Longmont Crit

The Longmont Crit is another front range classic that has been used for many state championships over the years. This year was no different, but it was the Senior State Championships, so it meant reduced level of masters racing (too bad as it is a great course). There was a 45 plus race, but nothing for the 35 plus guys who are cat. 1's and cat. 2's. As such CJ and Pete decided to step it up a notch and do the pro/1/2 race for the state champs.

It was Pete last race for a while, as he is flying out to go to the Tour. Pete got a bad start and was stuck in the back. That was fine for a while, but the field was over 100 guys (twice the size of the field the day before in the 35 plus race). Relatively soon the rain started to fall and the back was a very bad place to be. Soon the race split in half and as Pete found himself in the back half he decided to drop out. Smart more with a flight to Europe this week.

CJ got a good start and was able to ride at the front for a long time. He even got a little frisky and went off the front in a move of 8 guys, following the advice of team mate Jim Thies "when you are going to get your rear end kicked, you might as well throw the first punch". Thing settled in and the rain started to pour. The race was safe consider the rain, it stopped for a while, then started again worse. It was one of the those days where glasses, no glasses, eyes open, or closed, it did not matter. There was a powerhouse 4 man break away for a lot of the race, but it never got more than 30 seconds. Some of the big teams who had missed the move chased it down and as we hit 6 to go we had the break in sight. This meant the last 6 laps were going to be the fastest of the race. CJ hung though and finished 22nd, which was solid when you consider 100 guys stated, and only 43 finished.

All photos from www.303cycling.com and www.prerace.com. First photo is CJ riding at the front as fellow master rider Michael Gibson takes the lead. Second photo is just to give you an idea of how bad the weather was. Last photo if CJ after the rain ended. All the Mix1 CJ is drinking is going to his calves!