For this race we had just me (Lisa) and Pam. Helen’s had a full team out as did SDBC, and the young, and strongTibco team of sisters Kendall and Alexis Ryan. A few other solo riders were out and the field was pretty decent. I was sad that more of us weren’t there…and I tried to bribe PC and Bea to show up…but it didn’t work.
Our pre-race meeting (which I eat up like candy…hanging on every word) was basically Pam telling me that there is only two of us, and our job is to cover things…and save our energy by letting someone else make the first move when covering an attack and then getting on that wheel. So my question “what about us attacking”…was met with a resounding “No”…not when there is only two of us.
The beginning of the crit was fairly uneventful. I think everyone was just trying to get a feel for the course which does have a nice hairpin uphill turn after the finishing straight and then a long back straightaway that leads into a steep turn layered with some cobblestones. Attacks would happen here and there, with some making a bit of a gap. Pam’s instructions were to not chase one person down…so I (for the most part) let those go. However there was enough activity that I felt like I was always on the gas…chasing something…bridging to something…and luckily Pam was there doing her share of covering attacks and I had some gentle reminders from some of the Helen’s girls “not to chase Pam down”. I got so excited a few times I forgot to calm down. We had Tibco go up the field, we had few Helen’s attacks, SDBC was doing some work too. But nothing stuck…and I tried to chase what I could… and hoped it ws the right move I was making!
The only thing that made my tired legs feel better was that I could hear everyone else breathing hard…except for the Ryan sisters…who I think, had the same plan as me and Pam. Sit tight, and cover attacks if necessary. However, they were cool as cucumbers and I never saw them make the first move on an attack so I knew they were just waiting to go. SDBC launched a way too early attack that took some energy out of me…and then it was suddenly one lap to go. It’s no secret I am not going to win a field sprint…and I definitely did not want to go into that last turn with the pack all bunched up…so into that hairpin uphill turn I went as hard as I could and kept going until that darn last turn, when the Tibco girls went around me and in my state of feeling like I could vomit at anytime…I looked for Pam…one, two, three four girls…then I saw Pam…and I thought “crap”…but of course Pam is Pam and she easily (well, she made it look easy) took that line for 2nd. (Kendall Ryan won, she had a good gap into the cobblestone turn). Yay! Thank you Pam for your awesome finish!
My parents have lots of picture with me in what I call my “ugly face”. I was fricking beat! I always learn something from our races..and in the post race pow wow I was happy to hear Pam say that it was a-okay to go out like that on the last lap because it kept the race safe (another favorite of mine, the words ”safe” and “crit” in the same sentence.). I also learned how much I have become dependent on my teammates. Not just because I watch and learn from them in the races…but because I gather strength, confidence and calmness from them before the race and on the line. I missed having all my girls there…but boy was I grateful that Pam was there to mentor and support…as she always does.
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