Caleb Pike Race Report

[JohnT]

Triple Shot was well represented last night; Peter, Joe, Bill, Dylan, and I. It was cold and overcast, but one tends not to notice these things during the race. Good attendence by B racers, the photos suggest there were at least 20, perhaps closer to 30. The early season evening races are fairly short, this one was almost 8 laps (we don't start the race at the finish line, so the 1st lap is a little shorter than the rest). However, each lap has a double hill, meaning it wasn't going to be a sprint race despite the length. Also, with short races, the B's don't get lapped by the A's. This (A's neutralizing the B race) is something that can play a big role later in the season. No drama until about lap three when Bill got a good jump down the back straight. It had a chance of success, he started his break from mid-pack and went by the front with good speed. It was also well-timed - early enough that the pack wouldn't be expected to bite. Not knowing Bill, the feeling MIGHT have been: "Let him go, will catch him eventually". --------- Long pause -------

What the #$*! Blink and few times just to be sure. Yup, that's Dylan dragging the pack up the road. The chase is on. Bill's break lasts about half a lap. Comments Lister?

A few laps go by without any daring moves. Animals can be a problem at Caleb Pike and yesterday evening wasn't an exception. A small rabbit ran across the road and was almost collected by the peloton - nothing compared to what we're used to at UVic though. Dylan, Joe and another rider attempted a break and Bill and I attempted to slow the group, but that didn't work for long.

With about three laps to go Peter demonstrated why we call him the locomotive (we don't? we should). I was on his wheel and I think there were more TS blue jerseys behind me. While a break didn't materialize, this acceleration did set the tone for the rest of the race. From there on, it was all about maintaining position. Bill was at or near the front for the last two laps, Joe (in stealth mode) and Dylan and I kept ourselves in the top ten. Going down the back straight on the last lap, things were looking pretty good. After the last right turn most of us were in the running. Mike, I love the way your Berg runs downhill. I tucked in and rested, knowing it would accelerate into the wheel in front of me even without a pedal stroke. At the bottom of the hill (Caleb Pike ends with a roller coast-like drop and steep uphill sprint) several lead racers pulled to the right, either selecting an inside line for the climb or bailing out after deciding they didn't have an uphill sprint in them. What ever it was, this pinched Bill onto the soft shoulder and opened up the road for me. Dylan and Joe (I only know this from the photos) were disrupted, but not taken out of the sprint by the chaos in the dip. Bill unclipped, but stayed upright. The top two were out of reach, but I managed to keep up enough speed to hang on for 3rd. Dylan was 5th, and Joe, by the look of the photo-finish, wanted 5th but took 6th. Bill which-way-did-he-go Ethier clipped back in and road up the hill looking backwards for the locomotive, who crossed the line in style.

The net result: Three Triple Shot racers in the top four in the Victoria cycling league. Bill and I are both one point out of first place and Dylan is close behind. Joe is working his way to the top too. Sadly, especially for Peter, the track event next week is cancelled - Now there's a two week break.

JT

[Ramsey]

John, another egde-of-the-seat-of-your-bibshorts report. Future career with Velonews after the Nobel prize for research into four-eyed tropical fish??
Great showing guys..

Knowing that this post'll be well read, I'll ask that anyone who's placed a new gear order to please check out that topic, as I'm requesting a few clarifications, and updating on turnover time, payment, etc...
http://tripleshotcyling.freeforums.org/ ... -t344.html

Thanks,
R