Lessons Learned

Day two of the San Jose AVC started out early. Andrea had signed up for the sprints and 200 meter TTs for seeding started at 10:00. At 10:00 it was also well over 90 degrees. I was out there to support Andrea as she is not really s matched sprinter and does not really understand the game too well. Her 200 time was good, but not great, so she got seeded near the bottom. The first rounds for all the women were three ups. Andrea came in second after almost coming around Beth Newell on the final straight. This sent her to the rep round where she took on Jeanie and won it without a problem. Her quarter final round was against Beth Newell again. This time Andrea took control of the race, double jumped her and took her the long way around. The tactics worked and she moved onto the semi-final round. The semis and the finals didn’t go so well, but there was a lot to be learned and she still placed 4th overall. Not too bad for coming into the race with no expectations.
Andrea then went out and was able to take 9th in the women’s scratch race with a strong finishing kick. Shelly Olds won the race after taking a lap and still getting in the top five in the final sprint.
The men’s scratch race was fast and full of breaks and attacks. I tried to not exert too much energy, but with around 7 laps to go, there was a break up the track that I did not like the look of, so I buried it and brought them back. That gave me 5 laps to rest up for the finishing sprint, which was very fast. I spotted Grant coming over the top and knew that would be a good wheel to take. The final two turns were a bit sketchy, but I managed to stay in it to take 5th overall. I should have been more aggressive before a lap to go to setup for a better sprint, but those are the lessons to be learned.
Overall it was a good weekend of race. I felt good about all my races, and it gives me a little bit more confidence for training for the AVC and the FSA Grand Prix. Next up, six days straight of grueling racing in the Alpenrose Six Day.