Houston Grand Criterium

I drove the 150 miles to Houston on Saturday with the family because I was racing on Sunday morning at 8am. I was signed up for the 35+ 4/5 race. I left the hotel at 6am and figured that I would grab breakfast at the hotel on the way out. No go. The restaurant opened at 7am. So I found a Chevron on the way to the race and grabbed one of those ham and cheese sandwiches in a plastic triangle package along with a banana and a giant Rice Crispie treat. It definitely wasn't the ideal pre-race meal, but it would have to suffice.

There were 56 racers on the starting line. The course was basically an out and back with a 180 at one end and a city block at the other end. A lap was 2.8 miles. The race started off at a decent pace, but not blazing by any stretch. I was in the second row at the start and got off well. I made sure that I was at or near the front going through the 180 on every lap. I went through first on 4 laps. I wanted to avoid the "slinky" effect that you get when you are coming out of a sharp turn when sitting too far back. I managed to get into 2 breaks both of which were short lived. The problem with breaks in higher cat races is that once they make the break some riders want to sit on and it only takes one to ruin the cooperation. On the last lap I led through the 180 at the far end of the course. The pace was fast and I grabbed a few wheels. Unfortunately about 1/4 mile or so from the two left turns before the finish I got boxed in. Coming out of the last corner I throttled it and came around 2 racers in the sprint to finish 10th. This was the first time this year that I felt like I was able to motor the sprint. I still have some work to do on sprinting, but it is coming along. I was hoping for top 5, but top 10 will have to do.


I am in the blue and white between the two guys in yellow and black.


Here is the second break that I managed to get in about to get caught. I worked my ass off to get across only to find the guy on the left yelling at the two other guys because they wouldn't work. I hadn't even had a chance to recover and pull before it was all but done. Great job on spotting a good break, Chris.


Here is the sprint. The guy in red that won had a killer sprint. He came by me earlier in the race for a preem and was hauling ass. I checked his results and am not surprised to see that he does most of his racing on the track.


Here is the weather for the next week. Luckily I will be in cool So. Cal. for the next 3 days.

And finally, what you have been waiting for. Number 8 on the list of "Top 10 Cheesiest Songs of All Time That You Probably Like But Won't Admit It." Here is Barbie Girl by Aqua!