Suisun Harbor Criterium

JD, Sean, Josh, Elliot, and Dylan lined up for this windy short crit.

Suisun can easily splinter to bits due to the super windy conditions and less than half mile four corner course that we roll around 72 times, so the BPG boys made sure to have at least one guy off the front with every break that went. Lots of promising moves went up the road including Sean solo for 8 laps, but nothing stuck until about 15 laps to go.

Elliot and Sean made it into a split of about 15 guys that got about 15 seconds off the front of the main field. Josh, Dylan and I cruised at the front of the field following anyone who even though about trying to bridge. The gap to the break started to shrink with about 5 laps laps to go as the field realized it was now or never time, if they wanted to reel in the break.

Dylan hit the deck with 4 laps to go following the single file peleton through turn one, but escaped with only some missing skin for his trouble.

The Field made contact with the break, just as we were hearing the bell for one lap to go. I made my move up the inside after turn 2. I continued to move up through turn 3 and then jammed the inside of turn four as hard as I could as most everyone was taking it wide to try to ride the finishing straight in the protected - from the wind - right hand gutter. I was probably tenth wheel through the last corner, but was able to use my cornering and open road to start my sprint immediately. I was passing guys like they were standing still as I was well recovered from my earlier efforts, due to the free ride I had gotten in the peleton, cuz of Sean and Elliot's breakaway. I was closing in on the front of the field fast, but was just not quite able to reel in Eric Wohlberg and a kyoto sangyo university rider who had gapped off the rest of the field. Elliot followed me in for sixth place.

After the race there was lots of complaining from the field about an erratic sprint from Wohlberg, who was eventually relegated for putting everyone in the gutter. While I didn't see the incident, as I was sprinting on the opposite side of the road, others told me, and I'm inclined to believe them, that Eric's sprint was fine and that it was the kyoto sangyo university rider who put everyone into the curb.

While having someone relegated in front of you is not the best way to move up in the standings, I officially ended up second (for the fourth time this year. I swear I'll win one of these stupid bike race things one of these days.) and Elliot ended up fifth for a pretty decent day for the BPG crit squad.