but Nicola and Kristin decided to join me for some Burlingame fun. We had ~45 girls which is a great turnout for a local crit. Metromint, Velo Bella, Tibco, Los Gatos, Dolce Vita, Morgan Stanley all had strong teams with great sprinters. Nicola spent the week DS’ing for the team in Minnesota and flew back late Sat night. Knowing from experience what a heavy workload and travel does to your body, I didn’t expect her to physically be able to race to her ability. My plan was to race smart, not waste energy chasing things down that wouldn’t stick and position myself well for the sprint. The mini cannon went off. I was lucky to get a good position on the first lap and lead through the first few corners until I hit the nasty headwind on the backside and had to let up a little. I knew the wind would keep things together. Plus, there were a few strong teams that were deep enough to work and bring back anything threatening. The race was a little slower than I would have liked. I was having a tough time staying at the front, as the group mushroomed in the windy section and hit the brakes in the corners. I kept losing my position and was working to move forward. A few breaks got away, but nothing was long lived. The race went by quickly and the next thing I knew we only had 5 laps to go and I started to move up through the pack. With 3 laps left, there was a group of 4 with a few seconds on the field. Kristin was in front of me and I asked her to bring me up. We joined the lead group with the pack in tow. Kristin was working hard to stay near the front, with me holding her wheel. She managed to make it to the front and was pulling hard. We had the group strung out, but I knew she wasn’t going to be able to hold the pace. With a lap and half left someone came up hard on the left and I yelled to Kristin. I was soooo happy when it ended up being Nicola. I don’t know how she did it, but she drilled it from the back of the pack to the front and took off. She pulled the pack for three quarters of a lap...the perfect leadout situation. The pace was so fast that no one was able to come around us. Kristin jumped on the backside hoping to get a headstart on the sprinters to the line. As I let up a little in the wind, Alexis (Tibco) came around me and led me to the last corner. She jumped hard, I used her draft and managed to come around her for the win.
It’s a great feeling to set goals for yourself and accomplish those goals through teamwork. This win is important to me because of the sacrifices that made it happen. I’m proud to be part of the PROMAN team…. – Tracey
1 comment:
You ladies raced so fresh, beautiful lead out and alla that!
xx
jessica
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