Not a spectacular night for me. Raced smart half the time, raced like a tactical idiot the other half. :oops: Pace was tough, but not unmanageable. 18 riders, big field.

Points (5×3)

A break got a little gap almost right away, I stayed on there tail taking 5 in the first two sprints just out of the points. Drifted back into the pack for the fourth sprint. Pack caught them for the last sprint, I covered a lot of ground to get third in the last sprint. Far from enough to place. Mistake was not working hard enough to get in the 5 man break that ate up all the points.

Scratch (12 laps)

Started out racing smart, sitting 5th, 6th wheel biding my time. But as I riders pulled off the front I found myself working too much. I traded half lap pulls with the same two SBCU riders from laps 8-4. I figured if I could put a little room between me and the front at lap 4 and catch on an attack at lap 2 I’d be recovered enough for a sprint. However as I pulled through coming off of lap 4 an attack went off which sent me reeling to the back of the pack never to recover. Mistake was working too much.

Miss & Out

Raced this was very intelligently, just not hard enough. For the first several riders off I sat at the rail. Every lap I picked a rider to pass and passed them easily at the rail. With 12 riders left I hopped into the pole and made sure my handlebars were up front for the next three laps. However I misjudged it at lap 9 – my rear wheel ended up being last even though I was safe in the pole and had all the room up front to move ahead. Mistake, not working hard enough. To be fair though I would have been done on the next lap anyway. The pace was tough in this race, especially for a miss and out, and 18 riders is a lot.

Points (3×10)

Non-scoring Bs combined with Cs made for a nearly 30 large field. I started at the rail watching the Godspeed guy who takes a first lap flyer in every mass-start race he does (including crits). I got on his wheel mostly just to annoy him. Of course he sprints at the whistle with me in tow, and we get about a third lap lead on the field. Jake makes up the gap and we work hard for the first 8 laps. I work too hard 9 laps in and get gapped a little for the first sprint. Spent the next 5 laps alone just out of touch with Jake and Godspeed. Drift pack to the pack, work in for the next 4 laps. Dropped again after working too hard the lap before the bell. Pacelined/training ride with SBCU and the Proman girl for the rest of the race (ended up lapped by the field that came back together). Mistake: I don’t know. Maybe taking off with the Godspeed guy was a bad move, but I wasn’t taking this race very seriously either. It’s the same idiotic move he makes every single time and I kind of just wanted to get on his wheel to pester him.