DLV: The Keirin

This past weekend was the first Dick Lane Velodrome Pro Race Series event of 2010. I'm now racing in the B category (categories), so I was able to race on both Friday and Saturday for the first time.

Friday Night Sprints

I've done the friday night sprints in the past, and this year my 200m time was 13.18s which is pretty average for me and as usual, did not seed me in the sprint tournament. (I was 18th of 28.) David Espinoza and Andy Lakatosh tied at 11.03s for a new track record. Crazy Fast! Not being elgible or the sprint tournament meant a few mass-start B races which is where things came together. In a small field of 6 including two of my FM:Race teammates: Justin Barber and Jason Atwood, we got to play a little bit with team tactics. The second race, a 10-lap scratch race came together perfectly and landed me a 1st place, Justin 2nd, and Jason 4th. This was the first cash win for Justin and I in the Bs, and we promptly spent the $25 + $15 on pizza and beer at the end of the evening to fuel up for Saturdays racing. I'm looking forward to a season of team tactics in Wednesday night races! My Results. Twotone's Photos.

Saturday Pro Racing

Photo courtesy of twotone, thats me in the red and white in the bottom right. Saturday was something new, both me racing in the Bs at one of these events and C racers having a few races. Charles Earl, another FM:Race member, snagged 8th in the first C race of the afternoon, only to be run into the boards by another beginner. He managed alright with a bent up bike and a few stitches in his right hand at the emergency room, so hopefully he'll be back on the bike soon. After he left there were a few other crashes, but none that required a trip to the ER. The B field had 15 people in it, including the faster of the people that show up for Wednesday racing and two fast people from out of town, and we had 5 races:
  • 10 Lap Scratch - 8th place. No teamwork and some poor decisions!
  • 15 Lap Snowball - On the first lap, I sprinted off the front and managed to win the 4st 4 laps for a total of 10 points (1+2+3+4), but couldn't hold out for lap number 5 and I barely hung on to the rest of the field for the rest of the race. 5 other people got points on later laps, so I ended up in 6th place. If I'd won the 5th lap, I could have snagged 5th or 4th place. Next time!
  • Unknown Distance - 8th place. The bell rings and it's the last lap. Stuck in the pack.
  • 40 Lap Points Race - A very long and pretty fast race, I hung with the pack for the first 30 laps. There were several breakways that all got caught, and around lap 35 I sprinted from the middle of the pack to grab a few points and sling off the front to try and catch Darren Cormer who was off the front. In about a lap I caught him and we did half-lap pulls for a few laps but were both completely empty and the field caught us with a few laps to go. I crossed the finish line in 5th place for 1 point, and ended up in 7th place.
  • Miss-n-out - 15th place. Didn't have anything left in me, last place after getting boxed in and passed on both sides.
I had a lot of fun racing, as well as having a few beers and taking a few photos while watching the pros ride in "The Keirin". Twotone's Photos. The next Pro Race Series event is July 9th and 10th!

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