Butting Heads
I felt pretty confident going back to Vernon Hills I had done well there and felt I could repeat that effort. The pre race went great our cat 4 race was last so there was nobody left at registration and it was a breeze to get my number. I quickly got back and started my warm up. I only had about ten minutes or so. Also on the pre-race agenda going over our race strategy I always like to follow the K.I.S.S. formula –keep it simple stupid. Clark was coming of f of a 5th place in Wisconsin on Saturday so I figured he couldn’t have much in the tank. Tony, Sergio and Jorge were also present so I filled them in on the game plan. Everybody was on board and the race was off to a fast start…
Quickly we all got going the pace was fast and the corners 3 and 4 were tight. Sergio and Jorge were getting there lump in the back of the peloton, while the rest of us were trying to mix it up with the front of the pack. Around midway through the race Clarkie decided to test the legs and went on the attack and Tony and I were trying to cover any chasers but it was obvious it was not going anywhere.
It was coming down to the wire and we had two laps left to get some thing done. I look over at Tony and gave him the two finger sign and he acknowledged my hand signal. As I moved up I could sense the pack getting anxious and squirrely. Now was the time to move up and get in position. Before I new it I was passing up all attackers and found my self at the head of the peloton going into to bottlenecking 4th and final turn. It was time to move aside and prepare for the final sprint. I had excellent position and was licking my chops at the position I found myself in. There was a row of about 3-4 riders in front leading out everyone for the sprint and I was in the middle. As I started revving up for the sprint, I felt and heard a bang, I thought for sure I’m going down and there is nothing I can do about it., and even worst I was about to get run over by about 60 riders going about 30+ mph. After the initial shock I was amazed I was still upright, but now an even scarier scenario the rider that bumped me and I were stuck together by our handle bar and some how tangled and we could not break free. Now I know what two rams feel like when they butt heads and get stuck. I knew the only way was to stay cool and not panic. We started wiggling out and finally we broke. But the fast moving peloton was already around us. All I could was try and muster up all my strength and come in with a decent finish. I was not to be!
Clark 15th
Tony 16th
Elvis 17th
Jorge 48th
Sergio 50th
See you next year!
E
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