We had such a great time at the regionals in T-Town this year – the races were not too long but not too short. We had a 1 kilometer scratch, 6 kilometer scratch, and an 8 kilometer points race. Our field was small, there were four riders in the U13 category and two in the 13-14, so they combined us. We were pretty tired from racing the North Woodmere Crit earlier that morning, which was long and tiring but Ari and I just didn’t think about that.
The 1 kilometer Scratch Race
This race was very short but started surprisingly slow. Robby from Edge Cycling and I were at the sprinters lane taking the shortest line while the rest were at the rail about 10 meters behind us. So I decided to attack! They caught on really fast and just kept on drafting me. I think it was not the best idea to go first because everybody could just pass me at the end. In the U13 category, I got third and Ari first.
The 6 kilometer Scratch Race
This was an interesting race. First the people in the 13-14 category attacked and I decided to chase – it was hard because we had different gear restrictions. Our U13 category was restricted to a 78 (49-17) while the older U15 rides could ride 83 (49-16 / 52-17) gears. Since I had to do a lot of cadence, I couldn’t keep holding onto them so I went back to the group with Ari and Christiano from Edge. Ari and Christiano didn’t do pulls or would take really short pulls. But I wanted to take pulls so I could keep the pace fast because Christiano is really good at sprinting. At one lap to go we were all riding at the rail because none of us wanted to start the sprint, and that was the time when the 13-14 lapped us so I tried to hop on their wheels but I couldn’t hold on to them. But I still had some momentum so I kept going. At the end Ari passed me and I got second in my category.
The 8 kilometer Points Race
This was the last race and my goal was to beat Christiano so that I would come in second for the U13 omnium. I just saved all my energy and took short pulls and mostly stayed behind Christiano . At the bell I went as hard as I could.
The race was pretty confusing, however. Points were awarded every four laps and the below table lists the official results.
All makes sense to me for the 1st, 2nd, and the 6th (last) sprint laps but not the 3rd, 4th, and 5th. On the 2nd sprint lap, Ari took off to chase after Kai and Dean. The confusing part is that Kai, Dean, and Ari were not the lead riders until the 6th sprint lap but instead Robert, Christiano, and I were.
Anyway, when Dean and Kai lapped Christiano and me sometime after the 5th sprint lap, Christiano followed their wheel but I couldn’t keep up at first. After I took some breathers, I chased hard until I got back on Christiano’s wheel. When Ari lapped us, I followed his wheel and we both passed Christiano. Mission accomplished! I got in second amongst the U13 and this helped me place second for the omnium.
After the Races
When our last race finished, we hung out with our Star Track teammates and all others who were racing . We then we went to Ms. Shelly’s and Coach Pete’s house and jumped in the pool and ate some food. We stayed there for about 2 hours and went back home. I slept in the car for most of the ride. We arrived back in New York at about midnight. Originally we were thinking about racing the Randall’s Island Crit the next morning, but we were all too tired (we try really hard to show up for races we are registered for but Alex, the race organizer, understood). Coming to T-Town for regionals was a lot of fun and we’ll definitely be back next year.
