She's Back!
April 14, 2004 PM/Hellyer Park Velodrome
I had a GREAT night at the track on Wednesday... came in fourth overall out of a total of nine women. I was in with the frontrunners almost the whole time, but made a couple of dumb moves which cost me a lot. By the end I was pretty tired, and had no jump left, but I pulled out a great move which put me first across the line in the very last race (but I still only got third in the race due to points totals throughout the race).
First race was seven laps to a win-and-out. That is, we road seven laps, and then on the eight lap the first woman across the line won the race and she was done. The rest of us went around to try for second place, then the winner of THAT lap was done, and the rest of us went around AGAIN for third, fourth, fifth etc... a total of ten laps. SO, what happened was I got stuck behind the group that got gapped for the first sprint, so I was JUST catching the front group for the first place sprint. I raced around with the next group vying for second place, and couldn't catch them on the line, and raced around and really was close to getting third, but got fourth instead.
Second race was a tempo race - points for the top two places on EVERY lap and then five deep on the finish line, ten laps. This one I was just stupid... I let another woman talk me/us into letting two women go from the gun, and they got a bunch of points racked up in the first three or four laps. I got a couple of points in the later laps, and then third on the line, but placed fifth overall for that one.
Third race was an unknown distance race. Ugh. We road around a bit, then decided to start taking half lap pulls. So what happens? I take my turn to pull on the back stretch, and start cursing as I come down at the BACK of the group of about six remainders because I realize that, of course, they're going to ring the bell that lap. Sure enough... so I bust my hump up and around, taking the long way around, of course, and manage to pull out a third on the line.
Last race I'm pretty beat for, it's a 15 lap Lotto race. That means that they can ring the bell on any given unknown lap and we have to sprint for points, five deep. My jump is shot, and so I'm just managing to catch up to the pack at the finish line for every bell lap - I DO succeed in not being last (there are only five or six women left in this race), and I get at least two points for every one of them... but it's hardly enough.
What I DO realize, however, is that my legs have a long effort in them... really time-trialing is more my strength, so at six laps to go I decide that on the next bell lap, or at three laps to go, whichever comes first, I have to take a chance. Well, the next bell lap WAS three laps to go, so again, they all punch it, I pull in to take fourth on the line, and the group of them pull up the track and I rubber-band off the back of them and take off... with two laps to go... and I feel pretty good. I get the bell, and am about a quarter of the way around before I hear the bell for the next group - I know noone is on my wheel because I could see their shadow if they were... and then another gap and one more bell for a third group. In the last turn I am feeling pretty good, but my momentum is gone and I just gut out the last half-straightaway, and take the five points on the line. As I said, I got third in that race as well when the points were all tallied.
Women (9 riders) 1 Julie Adams Palo Alto Bicycles 24 2 Kim LaFleur Team Swift 12 3 Annabell Holland Garden City/Shaws' 9 1 2nd 4 Amanda Aaronson Los Gatos BRC 9 5 Jen Coler Lombardi Sports/Core Care 7 1 vty 6 Mary Beth Novak Berkeley BC 7 7 Michelle LaFleur Team Swift 3 8 Kelly LaFleur Team Swift 1
April 21, 2004 PM/Hellyer Park Velodrome
Amanda's at it again! Unfortunately she missed the last race of the night so she didn't place as high as she could have in the omnium.
Women (16 riders) 1 Jen Coler Lombardi Sports/Core Care 26 2 Annabell Holland Garden City/Shaws' 15 3 Kelly Bartholomew Lombardi Sports/Core Care 12 4 Julie Adams Palo Alto Bicycles 5 5 Mary Beth Novak Berkeley BC 4 later 6 Amanda Aaronson Los Gatos BRC 4 1 3rd 7 Lauren Smith Morgan Stanley 4 8 Kelly LaFleur Team Swift 1 later 9 Erika Donald Mako/Galaxy 1