Moritz Sprint Series

I've never done a Match Sprint before....

So I took a 4 hour clinic taught by former Elite racer and one time 200M TT record holder Jeff Labauve. I learned quite a bit about slingshots, razors and how the 200m tt is done for seeding the racers. Did not learn or have a chance to practice how the actual sprint itself is run. Oh well.

At 5:30, we started the seeding process, which involved having all 29 racers do a Flying 200M TT. For those not familiar with track racing, they give you a push onto the track on the back side and you have 3.5 laps to go. Only the last 200 meters count...the rest is just windup. I did mine in 14.3 seconds, having never gone below 15 before (all practice. This was the first real one).

Since there were only two racers in the 35+/Cat 4 category, Mike and I were set for a best 2 of 3 night.

In the first race, I drew the "down track" position, which is the leadout position. I had watched a few of the earlier masters races to get a feel for how they run. 3 laps, be in front at the end. I lead us out and kept an almost constant watch on Mike. I saw and heard him jump, but my reaction was too slow and he beat me to the line by a large margin.

In the second race, I was in the uptrack or follow position which is definitely my preference for drafting and strategy reasons. At 1.5 laps to go, as Mike was turning his head to look over his right shoulder, I jumped to his left. He was riding the blue line (mid track) and we were in turn 2, so I had plenty of room and gravity on my side. Apparently I got a decent gap on him initially as he had to get out of the saddle to start chasing. We did a 1.5 lap drag race to the end and I lost by half a wheel (even have the finish line camera picture to prove it)

So...2 and out, but I learned a lot and had a good time. Got 2nd place, $20 in prize money and 2nd place Texas cup points, which should put me in 3rd place in my category.

No riding today, hopefully a couple of long rides Monday and Tuesday to finish up prepping for the MS150 next weekend.

Cyclist to pray for today: Pat M.

DB