PROMAN INTERNATIONAL STYLE OMNIUM - PODIUM!

I was really excited about racing the first ever International Style Omnium in the US! In this one-day event, riders do a combination of 3 time trials and 2 mass start races for a total of 5 races. The winner of each event gets 1 point, 2^nd place gets 2 points and so on. The racer with the lowest points at the end of the day wins. Our elite women’s field was about 15, although some quit after a few events so only 10 women finished all 5 events. I dug myself a bit of a hole in the first race of the day, the 200m. I was hoping for a PR (under 13.6), but ended up with a 13.7 for 4^th place. Beth was in 1^st place with a wicked fast time of 13.08, Shelby was 2^nd and Annabell at 13.6 was 3^rd. Niki was 5^th.

Next up was a 10 lap Scratch race. Our strategy was for Niki to jump two laps into it and try for a break. We dropped a few, but the women to watch were still with us. So we sat in and covered other attacks. I tried to keep Beth boxed in, but she eased up enough to get behind me - and around me in the final lap… sneaky. Between Beth and Niki helping me into the final sprint, I took 3^rd, but still 4^th in overall points. Next up was the 2k individual pursuit. No aerobars allowed, so about 2 laps into it I positioned my hands on the top center part of my bars and tried to get as aero as possible. The times for this race between me, Shelby and Beth were apparently super close and I ended up in 3^rd, but also 3^rd overall as Annabell’s pursuit time moved her to 4^th. Next was the dreaded 30 lap points race. However, due to time constraints, it was changed to 20 laps (4 sprints). Niki once again helped me out in the sprints. I couldn’t come around as many times as I need to, so I ended up 4^th and Niki was 2^nd. I was spent after the points race, but really looking forward to the 500m… back in my comfort zone of “shorter” races. While Kelly B. and Warren were figuring out the points we got 20–25 minutes to rest before the 500m. Good thing, because that gave me enough time to snag the last Stella beer from Donna’s cooler and hide it for later! I needed to win the 500m to move up from 3^rd place overall to 2^nd.

I told Niki I would “do my best” and she came back with a quick… “I want better than your best!!!” Ok, OK! So here we go…. my start was not great, I prefer a count down instead of the whistle out of nowhere, but that’s how they did it. I felt pretty good and hoped my time of 41.1 was good enough. Certainly not my best time for the 500m, but again no aerobars and it was the end of a long day. I’m not sure of the official results in the 500m, other that Beth go 1^st place, and I think my time was 2^nd. Thank you Niki for the lead-outs, Kelly B for your cheering and support, and a big thanks to Donna - aka VC (Very Classy) for bringing all the food, and that much needed cold Stella at the end of a super fun day! Lo-J