Race weekend update

This weekend we packed up the car and headed to Athens, GA for the Twilight Criterium. This was going to be Kate's first try at Criterium style racing. For those not familiar with a criterium - it is basically a short 1km course with 4 turns. Think nascar but on bikes.

To start we spent the night at the shady Travelodge just a few blocks from downtown. To say this hotel was sketchy would be a understatement! Lets just say we didn't get much sleep. The people staying above us, I believed lived in the hotel, were drinking and doing drugs all night. They were incessantly pacing all night long. Odessa was with us and she was growling at them all night. They finally went to bed at 5am, so we got about an hour and half of OK sleep. Lets just say we won't be recommending the Travelodge in Athens any time soon!


Off to the races, Kate made it down to the course about an hour before her race. She wanted to warm up and ride the course a little bit. Joslyn, Odessa and I made to the course just in time for the start. The course was a little hilly but nice and wide open. The field for Kate's race was about 40 deep. This was the largest field she has ever raced in. (side note - Kate did a few races in UT but the field was usually no bigger than 15 women) The pace of the race was really fast but Kate was holding really well with the group. With 5 laps to go Kate was near the back of the pack. She would move up through the turns but couldn't hold her position up the hill to the finish line. In the end her group set a hard pace with which about 15 women couldn't keep. They eventually lapped several girls as well. The results haven't been posted online but we guess she placed in the top 25! Our friend Andy is in town and he raced in the Main event later that night.


The next day was the Roswell Criterium. Kate was thinking of skipping this event but after a strong showing in Athens she decided to give it a go. You could definitely tell Kate was more confident during this race. She comfortably sat in with the main group. Kate even moved up in to 3rd position for a while. That's when things went all wrong. With 4 laps remaining Kate was taken down by a girl who cut the last corner to tight and couldn't hold her line. she eventually drifted out into Kate and took her out. Kate went down pretty hard but after inspection she only suffered minor road rash. After the race Kate said she was really disappointed because she felt so strong. The club she rides for, North Georgia Cycling Association/Team Cycleworks, said they were really impressed with how strong she rode! Joslyn and I are really proud of her!!

So that wraps up a pretty busy weekend for us. I have posted a quick video of Kate during the Athens race. Kate is hard to see but look for the black arm warmers.

Thanks again for reading,
Pete