Last weekend, Team BT was represented in both the 4 and 2/3 races at Brownstown. Ansel, Andy, Mike Mast and Brendan did the 4. Dan, Willem and I rounded out the squad for the 2/3. I’ll let the boys in the 4 race do their own race report.
It was really toasty when we lined up…somewhere north of 90 degrees. However, there was a steady breeze throughout the race that kept things from getting too hot and also made position in the pack very important.
The course was great…it was relatively flat, with a lot of turns and a super fun section with a loose chip road.
The Team BT plan was to sit in for a while and see how things went before trying to animate the race. Willem attacked a few times early and Dan kept things interesting as well, trying to bridge solo to an early break and then trying to get away later in the race. I hadn’t raced since Turkey Hill the first week of May, so my strategy was to sit in and see if I could seize an opportunity at the end.
As per usual, the break that stuck was one that we didn’t get into. 7 or 8 guys got away, with plenty of teammates in the field to block/chase down attacks, so with about two to go we were working on getting a good result in the field sprint.
For some reason, I lost track of which lap we were on…I thought the penultimate lap was the last one, and put in some good work moving myself up to 5th wheel. I sat on the wheel of everyone trying to get up the road, maintaining my position but definitely drawing the ire of some of my fellow racers. I buried myself keeping this position and readying myself for what I thought would be the final sprint.
With about a mile and a half to go, I heard a spectator call out “Great job, only one more to go!” My heart sank. While this wasn’t as dramatic as sprinting to “victory” on the penultimate lap and then realizing there was still one to go, I was pretty cooked and dropped back into the pack. I worked my way back up to the middle of the pack on the final lap, but couldn’t get any closer.
In the end, Dan factored into the field sprint, placing 13th overall (and 1st Cat 3!!!) . I wasn’t close enough to the front to bother with sprinting, so I rolled in at 29th overall, 10th Cat 3. Willem got gapped a little bit with 4 to go and ended up getting pulled.
All in all, a good day on the road and we celebrated in our usual fashion with beers immediately after the race. Even if the race doesn’t go exactly right for you, it’s always a good day when you finish with the rubber side down, drinking a Magic Hat in the parking lot.
