It was almost Wednesday when we arrived back from Michigan, so it was time to get ready for another battle at LP Field. July 6 was Race #7 of the Gateway Tire & Service NashvilleCyclist.com Crit. Series in Nashville. I have such a hard time getting to these races on time, but this week I managed to sneak out of work a little early and made it there with time to get in at least a partial warm-up. It was a super hot day with no breeze blowing like the week before. I was glad to see the course was the same for this race. The fast S-turn course is my favorite. It tends to be less conducive to breakaways and has a finish that suits me well. Not to mention that turns 2 and 3 are super fast and fun. They were a bit too fast during the Masters race. Troy Tucker and a Cumberland Transit rider took a hard fall in turn 2, with Troy looking pretty rough afterwards. He had a huge knot on his forehead almost immediately following the crash.
Masters race in progress
Masters come in to the finish
I got to line up on the front row and I guess the mountain biker in me took over. I just have to try for the hole shot on the start. The bad thing is that my start seems to dictate the rest of my race. When I start aggressively, I tend to stay very aggressive in the race and usually burn myself out before the finish. I'm better off starting slow and then becoming aggressive near the end. I was first to the first turn and led the first lap. The trend continued. I was super aggressive the entire race, but managed to miss the big break. I tried to bridge several times, but just couldn't get into the right move or make it stick by myself. I hate being a marked man, but everyone knows what I'm out there to do so I would expect no less from them.
Pro/1/2/3 riders leaving the start
I grabbed the hole shot tonight
Andy Reardon off the front
A break of 3 begins to form
Race promoter Tim Hall tries to bridge with a Sonic-Treehouse rider in pursuit
Pro/1/2/3 peloton rolls down toward turn 2
The group comes through the chicane
The break of 5 would finally get away and stay away. At one point I thought there were just 4 riders up the road, but one of the guys had crashed and apparanetly was allowed multiple free laps before rejoining the break. We fought it out in the group, making a lot of moves that went nowhere. I tried to get away, but just didn't have the snap tonight. The legs were still feeling the Marion Crit and the Fort Custer MTB ride. I followed the attacks the final few laps and wound up taking 9th. There was a big crash behind me with half a lap to go and I was glad to have just been ahead of it. That awful sound of metal grinding across pavement followed by the pop of them hitting the curb never gives you a good feeling.
Me trying to bridge the gap to the break
The break rolls through a turn as dusk approaches
The break that stayed away
Sonic-Treehouse came to the front of the peloton with a few laps to go
Barrett Krei makes the winning move down the backstretch on the final lap
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