Gateway Cup

Thursday after class I headed out of Fort Collins with Logan V. (from Mesa and CSU), and Chris H. (from Trek and CSU). We drove to Kansas City for the night. Friday morning we woke up, went for a spin, and drove the rest of the way to St. Louis. Friday night's crit was fast!...or at least felt like it. We raced at 8:30pm...well I take that back...I don't think we left the line until 9:30 due to some delays. Also, our race was shortened to 35minutes plus 5 laps, rather than 45minutes plus 5 laps. It didn't really change the dynamics of the race though. Colavita had 3 girls, Kelly Benjamin was there, St. Louis Revolution was there in full force, Molly from Mesa was there, a couple Kenda girls, and some others. It was a pretty stacked field and I think there were around 35starters. It always takes a while to adjust to the darkness with the shadows and what not. Thankfully, I fell into the groove pretty quickly. There was only one spot that was a bit sketchy because it was pitch black. Revolution was killing it Friday night. They attacked and counter attacked. You could tell Colavita was getting tired of chasing them down. Nothing stuck though and it came down to a sprint finish. I pulled off 3rd place behind Sam Schneider (who won), and Kelly Benjamin (2nd place). Wasn't quite sure I would pull it off because the finish is a bit longer than you would expect. It's a full out sprint from the last corner and it's a long ways. Needless to say, I was topped out when I crossed the line.

Saturday was another evening race. It wasn't dark though. Once again, our race was shortened due to some "clean-up" from the race before us. We raced 30minutes plus 5 laps. The course had some gradual climbs in it. Enough to make your legs hurt. This time, Colavita was the one attacking. They had one more girl, making 4 total. A few people stuck off the front for a few laps, but once again it came down to a sprint. I was in awesome position on the back side. Then a Colavita attacked and I got swarmed. The sprint was downhill, so if you weren't in a good position in the last corner, you might as well give up. I came in for 10th place.

Sunday's race is always fun. It's in a cool part of town, called "the Hill". And yes, there's a hill. It's pretty gradual, but once again takes its toll on the legs - especially when it's hot out. People attacked, but everyone was getting pretty tired. Eventually a Colavita girl got off the front solo. I honestly didn't even know she was still out there. Guess I was confused because the moto was in front of our group. I figured we had brought her back in. Another downhill sprint for this race. Those things are tough in a 12-tooth gear. It's a long sprint too. I had decent positioning and pulled off 5th place.

Monday's race was hard. Molly and I tried to make sure nothing dangerous got off. I was in a break, that should have stuck, for part of the race. Unfortunately some people didn't want to work and we got caught. I took a $25 prime shortly before we were caught. A few other people attacked and eventually a group of 4 rode away. I tried to bridge with 3 laps to go, but I got confused with the cat 4 women. I thought they were the break and were a lot closer. Then I saw the real break and sat up to save some energy for the finish. Found my wheels for the sprint and pulled off 7th place overall (3rd in the field sprint).

All in all it was a good weekend. I pulled off 5th place overall. It's always fun racing in the Midwest with familiar faces. I was glad to see the racing was actually animated. It made for some exciting, fast racing. Monday after the last race, we headed back to Fort Collins. We drove straight through, the whole 13hours. I got in my bed at 6:00am Tuesday morning. Fortunately my 8:00am class was canceled so I got to sleep in a little bit (class at 12:30). Anyway, that's my trip to St. Louis. Road season is officially over. I finally got my cat 1 upgrade (after trying too many times). Mountain bike season is here. Our home race is this weekend at Beaver Meadows. Should be good times. Look for a post to come (with pictures, hopefully). Thanks for stopping in!
-A