This was my fourth year racing UCVC's Monsters of the Midway Criterium. When I packed my race bag I thought of the previous years and brought every piece of team clothing I own. The rain, wind and cold took a holiday and left us with an alarmingly beautiful day.

This was my second start for the year and the first start for the full 3's squad. In addition to the regular group, Michael Zaug and Nico West took the start. I considered their presence to be a wonderful omen. Just for clarity's sake, I'll restate the obvious, Monsters is a dead flat, 4 corner crit. 1.1 mile circuit. There was a headwind on the finishing straight and a tailwind on the back straight. There was a car on the course after turn 2 and the pavement between turns 1 and 2 is a bit rough. We raced 45 minutes plus 2 laps. It rarely gets more straight-forward.

The race was fairly animated with the first attack beginning at the gun. Soren Krebs, Brandon Antoniewicz, Tim Hayes, Mike Zaug, Nico West and Matt O'Keefe worked hard to keep the race together. The race culminated in a great attack by Andy Daley (Clifbar Midwest) with about 3 laps to go. Brandon buried himself to bring it back. Shane Winn showed the depth of his experience picking his way through the field on the last lap. I watched with dismay as he managed to ride through two guys who were hip to hip on the back stretch, dismay that I couldn't follow him. We exited turn 4 one-two. Shane dropped me off and the sprint began in earnest. In the end we placed 3 riders in the top 10 taking 3rd, 7th and 10th. I know I expect many more great racing experiences with this group.

Many kudos to UCVC and the ABR for another great year at a perennial favorite.