Santa Rosa County Center Crit #2 - Cat 2

Red Peleton was the only other team with significant numbers. SquadraSF had several riders representing the team, Jesse, Neil, Brian , Daniel, JR, Kurt, Angelo, Emory, and myself. So yes I admit we were a force to be dealt with making up 1/3 of the field. After about 10min of attacks, the pack starts giving some moves a longer leash. Emory gets up the road with a Red Peloton guy and another rider. They get a small gap, but it holds for some time. The pack continues to soft pedal not worried about the early break so I decide to jump across. I jump hard to ensure I don't bring anyone with me. After a few rotations Emory is feeling the effects of initiating the break and falls off the pace.


Break of 3: So now 3 of us have a small gap that is holding. I decide to hit it for a few laps then reevaluate the situation. The gap grows to ~20seconds so I start taking shorter/easier pulls to see what happens to the gap. It stays constant so obviously my teammates are doing a great job covering any bridge attempts and making an organized chase almost impossible. So I decide the odds are likely in our favor, break companions are still pulling hard, and my teammates will have an armchair ride while all other riders get worn out chasing or trying to bridge. Since we had a very strong E2 team in this race, the pressure on since two in the top 5 is not the same as two in the top 5, one being the WIN. So I am careful to monitor my effort.

Bell Lap: Everyone is anxious, the finish looks deceivingly long because there is a slight bend which blocks the officials tent and finish line from sight when you exit turn 4, but I looked at my Power Data from the Team Swift Crit (same course) and it only takes 20sec to hit the line from the last corner. I move up into pole position in turn three and jump first after exiting the corner, take the shortest possible line to the finish and take the win comfortably.

Field Finish: The team took control the front last few laps. In the end Kurt drilled it to the last corner, Neil jumping off his wheel winning the field sprint with room to spare.

Placings:
1st - James
4th - Neil