Robbie, District Crit Champs and Memorial Day Crit

Sat District Championships
13-14s & Cat 4/5 juniors
Monday Memorial Day Crit

I really wanted to do these crits as I hadn't done a crit in a month or so. It was a big field of about 20 riders. It was about 15 laps. The pace was high most of the time. I know I hit 31 - 32mph. There were repeated attacks. Bobby T attacked once and had a good run. I thought Bobby T, Jon and me all rode pretty well. We were able to stay with all the attacks. Coming into the final couple of turns everyone was more or less bunched. We all sprinted. I think Jon and me were probably in about 8 or 9th spot and we moved up to 5th and 6th. Great job to Jon and Bobby. Sophia looked really strong earlier also.

Cat 4/5 Jrs. This field had about 20 - 25 riders. It had several older kids in it also. This pace was a lot faster for some reason . I was really happy that I was able to hang on. I ended up in 6th place again.

Memorial Day Crit - It almost sounds like a broken record or repeat here but it was a lot more of the same. Everyone was attacking a lot. I was fairly happy that I was able to hang right there in all these crits. For some reason my legs were a bit fatigued and didn't feel as strong. In the past I was always towards the back and not comfortable in the pack. I felt a lot better and stayed in there with all the good riders. Both Bobby T and Jon were riding really strong. Jon looked especially sharp and fresh. We tried a couple of things as a team but couldn't pull it off. Oh well it was fun trying. I think we all came in the top 10. Jon at 6th I think (great ride Jon) I got 7th and I think Bobby T was about 10th. We are all definitely getting better and stronger. We are now in the mix and right in the packs. Now we all want to continue to get stronger and better.

Robbie

Jon: Junior State Criterium Championship Race Report

Junior State Criterium Championship Race Report
Junior 13/14's
Pre-Race: In the morning I ate a bowl of Oat Bran and had some toast. At the race I ate a Snickers bar. Then I drank a bottle of water, finished up my warm-up and headed to the start.
Race: I started it with a bang and a boom. Before I knew it I had a huge gap (the biggest gap that anybody would get in this race.) Then next second everybody had caught me. I lasted almost a whole lap. After I got caught I just sat in for the rest of the race and let everybody else chase the attacks. Out of maybe 10-20 attacks that happened in our 15 lap race I would say Team Swift did almost all of them. Bobby T was really active and attacked a couple times, his attacks were the best. Last lap my lungs were BURNING (maybe from being sick?) and I knew that my best shot was sitting on a wheel and just killing myself. So I hopped on Stanley's wheel and on the finishing straight he pulled me into fifth and I didn't let anybody take that from me.
Post Race: I rolled out again and sat down (I was really tired.) Then I got some team photos taken and I got on the podium. The podium was 6 deep but Robbie didn't know that so it only showed it going down 5 deep. Then I shared my prizes with Bobby T for the work he did in this race.

Junior 4/5's
Pre-Race: I relaxed and rode around a little bit with Robbie (who did amazing in this race.)
Race: This race started fast and stayed fast. Halfway through the race they put up lap cards (it was a 40min race, and they put up 12 laps to go.) At 7 laps to go I got dropped and at 1 lap to go I was lapped. I got 11th out of 20ish riders.
Post Race: Watched Robbie get on the podium and went home. Thanks Robbie for sharing you prizes and Mr. Farrens for driving me home.
-Jon

Pre-Race: I woke up at 4:30 and got a really early start. My dad woke up 15 minutes later and then we got dressed and left. I slept in the car and when we got there, I got on the trainer to warm up a little while my dad helped my little brother. My race was first so I had to warm up first. After a while we had to do some laps on the course so I did 3 or 4 laps then went to roll out. I passed with no problems, did another lap to get in the right gear and lined up. I was racing 4 other girls including Katrina Howard, Claire Jensen, a racer on team Chico, and a racer from Los Gatos.
Race: At the starting whistle, I got in the first main group that included Katrina Howard, Claire Jensen, and 2 girls I don't know very well (editor's note: they started with the 10/12's too, so ten girls total). I stuck on the back and hung on as Katrina and Claire established a strategy that everyone was going to race with. Katrina did some little attacks to split up our group of five but we stuck together. At one point a racer on Team Chico went off the front and nobody was really excited to go catch her. Eventually she fell back and stuck on my wheel. At 5 laps to go Katrina attacked and nobody could catch her. Claire, the racer on Chico, and I were the chase group and we did our best to catch her, but it is pretty much impossible to catch her from that jump. She had a solo finish and left the rest of us to duke it out for the 2nd,3rd, and 4th places. At the last turn before the straight away, I jumped just before the turn and sprinted my heart out to the finish, barely taking 2nd place on the podium.
Post-Race: During the cool-down lap, the racer on team Chico caught up to me and we talked for a while and I pretty much felt like I was going to pass out right there on the floor. Luckily, I didn't and stayed alive long enough for the podium pictures, and team pictures. My max speed was 26.2mph and my average speed was 20.5. Overall it was one of the best races I have done this year and I am looking forward to the next one I will participate in. And good job to my teammates Jon C. for taking 5th, Robbie for taking 6th, Stuart for taking 7th, and Robert T. for taking 10th.
-Thanks for reading, Sophie