We arrived at the Velodrome at 6:00 am but the doors didn't open till 7:30! Deo had an 8-9 am training session and this is the reason we arrived early... to get ready, warm-up easy on rollers before getting started with the session! That's only 30 minutes to get ready! I should have asked the receptionist what time this place opens! I'll take that for the team! So what did we do? We were stuck in the car freezing our arshes off but we exchanged so much stories, it was still well-worth the time! Time had passed and the doors were finally opened, he was able to ride easy at the track as planned and relax before the event began at 2 pm. Registration and credentials were taken care of also.
.JPG)
It was surprising that 3 out of 27 registered racers did not sign in.... at this highest level of Masters racing! This meant not having more than 25 racers to create 2 separate Heat races. This resulted to going straight to Finals later that evening. This also meant that we can't gamble warming up for the Heats because of the short time of that decision.
I was somewhat worried because we woke up at 4:00 am, had a couple of scones and coffee before heading out, too many times riding the rollers until the right time to warm-up (Deo mentioned that he wanted to ride on rollers long enough anyway), some porridge at 10 am for a mid morning meal (it was really nothing), and no lunch at all. At least we brought the extra scones, some fruits, a few bottles of water and energy drinks bought from the grocery store.
The time got close, bike was checked at 1 gram over the weight limit. Side note: What is a gram?! Grime on the chain or extra long bar tape?! We passed the first assignment with flying colors!
All competitors started rolling at the middle of the infield prior to getting briefed and rolling out for the neutral lap.
Deo did rock the house that night! I think I've finally seen the craziest Points Race ever with endless attacks at high speeds from start to finish! Even at the neutral lap, there was too much testosterone going on! Deo did his fare share in the house of pain, watching everyone from the back to going to the front involving himself in the attacks at the first half of the race. He even took turns leading the peloton on an attack to get back to the 2 breakaway groups.
Eventually with the others doing their fare share like "it's now or never" kind'a move, they eventually pulled everyone back to one group just like how they started but with about 8 laps left in the race, and still strung out! Deo made a valiant effort to move up in position with 5 laps to go. He officially finished 12th place with all 24 racers sprinting to the finish line. That was very respectable especially with technical race like that! How many people do you know who can still do this kind of thing at this level!
To end that day, most of our California friends won medals from Team sprints and Scratch Race with Larry Nolan of Specialized USA and Michael Birditt winning their respective Scratch Races with domination and strength.
Oh, one last note, did you notice his wheelset? Those were the ones he used during his 2007 UCI Track World Cup that was held in Los Angeles. Finally, redemption was real with the same race but with super heavy gear for our standards, if you know what I mean! Our homework scored an "A"! It was a good night of World Track Championship racing!
Coach/Manager Arden Arindaeng
No comments:
Post a Comment