This was a really important race for me… I really wanted to do well in this race, I was so close to my upgrade to Cat 4. The week leading up to the race did not look promising...a crash during my training crit that ended up cutting the race short…track cancelled due to rain and possibly more rain on Saturday in Banff.
An hour before my start I found myself wading through a sea of kids. They were all so anxious to do the kids races and there were so many smiles despite the rain and cool weather. It must be an amazing feeling for them to get a chance to ride (or run) on the same closed we would be using…. How often do they get to ride in the middle of the road without fear of cars?
I started my warm-up…alone in the parking lot on my trainer, while it started to drizzle. The course was already infamous for crashes under ideal conditions and the rain was going to make this a much more challenging race.
I finished my warm-up on the trainer and proceeded to pre-ride the coure. As I went by the crowd during one of my warmup laps. I heard a little boy saying “I’m cheering for number 79…GO NUMBER 79!”. Awesome. Now I have to kick ass.
Staging started and I seeded myself in the first row. The countdown began, the racers silenced and the crowd cheered. My first official road race of the year and I was ready to put the hammer down.
The race started and I managed to get second wheel going into the first hairpin turn. So far, so good…tires held up and everyone up front went single file through the turn. As we came around the turn to complete out first lap…I saw the guy on my right lose contact with the ground and slide across the tarmac into the fence. The announcers informed the crowd there wa s a crash and that it was holding up some of the racers. The few survivors all knew what to do…we attacked and pushed the pace. We got into a group of 4 and managed to get away from the peloton.
The 4 of us managed to work loosely together and stay away for most of the race. The course was starting the dry up a little on where the pack was riding so it was getting easier to focus on the lines through the turns.
I went up to the front to take a pull and was leading the lead group then I heard the same little boy yell “Look, it’s number 79, I told you to cheer for him!” That was probably one of my best moments of racing.
Nearing the last few laps of our race…it seemed like we were either slowing down or the pack was starting to reel us back in. 2 more riders from RMCC managed to bridge up to us and now we were a group of seven heading into the last lap. The group consisted mostly of RMCC riders so they worked as a team with a couple of us interloping on their plan.
Last lap…the pace went up considerably. RMCC formed a group and it was hard to get past them and I was trying to have enough left for the final sprint. We hit the last turn and I emptied the tank sprinting for a much needed 6th place finish.
It was over so quickly…one of the best crits I’ve ever raced. I went out and accomplished the goal I had set out for myself. It was all smiles as I did my cool down laps. Even though I didn’t win…it still felt like I did. All my anxiety about the race course conditions, my result, my upgrade points were all gone at once. Finally….Cat 4. 1 of 3 season goals complete.
- Kyle
Photo Credits: Christina Hirolta
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