My work schedule finally allowed me to do yesterday’s PG&E Crit. This is the 4th crit I've done this year, and each time I learn something new.
With the weather forecast showing a high of 103, I was happy with the 0800 start and only 80 degrees!!! Arrived early, registered and warmed up on the trainer. They announced the course opened for practice laps, so off I go to preview the course. Nice smooth pavement and sweeping turns!
We line up at the start, get our pep talk about riding smart, protecting your front wheel, and to NOT do anything stupid!!!
The whistle blows and we’re off. The pace out of the gate isn't too bad and we tackle the first few laps without incident. Everyone seems to be riding fairly smooth so far......
After 10 minutes we go into the first sweeper and the carnage begins. Three guys go down on the inside. Before the wreck I heard guys yelling about someone cutting on the inside and to hold there line. The race gets stopped while Fire and Paramedics tend to the wounded ( 2 confirmed broken collar bones and 1 walking wounded).
After 15 minutes of waiting we are off again for our "last 5 laps" of the race. Every one is riding smooth and I’m hopeful all will stay "upright." And then you guessed it, more Cat 5 carnage with 2 laps to go; a tire blew mid turn and 4 more riders went down. I escaped the obstacles and kept going. Everyone was spread out at this point, so I put my head down and decided it was safer to get ahead of the group I was riding with. The last 2 laps I was in between the lead group and the chasing group.
I finished 29th out of 52 starters, and left with all my skin and bones in tact! It was a fun race, I learned more regarding race tactics, and have another race under my belt towards upgrading.
Looking forward to the Foothill Circuit!
Thanks for reading
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