The track races at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ontario Canada are definitely a highlight during the winter and this has been our sixth time going and we again had an absolutely fantastic time. A very large Star Track crew tends to come and this time around we were 19 racers plus Coach David Mawhinney and Coach Joe Christiansen. Joe coming was a super nice surprise – he’s part of Star Track’s UCI and USA Paracycling teams and has a busy schedule, so having him join us was great. Getting his perspective on our races was super insightful and helped us learn and improve. Being in Milton is also a nice time to catch up with friends outside Star Track, especially the juniors from the Canadians team such as Attack Racing and KW Cycling as well as other New York City cyclists who made their efforts to make it out to Milton. We went up in the Star Track van with racers and parents as well as the trailer holding the bikes. The trip up was super fast, taking us eight hours while picking up several people on the way and having lunch and gas stops. But on the way back we hit some pretty bad snow and it took us 12 hours – nonetheless, the ride was fun because we chatted along the way.
Ari’s Races
I had five races in total – a 1½ laps (375m) chariot, 2km individual pursuit, 4km scratch race, elimination, and keirin – and made the podium in two, placing 2nd for the chariot and 3rd in scratch.
The scratch race was a real highlight for me. It was one of the longer races which suits me better because my endurance is relatively strong. Moreover, I managed to chase down some important attacks, but generally conserved my energy well and was able to time my exchange so that I was well positioned for the sprint. I was fourth into the final lap and managed to get around one rider to finish third across the line.
Overall, I think I did well warming up for each race, getting my desired start position, and had good awareness of where I was in the field. My punch was good too and I had the endurance to be competitive towards the end of races as well as the end of the race day. Few things I realize I need to improve on are fighting for my position, having a higher top end speed during sprints, and working on getting out of the gate a little better on individual events. The gate was used for the IP and this was my second time using it (the first was during my Dec 2024 Milton trip when I used the gate for the first time during the 500m time trial).
Max’s Races
I also had five races but competed in the the F field which had 13 racers on Saturday and 7 on Sunday. On Saturday I raced the 375m chariot tournament (where I started two times), a 500 meter individual pursuit, the 3km scratch, and the elimination race. On Sunday, there was just one race for me, the Keirin. They also had a madison, but unfortunately I don’t know yet how to race it. The great news, though, we saw at Milton our friend Mr. Joe Brennan, and this was a highlight of the trip. He agreed to teach Star Track riders the madison over the summer on our Kissena Veldodrom home track.
Overall, I made podium three times. I got fourth in the individual pursuit and chariot, and third in the scratch, 1st in the elimination, and 2nd in keirin. The F field was actually much tougher than when we came in December where I finished first in four races, 2nd in one, and fourth in another. I actually was wondering whether to perhaps race a tougher category, joining Ari in the E field, but am glad that I stayed in the F field.
My most memorable race was definitely the elimination. This is because I was extremely tired before the race from all the other prior races. There were lots of close calls towards the end of the race but I got really lucky. And then it was just me and another rider from Santiago from Attack Racing. I was behind him and played it like a match sprint. Then with 200m to go I started my sprint and then at the end of turn two, he crashed into my back wheel. My bike was tilted and I rode with one foot clipped in to the finish line taking first place. Luckily he was okay and wasn’t that hurt.
In terms of what I can improve upon, I should have stayed towards the front of the races. As for what I should keep doing well, is keeping the pace high.
