Imagine your favorite 4-square block of wherever you live and/or hang out. Now imagine it around 7pm in that blissful summer vibe... with the streets closed off so it creates a 4 corner circuit... all the bars/restaurants are busting at the seems... a huge semi-truck trailer transformed into a stage with loud music and an announcer right in the center... and a 100 bike racers lined up ready to try and win $1k and sometimes way more worth of prize money. Have I painted a picture that makes you want to scream at those guys and gals racing, whom you don't even know, to go faster as you drink your favorite beverage with a handful of your closest friends? Even though they're already going 30mph? Cool. That's what happened on Saturday.
I haven't won a race in a while. It's killing me. I'm only a couple points away from earning my Category 2 upgrade, but that doesn't mean shit to me if I can't be the first to cross the line on any given weekend race with guys who want it just as badly as I do. In fact, the ex-Pro's on my team don't recommend upgrading to the Elite ranks until one understands how to win and can execute it well.
With that said, I felt like I was in good form to win. The plan was to sit in the top 10 for the whole race then jump with a move later on or if nothing looked like it would stick, then to attack for the line with 1 or 2 to go. Nothing was going to stick. Whenever a couple of kids would get up the road after a prime lap they would sit up when I jumped across. This happened atleast four times in our 50 minute race. Wussies.
I sat in. With about 5 laps to go, the race started to get really sketchy. People moving up and no teams or players really willing to set the pace. Guys were moving up in the corners when there wasn't any place for them to move into, lots of stop and go. I remember the announcer calling out 3 laps to go, but I couldn't find the lap board for the life of me. I dodeged 2 crashes this lap and was in a haze when we came around the next time. The crowd was roaring and I was feeling fairly fresh. I thought it was the final lap for some reason so I accelerated and emptied the tank. Just before corner 3 of 4, I noticed I had a huge gap - THE WIN WILL BE MINE!!!
The win wasn't mine. I had one more lap to go, luckily I became aware of this right after rounding the fourth corner when I heard the voice over the speakers yelling, "ERIC COCKRELL ONE LAP TO GO"... I was pretty pissed that I made such a rookie mistake, but not so bummed that I still had a good gap and could have corner 3 all to myself again. At the Ballard Crit, the well paved road turns to 100+ year old hand-laid brick on corner 3 then switches to shitty asphalt laid over said brick right after corner 4. Imagine what might happen to someone riding their bike too fast while trying to make a left-hand turn onto said brick road... That's why EVERYONE fights for position to get to that corner first. It looked like it was clearly going to be mine even though I went a little too early. Suddenly a junior racer (under 18yr old), Miles Frank, and a few others jumped me JUST before the corner - and they all crashed. Seriously, they did. I locked up my brakes to avoid having to be apart of the carnage. We were already going 34mph, but luckily I came out clean. As I accelerated to sprint for the line, I had already lost 7 positions - guys behind me were able to take the inside line and not have to touch their brakes. I tried to wind it back up, but didn't have much gas left. 9th to cross the line. Rats.
Lesson learned. Pay the fuck attention to the race, especially when it's the end. I feel better having gone half a lap too early, rather than the typical going too late. All and all, it was a fantastically fun race. I didn't crash. I didn't lose too badly.
Thanks for reading. And a huge congratulations to Jack Stringham (Sofa Kings Cycling) on his well deserved win. Surviving through the last corner is half the battle, sprinting to the line first is the 2nd half. Chapeau.
