Huntsville Omnium Day 2

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Masters 35+ criterium
Very small field led to a slow start as nobody wanted to be the first to attack. Then the organizers rang the bell for a $50 prime, and that got the ball rolling. Travis Werts (Sonic) took the prime with me just behind. We coalesced into a break of four, but the other riders chased back on. I tried attacking a few times, but my legs were definitely feeling sluggish from yesterday’s races. In the end, I decided to wait it out for the sprint. Britton (Sonic) led it out for his teammate Travis, but Shawn and I were in between. Shawn came around Britton first with me following close behind. When I pulled out from behind Shawn to come around for the finish line, Shawn gave it an extra kick and was able to hold on by maybe half a wheel. Travis was also in the process of coming around me, but I was able to hold on by half a wheel in front of him. So it was a close finish for 1-2-3.

P/1/2/3/4 criterium
The Huntsville omnium has a unique points system that allows people to earn points towards the overall omnium in each race that they do. So if you can double (or triple) up in multiple races, then you can earn a lot of points. Also, the P/1/2 criterium also allows 3s and 4s to give them a chance to double up (potentially 3 races in one day if a 3 or a 4 was also eligible for Masters 35+). The field was larger, maybe 20 people, and started out faster than the morning masters race. The wind was a bit stiffer, too. My entire goal for the race was to hold onto the omnium lead. Chris Brown (Litespeed) was 7 points behind me going into the race, so I just needed to mark him. Unfortunately, he snagged a 10 point mid-race prime. I was second behind him, but the prime was only for the first rider across the line. Then at the finish, with each position only a one point separation, I went ahead and led out my teammate Pat so he could get the win. And I came in third right behind Chris who got second. This meant that I lost the omnium by 4 points. Frustrating. Great win for Pat, though … two days in a row!

Also, my powertap stopped working before the start of the P/1/2/3/4 race and only made it a few minutes into the masters race, so no power data, but there is interactive ride data on Strava below:

Masters 35+ race – http://app.strava.com/rides/956060
Pro/1/2/3/4 race – http://app.strava.com/rides/960352

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