MANHATTAN BEACH GP - NRC

Manhattan Beach Grand Prix:

Field: 65 riders

Teammates: Kristina

For me, this race was more like a Laura Van Gilder clinic on how to sprint and how not to sprint. She pretty much schooled me all day long in this race, but hey, she isn't such a stud for nothing. You also have to lose to learn how to win, so it was a good learning experience for me. Early in the 60 minute race, I thought about going for some primes just to get a feel for the sprint and how strong the field was. There was probably a prime on every lap, so I figured, why not? The first one I went for I tried an attack and Laura went with me. Having her on your wheel isn't really a good thing going into any sprint, so I sat up instead of dragging her to the line only to come around me at the last minute. The next prime was a couple laps later. I noticed Laura's teammate, Catherine Cheatley, moving up possibly to prepare for the sprint, so I followed her wheel and quickly realized it was just me and her. She motioned for me to come around her and help, so I jumped hard and attacked up the left side and was able to hold it to the line. Maybe they let me go, maybe they didn't... either way I was glad to have at least gotten one prime. The next prime was painful for me in a lot of ways. The field was strung out approaching the final turn before the finish and I was riding in about 7th wheel with Laura in 3rd wheel. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to attack, catch Laura off-guard, and win the $100 prime. Well, I was wrong and totally misjudged Laura's savviness and strength. She was on my wheel the second I sprinted passed her. When I noticed she was on my wheel, I sat up and coasted through the corner, hoping she would attack me and I could jump on her wheel, or at least someone else would. It didn't happen. The field let me stay on the front even at a snails pace on a money prime lap, so I jumped again and tried to gap her off. That didn't work either. Note to self: Never try and jump from the front, especially when the best sprinter in the country is on your wheel. She ate me alive on that one. Came around right at the end. It was pretty devastating. So, as I'm trying to pick my pride up off the ground, a group of about 7 riders with all the strong teams represented, including Dotsie Bausch of Colavita, comes storming by me. Now there's a break with 2 Cheerwine girls and I am suffering. I look behind me for help and it's Kelly Benjamin from Cheerwine. Sweet. Looks like I'm bridging this gap alone. I put my head down and battled the wind for a half a lap and finally we connected again. The field was right behind me. So, now it's time to recover. I move to the back of the field to get some rest, drink, and eat. There's still 30 minutes left in the race at this point. I kept quiet the rest of the race and with 5 laps to go, Kristina roles up next to me and moves me up to the front of the pack. The pace was varying so much in those last laps, that it was really hard to maintain good position. I stayed on Kristina's wheel for a few laps, but in the swarm of every corner and climb, we lost each other and I found myself with one lap to go about 15 riders deep. I knew this was a poor position to be in, especially in this race, but the cluster and dicey riding that was happening in the last few corners, distracted me from doing what needed to be done to contend for the win. I was caught out. I ended up 6th overall after having to weave in and out of riders on the final straight. Although my result was disappointing to me, I learned so much in the race and I love the fact that I get to ride with women like Laura Van Gilder and her strong teammates. Like I said, you have to lose to learn how to win and I sure learned how not to sprint today. Thanks for Reading - Shelley