May 31, 2012, National Sports Center Velodrome Thursday Night Lights,
Blaine MN Category 3 Track
The first Thursday night racing for the season in Blaine MN on the 250 meter track.
This day we had 14 entries in the Category 3, but a woman would also join us for the second race.
There was also a good turnout in the other categories with 17 in the 1-2, 19 in the 4-5, and 9 Women racers.
The weather was very good, starting out in the low 70's, but requiring arm warmers by the second race and leg tights for the final race.
The first event for us was a 10 lap scratch, where the leader at the end of 10 laps is the winner of the event.
We started off fairly easy and settled into a pace.
About 4 laps in, a rider tried a solo escape and got about 6 lengths on the bunch.
I hung back in the group, keeping an eye on his progress.
With about 3 to go we had him back in the pack and it was set up for a bunch sprint.
At 2 to go I had a slight miscalculation, thinking it was the last lap and had to readjust my position.
As we approached 1 to go, 2 riders had a gap of about 2 lengths and I was third in the pack.
As we hit turn 1, I accelerated in the saddle, passed the two leaders coming out of turn 2 and kept the lead to the line for a win of the first event.
Maximum speed 34.7 mph, average speed 28.2 mph.
Our second race was a Miss and Out with 15 starters.
Every 2 laps the last rider to cross the line is pulled from the race until it's whittled down to the final pair.
With this many riders, I started at about 4th for the beginning of the race.
One rider, Frye, began racing from the back right from the start and would go flying by us on each sprint lap.
As we got down to about 8, I rode a bit more to the outside and started boxing lower riders in.
When we got down to 6 a rider came screaming through the middle, saying "excuse me" and I was nearly the last rider across the line.
So I moved to the back, but Frye kept playing that position, so I'd ride it from the next to back and just make sure there was at least one rider trapped inside and behind me.
When we got down to the final 4, Frye was all tuckered out and couldn't avoid being pulled.
Then down to the final 3 and it was not a time to conserve any longer and I took the lead from behind at about 180 meters to go and Masiulus got trapped behind me and the other rider.
Immediately after that call, Brennaman was not sure if he was last of not and I had to reassure him that he was still in the race.
So a lap later we get the bell for the final sprint and Brennaman had not made a move yet, was at the bottom of the track and in front of me and occasionally looking over his shoulder.
With 220 meters to go, as his head started moving forward again, I jumped hard and gapped him, successfully holding the lead to the line for another win for the night.
So I was fortunate that there were no young upstarts with incredible speeds in the Category 3 and the wins came fairly easy by playing it smart.
Maximum speed 33.9 mph.
Excerpt from the National Sports Center Velodrome results web site:
Lionel Space Wins Inaugural Muscle Milk Miss N' Out (May 31, 2012)
Veteran Rider Outlasts Younger Speedsters
The night's featured race was sponsored Muscle Milk Miss N' Out. Fifteen Cat 3 racers contested the first race in this new series. Strategies varied, with Fred Mills (Revolution Cycle/Twin6) pushing the pace off the front and Nate Brennaman (Birchwood) playing gatekeeper. Both were among the final four in the race, along with Matt Allen (Behind Bars/LGR) and Lionel Space (Focus Racing).
Ultimately, Allen, Space and Mills out-sprinted Brennaman. Allen's number was up next, leaving longtime racer and master's competitor Space and Mills, who started racing the track last summer, battling for the win. Just as he emerged from turn 2, Space got up out of his saddle and decisively overtook Mills. Mills could not catch the Space-man as he shot ahead to the finish and secured his second victory of the night.
Cat 3 results
Our last event for the evening was a 60 lap Madison race with sprints every 20 laps for 5, 3, 2, 1 points to the first four places.
Madison's are comprised of 2 team members, where only one is racing at a time and is relieved by a throw in from his partner each time he comes around.
I was able to hook up with another Category 3 rider, Jason Goldberg, who had placed 5th and 6th in the first two events and was admittedly not in prime shape yet.
A twist to this race was that racers of 40 years of age or older could also participate and we had three teams with 40+ riders that were Category 1-2 racers,
one a current Masters World pursuit champion, Dan Casper.
So with superior racers and a less than stellar teammate, the likelihood of a win was less than probable.
The organizers provide very professional matching jerseys for the race and we had black jerseys, just my color.
Two of the Cat 1-2 teams with Category 1-2 racers had Red and White jerseys out of the nine teams on the track.
We started off at a very relaxed pace, which allowed us to get into the rhythm of our trade offs without being under exertion.
The 1-2 racers also had events later on and wanted to conserve some of their energy for later in the evening.
Exchanges occur about every 3 laps, dependent on the speed of the racer and the lack of speed of the rider taking a break.
At 14 laps into the race, it seemed that we might not have enough time to get me in before the next sprint, so I waved off my partner with 3 to go.
The other teams were able to throw in their fresh partner with just over a lap before the sprint for points, so this was a miscalculation on my part.
I was able to take 3rd behind the 2 Cat 1-2 teams, good for 2 points and then I quickly looked for my partner to give me some relief.
The pace picked up for the next set and we had about 6 teams that were hanging together, with the Red team showing some dominance,
the White team looking comfortable, and the Blue team also getting involved when the pace picked up.
I'd tell Jason during our exchanges to "stay with the Red team" as if we could just keep their pace, we'd be in good position.
Jason was starting to struggle a bit, but at 6 to go I came in and hoped he would slow enough for us to get me in before the sprint.
As the laps closed towards the second sprint, I threw in Jason and slowed as much as I could, even having my rear wheel slip a bit on turn 4 as I went below 13 mph.
Things got heated with 1.5 laps to go to the sprint at 40 laps and Jason lost some ground.
He threw me in with only half a lap to the sprint and 3 teams were ahead of me, but I was able to catch the Blue rider with 20 meters to go and get another 3rd, so we now had a total of 4 points.
Teams were starting to show fatigue now, but the Red team was still going strong, with one rider being much more powerful than the other.
At one point, Jason had lost contact with the other top three teams and as he threw me in I said I'd catch them.
I flew by the White and Blue team riders and then quickly closed the gap to the Red team.
If the Red team would just continue strong and we could keep the gap on the others, my team would have a good chance at taking second overall.
Alas, the next time Jason took his turn he was falling far behind.
As we hit 5 to go and Jason threw me in, I told him that I would finish it up.
The White and Blue teams got a fresh exchange and went flying by me with one to go and I tried to catch them for the final sprint,
but we were all going full out and the White and Blue teams finished just ahead of me, with the Red team taking the final sprint again.
Of course the Red team took first place by a large margin and the White team beat us by just one point in the overall standings.
Maximum speed 36.0 mph.
Madison results
So a relatively easy time in the Cat 3 races, where I of course won the Omnium overall and lead the Miss & Out series.
The Madison was fun and challenging.
No crashes for anyone during the night and a large crowd in the stands to cheer us on.
My parents were in the crowd, cheering me on at every lap as usual.
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