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May 20, 2008
Opus 6
Opus 6 was the best of the series for me. It was sunny out and about 65 degrees. I was able to ride the race wheels, wear shorts and a short sleeve shirt, and the wind was pretty calm. The field size was about 32 riders, which makes it a bit more fun if you ask me.
As I rolled up to the staging area I hooked up with Cobra and Ben and Wally from Silver. We chatted a bit and we were all stoked to keep the race active. I was shooting for a top placing on the first sprint and then wanted to save the rest for the last sprint. With a large group, things were relatively active, but there were lots of other guys to chase things down. A few guys got off the front leading into the first sprint lap and Wally from Silver gave me a great pull to the bottom of the final corner. I went hard and ended up taking second on the line. Another 3 feet and I would have had the sprint.
I sat the second sprint out and was planning to sit out the 3rd sprint as well. There were a few guys off the front and I others were working. As we came down the hill, Ben rolled by and asked if I was ready to go. So I said sure, even though I had planned to sit out the sprint. I was feeling good. Ben gave an amazing pull straight to the bottom of the final corner (again). I went and took the sprint with plenty of room to spare.
Now I was worried for the final sprint. I sat up and waited for the group to catch me and immediately found shelter. I grabbed onto Cobra's wheel and planned to ride that to the finish. Wally came by and prompted a pull up towards the two leaders. Ben joined in from the outside. As we turned onto turn 3, there was a crash. Ben got caught up in it (I hope he is o.k., we never reconnected), but the rest of us were able to avoid it. I got gapped a bit but pulled my self back onto another riders wheel. Cobra was sitting one, the rider in white 2, and I was 3. My legs were definitely spent. As we got to the crux of the hill, I saw the rider in white start to shift down, I was hesitant (stupid move) and by the time I got my gearing right, Cobra and the other guy were gone. Cobra took the win again tonight which rocked, I rolled in for third.
When the results were posted, I found out that I was third on the night with only 8 points. I thought I should have had 10 points, but the officials scored me as 3rd in the 1st sprint. Not sure how they figured that one out with a bright yellow kit on, I figured I would be pretty obvious. But it is hard catching a number flying by at 30+ mph. I relented and walked home with 3rd. In the full series, I was sitting 4th for the night, with Cobra just 2 points in arrears. Cobra and I should be tied for 4th or 3rd, depending on who showed up tonight and who scored. All in all, my most successful Opus series yet. I definitely made some tactical errors this year, but learned a lot about my sprint ability.
Thanks to Cobra, Ben, and Wally for keeping it exciting.
Posted by kermisch at May 20, 2008 11:46 PM