Speedway #3

[JohnT]

I confess, I am not sure how many VCL races there have been, but I do know we're at Speedway race #3. Clear and sunny last night, warm and then very cold within the 2 hr timespan we were all there. Thanks very much to Martin and Mark for the help. Lots of participants, perhaps the largest C group ever and we almost filled the sign-up page for the B race. Age range again enormous for C's, from a few 11 year olds to one over-seventy! C race pack held together well. A few off the back, but what's great about the Speedway format is the ability for some to join the group and then lose it many times during the course of the race. B's also stayed together, so no multiple-bell finishes, which makes things a little easier. The B race had a two man break with about 10 laps to go and that lasted to the end. One of our Tripleshot youth tried to bridge early and ended up running in no-mans land between the break and the pack for almost all of those 10 laps. An amazing (and hellish?) experience. With a several laps to go he was caught and that's when Eric S. used all of his Sardinia experience and fitness to try to run from the pack and make up the 1/2-lap gap to the two leaders. An amazing effort that didn't quite succeed, but he did manage to hold off the surging field and finish 3rd. The A race also had a break. Riley and Clayton (Wheelers) and a VBCC rider (sorry, I forget his name), ran off the front for about 1/2 of the 30 min. race. The chase group made up almost entirely of Wheelers and VBCC teammates seemed fairly content to run 1/2 a lap back. I was intrigued....... if Riley out-sprinted his two competitors, then we'd have had two strong teams in the race, with neither winning. I think this crossed the minds of most in the pack, because they never let the break away get out of sight - maybe ready to replace one of their own in the break or to catch up just in case Riley looked especially strong. In the end one racer attacked the peloton (maybe the only person in the pack not a member of either VBCC or Wheelers). He did it with 5 laps to go and that wasn't enough time to make it to the lead trio. He finished 4th. When it was time to sprint, Riley was 3rd wheel. Good if second wheel hangs on to the leader, not good if a gap opens. It did. VBCC won with a very strong sprint, Riley passed Clayton (Wheelers) for 2nd but could not bridge what was a very small but significant gap to the winner. Another great evening. See you all next week.

JT

[Andrew]

Winner was Nick Rowe

Fourth place was Ross Hooker.

[Andrew]

A race was interesting, probably harder and more fun for the folks doing the break and the chasing. I would recommend trying out the A group if you are feeling that the B race is too comfortable. While the average pace is similar there can be some very hard pushes that will put you into the red zone and will help your training a lot.

[mfarnham]

In case you haven't figured it out, these Speedway races are pretty fun for spectators as well as racers. You can see 100% of each race from start to finish all from one spot. They're great to watch and the ride home with jazzed racers swapping war stories can be pretty special too. A nice vibe overall.

So ride your bike out for one and check it out. Bring a kid or a partner. You/they might just catch the bug. There's almost always a group or three leaving from the Switch Bridge beforehand if you're not sure of the route.

Martin

[Roland]

My video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRdjg53u4pg