October 18, 2014, Cat 3/4/5
San Diego CA   Track Omnium
Report from Lionel Space, Phoenix AZ

Wayne Lewis and I traveled to San Diego from Phoenix for a low key upgrade track omnium. Each event in the Omnium awards 7, 5, 3, 2, 1 points to the lead riders. This was an evening affair and thus a little cooler than what us Arizona riders were accustomed to. There were a total of 10 riders, just enough for the California racers to earn upgrade points. It had been several years since I had raced on the San Diego velodrome, although I had done some training on it last July.

The first race was a flying 200 and I was the last to go. The inside track in the final turns is a little bumpy and I lost a little control in turn 3, but quickly pulled it back together and finished with a respectable 12.9, good enough for second. Chris was going to be the man to watch for the upcoming events. Wayne had very good looking form and I was expecting him to take third, but his speed didn't quite match his display, taking 4th and getting two points for the Omnium totals.


After a bit of rest in the infield, we gathered at the rail to start the next event, a 10 lap scratch. I kept an eye on Chris, but was edged off of his wheel towards the end. With one lap to go I was in third and Chris gave a long leadout that was hard to pass and I only managed a third.


Much to my surprise, there was no rest period between races and we immediately grouped together for a rolling start into the next event, an unknown distance race. I generally don't like these as it's always a gamble to be positioned in the right spot when they finally announce the finish with one lap to go. I calculated that since we just did a 10 lap race and we had a 10 and a 45 lap race still to follow, that his race might be 12-15 laps long. So I rode fairly near the back for the first 8 laps, still recovering from the previous scratch race. Then I began moving up so that I could be in contention with 12 to go, getting into the top half. The riders were generally taking half lap pulls and as we were about to finish lap 15, I was put into the lead. I looked at the official at the line and he was getting ready to ring the bell, so I knew this was going to be the finish coming up. I picked up the pace enough to keep everyone behind me, but did not put out 100% until about 175 meters to go, making it too difficult for anyone to pass and I took the win.


We immediately grouped together and started off a quick 10 lap Tempo race. In a Tempo race, each lap the winner gets 2 points, the second place rider gets 1. So the race is fast all the way through and I could only barely hang on for the first half of the race, still recovering from the Unknown distance race. As the riders began to tire and my recovery was adequate, I was able to start contesting the sprints for the second half of the race. At lap 6 I took the win, took a second on the next two, and then did a long sprint on the final to take that, which was worth 5 points instead of 2. I missed taking the win by just one point. In addition, they awarded $5 to the winner of each lap, so a $10 refund in my pocket.


We got about a 10 minute break before starting the final event of the night, a 45 lap Triple Sprint. In this race we do a 15 lap scratch for points, regroup into a rolling start, and repeat two more times. Each sprint awards the top 4 places with 5, 3, 2, 1 points. At only about 4 laps into the race, Nerius took off solo. This seemed a bit early to succeed, but when another rider took off, I went with him and the two of us chased for a couple laps. Seeing that we weren't making ground on Nerius and there were still two more rounds to go, it seemed prudent to not exhaust too many resources early and I pulled up to join the pack. My companion soon did likewise, but then the whole pack did not get motivated to bring Nerius back. I did a good pack sprint to take second behind the solo win from Nerius.

The second sprint round went more predictably, with the pack pretty much keeping a good pace up, allowing me to rest near the back. I started to move up as we got towards the end and with 2.8 laps to go, Nerius took off. I was in a good position to latch onto his wheel, but stupidly just let him go, thinking that the rider I was sitting on at the time would give chase. Nerius took another win and I was able to win the pack sprint again for second.

So this gave Nerius a good lead. I would have to win the final sprint and hope Nerius placed far back if I were to overcome his point advantage. On this final sprint round, we came into a pack sprint, as I was watching Nerius very closely. Perhaps too closely, as I really should have just taken off with one to go on this 333m track to ensure the win, but instead I got caught up in 4th place with one to go. Nerius was just ahead of me and to the outside, but never really accelerated, thus boxing me in. Finally at turn 3 he went up track a bit, giving me room to try to pass the others in front, but it was too late and I couldn't overtake them, only placing third. This left me in second overall for the triple sprint; if I had taken the final sprint, I would have won the event.


A fun night of racing, which wrapped up about 8 pm. At the end of the night, the totals of all the races put me in First place for the overall Omnium win. The prize was a mysterious bottle of wine with a Velodrome label on it.


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