This weekend a couple of us headed out to Oklahoma City for the annual Oklahoma City Pro-Am Classic. We had a smaller squad this weekend but the race would be excellent prep for Tulsa Tough and Nationals in a few weeks, as well as a solid opportunity for some coveted Category 1 upgrade points. With Brady and Mitchell doing the Pro/1s, I would be racing the Cat 2’s by myself.
Day 1:
It was a long drive from Magnolia to OKC, so I wasn’t able to get in a morning spin (RIP), which is usually good to do the day of a crit. We got there with just enough time for me to get in a decent warm up. The course for day 1 was not too technical -
a rectangle with four right turns, one medium-sized hill, and a fast descent just before the finish. I raced conservatively for most of the race, just covering attacks, conserving my energy for the finale, and staying well positioned near the front. With 3 laps to go, I moved up to the top 5 wheels and stayed there until 1 lap to go. I knew having solid positioning would be super important in the last lap as it is difficult to move up on the downhill right before the finish. Two guys from DNA RACING attacked halfway through the hill and I instinctively followed them. We opened up a significant gap that was just enough for us to stay away for the last 1 or 2 minutes of racing that were left. Before we went into the last corner (which lead into the straightway for the finish), one guy that had also gotten in the move attacked into the corner- I jumped right onto his wheel sprinted into 2nd place! A great start to the weekend with some upgrade points and prize money!!
Numbers:
Time: 46:18
Average Speed: 27.3
Normalized Power: Magnet came loose (RIP)
Day 2:
After a successful first night of crit racing, I was stoked to see what my legs could do in the remaining two days. The 2nd day was pretty hectic. It was an figure 8-shaped course in downtown OKC. About halfway into my race, it started drizzling and some of the corners got very slippery. Some people were drifting and sliding when sprinting out of the corners, which made it for a very sketchy race at some points. With about 8 laps remaining, I got a flat. I went to the wheel pit as fast as I could and got the first wheel they gave me. I later realized that it was a 10 speed wheel (once again... RIP) - that doesn’t work too well when you’re running an 11 speed drivetrain. This also meant that my smallest gear was a 16 tooth cog. I had a major throwback to my days as a junior racer, spinning the last 7 laps at 120 RPMs and still not moving up to where I wanted to be in the pack. Coming into the last corner I was sitting in the top 10 wheels, but someone crashed in front of me. I barely managed to avoid it and safely cross the finish line in 17th place. It was a bummer, but at least my skin and bike were intact! The situation was out of my hands and all I could do was turn my attention to the last day of racing.
Numbers:
Time: 1:00:52 hr
Average Speed: 26.9 mph
Normalized Power:
Day 3:
Coming into the final day, I was hungry for a win. I started in the 2nd row and stayed mid pack for the first 10-15 minutes of the race. I was sitting mid pack, and by the time I realized it, I had missed the breakaway. About 10 guys were up the road and they had a 20-30 second gap on us. Knowing that most of the teams were in the breakaway, I realized that I was going to have to work hard if I wanted to catch them. I did a bunch of attacks to try to motivate the field and followed every single move that attempted to chase. Unfortunately, my efforts were in vain. I gave it my all, but in the end it came down to a small tactical error. I was bummed, but I learned a lot from this race weekend and was really happy to come out with a solid result on day 1.
Numbers:
Time: 58:31 min
Average Speed: 27.4 mph
Normalized Power:
Next weekend the team will head back to Oklahoma for the final weekend of summer crits. Tulsa Tough, we’re coming for you!
Thanks to Lee McDaniel for the photo!