ballard crit
you'd never know it, but the ballard crit is actually the second ascent crit. it will probably always be the ballard crit, no matter who sponsors it. this crit is probably the fastest and most coveted of the local races. big (for local racing) money and lots of glory. well, as much glory as bike racing can get you. huge crowds and lots of noise. i wish we had more races like it.
we went in with three strong contenders: ian, chad and myself. we had a plan to get a break going and try to isolate the biggest threat (and eventual winner). we put in a lot of attacks and got into a lot of moves but nothing stuck. it really wasn't for lack of trying. i don't know if teams were racing negatively or the speed just made it so difficult to get away that guys were gassed once they got a gap, but getting groups together that wanted to work was difficult.
a large group did eventually get a gap. we had two guys in it, but we weren't certain about how they would fare. under normal circumstances we'd probably let them go for it but one was sick and one was on his second race. we didn't so much as chase it down as try to bridge (i got a gap with a few guys but nobody would pull through). when the group was caught ian and chad and i weren't close enough to the front and things got fast and we couldn't move up.
in the last laps our guys did their job of getting to the front and keeping the pressure on. ian and i found chad's wheel for the lead out but chad got shoved into the curb and i and i found ourselves alone at about 7 and 8 spots back. it was fast and we finished in those positions. in fact, i don't think much changed in the last lap as far as placing is concerned.
we went into the race with a good plan, worked as best we could to execute it and did, for the most part. our team rode a great supporting race and i'm dissapointed for them that we didn't capitalize better. it is nice to see, however, that we had the largest number of riders in the top 20. that's worth something.
the results are interesting as a lot of the local sprinting favorites weren't in the top ten. suprisingly, the valley's rob campbell wasn't even in the top 20. likely, this is a testament to the unusual chaos of the last two or three laps, which certainly was a hindrance to us.
1 Williams, Kenny First Rate Mortgage
2 Miller, Ryan Gregg's
3 Stardish, Ben Dewar's
4 Hainsworth, Mike Dewars Racing
5 Howard, Bill Dewar's
6 Laliberte, Scott GS Composite
7 Tubbs, Ian Broadmark Capital
8 Jackson, Anton Broadmark Capital
9 Gallagher, Michael The Valley Athletic Club
10 Nikolz, Chad Broadmark Capital
11 Schmitt, Morgan Broadmark/Hagens Berman LLP
12 Carlsen, Kirk Rubicon
13 Schmeer, Ron First Rate Mortgage
14 Neyens, Daniel
15 Stangeland, Jamie Wines of Washington
16 Atkey, Warren Wines of Washington
17 Brothers, Chad Wines of Washington
18 Bodony-Johnson, Devin Broadmark Capital
19 Brown, Gary Team Zoka
20 DuVall, Bryan Recycled Cycles/Raleigh
