Getting to the venue was my first challenge of the day. I had never been to Volunteer Park and parked way to far away. I was feeling rushed when I finally arrived at our Fell Swoop team tent. There was just enough time to talk race strategy and take a short warm up ride with Jonas who knew his way around the neighborhood.
The course is not your typical four corner crit. Except for the finish straight, the course is always winding and includes a long and shallow descent followed by a long and shallow climb. Z-Dog informed me my bike handling skills would pay dividends.
Our field, Men's 35+ cat 3/4, was only about 25 deep. Teammates shared with me that this would make moving up the field easier than if we were in a 40 rider field. Our start was mellow enough but my first lap was, at times, harrowing. The racing line was starting to dry but, on my first lap, I found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time on at least two occasions. Disaster was avoided and on subsequent laps my line choices proved immensely safer.
Fell Swoop showed up with five riders total. We were all in on working for our designated leader, Z-Dog. Our job was to help him facilitate his best possible finish. Sticking to our race plan I followed a couple moves during the race. But nothing threatening ever came together. It was especially nice seeing other Fell Swoopers ready to patrol the front after I made these efforts and needed a few minutes catching my breath.
At about nine laps to go I finished a short effort to close a gap and realized my heart rate was higher than I hoped. For the next six laps I shrunk myself as best I could and hid within the wheels.
My job, for the finish, was to assemble three Swoopers on my wheel and then take them to the the front. At the end of the 'three to go' lap I found Z-Dog. I then yelled up to Juaquin, who was ahead of me, to slow down. At that moment the fifteen riders in front of me seemed to sit up and I was able to move Z-dog and myself forward within the peleton.
As we started the flat finish straight I could see the gap I needed to lead us through. It was tight and I may have bumped another rider. He certainly wasn't happy about my proximity and I felt a big shove forward. I yelled 'thanks' and put down a steady effort that took me forward. I yelled at Juaquin to assemble behind me as I took over the front.
In the moment I was quite pleased with putting myself and my team mates exactly where we planned to be. This same lap was also a $20 Taco Time gift card prime lap and I accidently won that too.
For the next three quarters of a lap I lead the race and put in just enough effort to keep the field strung out. I checked over my should down the hill and could see Juaquin's Fell Swoop jersey on my wheel. I just hoped there were two more Swoopers on his wheel. At the base of the climb I put down some real power, burnt all the matches, and flicked my elbow before reaching the flat. The peleton stormed by and I smiled knowing my domestique duties were well fulfilled.
The results will show me DFL. The results will not show how much fun this race was. Nor will it show how well we raced as a team. Not a single rider got off the front without a Fell Swooper in tow. An admittedly partial spectator, Z-Dog's girlfriend KT, complimented our team tactics.
And how did our team do on that last lap? In the moment I was so far back I couldn't even see the finish. I had to wait to hear the stories from the other Swoopers to learn how the final lap turned out. Juaquin put in a big effort on that final lap but it was no good. Jonas and Z-Dog had gotten separated from Juaquin at some point and Z-Dog was only able to sprint to about tenth place.
In summary, except for the final lap, it was a near perfect day of racing with my Fell Swoop teammates.
