There was a 90% chance of rain all day long in Sacramento, yet the clouds didn't shed a single droplet until the last race of the day. Which of course happened to be the Pro 1/2 event Nate Freed and I were signed up for. Oh well, it was time to get those new yellow Mavic Zxellium road shoes dirty.
There was a very low "pro" count at Land Park today, so the chances of being able to use our amateur level power to initiate a result were exceptionally high. Motivated, check.
The course had some crazy, brake squealing "S" turns along the backside, and I was secure in my ability to stick them in the rain and use them to gap the field. Confident, check.
Motivation and confidence levels were high, now we just needed some of that all-important luck.
Ten hard charging laps into the race, someone overlaped my front wheel and I hit the deck hard. Instead of rolling to stop my momentum, figured sliding on the greasy wet pavement would induce less injury. 150 feet later with half my skin suit torn off, I may have made the wrong choice. I jumped back on my bike, only to find my front wheel was too warped to ride. I borrowed a wheel from a spectator and hurried to the wheel-pit for a replacement. One free lap later and I was back in the group.
Crashing hard took the wind out of my sails. I spent several laps just working back up to the front, and by that time the winning break had sailed away. But I was so focused on moving up, that I didn't even realize that anyone was up the road.
I thought we were sprinting for 1st place at the end, when it was actually for 6th. 12th place for me, 16th for Nate.
After crossing the finish line, I looked down at the top tube of my Scott Addict to discover that it was cracked in half. My handlebars must have crushed it in the crash. Aw Fuck.
Article was last edited on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 @ 1:35 AM
