The I'M AN IDIOT Race Report!

I raced so stupidly even a CAVEMAN could have beaten me.

Santa Rosa Cloiterium. 60 minutes of racing in downtown Santa Rosa...not your normal 4 corner crit and I did well here last year so I was looking forward to this race.

Nearly full field and we are off. Right away I saw a bunch of guys I have been beaten by and I have beaten so I know where I am but this is a big fast field. This usual happens for the first half of the race. Preems et. Break attempts, pulled back...you get the idea.

Then they announce 10 to go. I'm feeling good...not great but good. The pace has been fast the whole race and it continues. We get to 7 to go and the field is 8 wide on the start/finish stretch and just like that a crash to the right...no problem though... not even near me.

5 laps to go and i find my markers and we are all where we should be in the top 20 as everyone is jockeying for and to keep their position. This is where it all starts to go bad. Coming around the s/f line i get squeezed against the cone and haybales...no problem...get thru it but this is where I lost this race. Coming around again and the pace is humming and I
want to make sure i don't get squeezed again and I don't...cool. But now as we come around again...I don't see any lap cards and by my count its 3 to go.

As we come off the final turn to the s/f line the bunch goes but I don't respond. Why? Because its now 2 to go...right? I get out of the saddle just to get some speed and now it is really fast. Figuring it will slow as usual on the back and we set up to come to 1 to go...there is no slow down.

OH F*#K!!!!! It was at this precise moment that I realize my race is over. Yep...I missed the acceleration, got caught in the back and that was it. How could I be sooooo stoooopid! (it not a question, thats why no question mark...it was a statement of
fact)

What compounded my mistake was no bell and no lap card that I could see but to be honest, I think if i would have seen the lap card it still would have been too late because as i know too well, there is ALWAYS an acceleration coming out of the last turn in the s/f line for position. AND I MISSED IT!

So take a lesson from me kids....eat your veggies, get your rest and don't be an IDIOT!