Welcome Home?

This is a message a friend sent me. Well, if you consider "home" our hotel in beautiful Torrance, CA home... then, yes, welcome home. (oh, I dream of the Flatirons of Boulder.)

Anyway, I digress.

Quick race recap of the Omnium in Melbourne, as promised:

(P.S. Omnium for those who don't know is 6 events over 2 days. 1st place in each event gets 1 point. Last place gets 24 points. The person who ends up with the least amount of points, wins.)

-Each country can send 1 athlete but the rules state that only 24 cyclists can race on a 250m track (which is the international standard). We had 31 countries (I think) send athletes for the Omnium which meant we had to start day #1 with a qualifying race which was a 10k Points race. My goal was to spend as little energy as possible to qualify. I felt in control and accomplished the goal.

- Next up was the Flying Lap. I started early and held the fast time for a bit but ended up 8th with a 14.856. The fast time was a 14.589.

- After about 2 hours we raced the 20k Points Race. For those who don't know, this means we sprint for points every 10 laps. If you lap the field you get 20 points. Well, we had 5 girls lap the field and I wasn't one of them. Funny tactics in the Omnium Points race vs. a normal Points Race. I sprinted for 3 points and scored in 2 of them. Good for 12th place. The bummer is 1 more point would have given me 8th or so place which is a big difference.

- Then the Elimination or "miss-n-out". For those who aren't familiar with cycling, this race is sometimes chaos. Basically, the last person over the line on every other lap is out. The problem with this race is telling people they are out... especially if we all speak different languages. Solution? A brick sized computer they mounted to our handlebars that flash LED lights in our face when we are out. Good solution but not perfect. I raced a less then desirable race this time around and finished 15th.

Day #2

- Individual 3k Pursuit. Basically, a race against the clock. In my world, this is considered "distance" and an event I am least experienced in. I posted a 3.47.7 for 13th place. This was a personal best in this event and I didn't even feel like I was going to die.

I forgot to zip up my skinsuit before the pursuit. DUH! I wasn't trying to show anything off but basically just look silly!

- Scratch Race. 40 laps and first one to cross the line, wins. This is the one race I play over and over in my mind. I was SOOO close... but, in the end I ended 9th. AHHHH! I can't wait to watch this one on video. I had the position and the legs but... well, whatever, it didn't come together. Next time :)

- 500m time trial was the last event. I was no where near my personal best time but ended 9th with a 37.3 seconds. At least I am consistent... this was the same time I posted at the end of the Omnium at Nationals in LA in October. There is easy improvements to be made in this event with some work.

So, at the end of 2 days, I ended up in 11th place. In the big picture I am happy but not satisfied. With a micro-view, I see lots of places for improvement and remain totally inspired. With the exception of Great Britain (and maybe China if they have a Omnium athlete), every big country had a athlete. So, against the best in the world, not bad for my first showing.

All photos are from CJFOTO.COM.

Thanks for reading... more soon!