I really don’t know how I felt coming into this race. I think I relaxed too much in the training. I feel the competition is going to be much stronger and with the talk about the tactical course I know I was at least nervous. As I pull into the Parking garage, I see Dave Moyer. It is always good to see teammates; it eases the tension and helps with the warm up. We have been racing and learning together since Beloit. I joked around with him, since he had two wins this week; I was not going to leave his wheel until the final sprint. We had a ton of strength in our 4/5 race, Tom Briney, Kyle, Loukas Alberto, Dave. I may have only raced once with some of them but as I was told early in the year you will start to recognize whom you can depend on and who are the strong riders. I felt even more comfortable as we did our warm up laps. Got all the advice from the upper-class men, as I like to call them (our xXx Cat 4,3, and two racers).

I go to the car to change bottles and grab a jersey for Dave. When I get back they are just starting to line up and I am ready. I just have to drop something of by the xXx cheering section and then right to the start for a good position. As I ride to the group of xXx racer, wives, and girlfriends, I run over a screw. No. This cannot be happening to me. No AAAAAHHHHHH. Everyone yells go to the wheel pit. They would not give me a wheel but were offering a tire and tube if I gave to the pig fund. So minutes before the race I am changing the tire and tube. Thanks to Mark on our team for help out and calming me down. So with the flat fixed I get to the line but am the last person to show up. There is a fun field of 75 and I am going to have a lot of work ahead of me. The race starts and by the time I get to the start/finish line, I am back at least a block in a half. All I can do is move up, so I start trying. But as we have done as a team, the race strings out fast and I am caught in the back struggling to move up. I have no one to lead me up, as the people I am passing are the ones getting dropped from the explosive pace. I am doing my best to ride efficiently, not slowing in the turns, drafting when I can, but I must cover ever gap. I am tired now and the gaps keep getting bigger. The only thing helping me is turn 4 and 5, because of the accordion effect. With five laps in I am at zone 6 with the heart rate and hurting badly. Enough to think of giving up. I tell my self to go just a little more. Then a little more. I am cash out with 6 laps but notice then over the last lap I am catching the back of the pack. My goal now is to catch them by turn 5 when the pack slow into the turn. I don’t know where the energy came from but loved the fact that I was able to focus just a little more, and reach into reserves that I did not know I had. More so that I did not give up.

When I caught the pack, my next job was to recovery. I really needed that. But come to find out a break had gotten off the front, I could do nothing. After sitting in the back for three or four laps I started to move up. Trying always to stay on the inside of the turns, thanks Jeff for the advice. Those turns were hairy. Then as we come into turn 5 a rider goes down, they wave the flags but people are still pushing the pace. Next a large pill up but thanks to being on the inside, I make it through and am sitting towards the front of the pack. The race is stopped and I now sit second row at the line with more recovery to come. Dave Moyer, Kyle, and Tom are on the Line. My understanding is they had just about caught the break but it was not recognized. They were not happy. The break got a 20 lead, which seems more like one minute while we were all waiting to start. So the fight was on again. At the second start I could not clip in, so I had to work to get to the front again. With the restart there were only six laps left so the pace stayed strong all the way through. xXx had moved up to the front and it was fun to see all of us up there. With a lap to go we were sitting pretty good but then Tati train came across and mixed the pack up. There was nearly a major crash with a lap to go, I had to fade to the barriers to get around it. After turn four I asked Dave if he wanted a lead out, but he was tired and made no promises on his ability. But the fact that we were talking at that speed build my confidence. So here we go into turn 5 and make up a couple places, then right out of turn six we bridge a little gap and what a race for 6th pl. Tom Briney was right there too. We got up to the Tati rider but I could not close the gap. Tom jumps around Dave and I, and battles for sixth, which I thought he got. Great run at it Tom. I through my bike for 8th and Dave got 9th. So a strong finish for xXx Racing/AlthetiCo in the field sprint, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. But 7th, 8th, and 9th overall. What a great race. What a tough race. Again what a pleasure it is racing for this team. I feel the way our 4/5's are racing, we will be a force to reckon with next years in the 4’s. Hopefully we will continue with the standard that was set by our upper classman. I am proud to stand next to my teammates in the 4/5, and wear that jersey at the starting line.

What a week of racing. Four checks for five races. What a Superweek!