Dash for Cash Crit

Race Report: Dash for Cash Crit

W 1,2,3
Teammates: Haley Juno Galdes
Place: Lauren (1st), Haley (5th)
Primes: Lauren (5), Haley (3)

I have never done Dash for Cash before. It is a great idea to shake things up a bit, especially when it’s nearing the middle of the season and crits are in high supply. Haley and I drove over to Pleasanton on that fine Saturday morning. We had planned to get there an hour ahead so that we weren’t sitting around a long while in the sun. But, thanks to my excellent driving skills, we arrived with almost double that amount of time. We took our time getting ready and then formed our own crit course to warm up on.

When the time came we gathered with our fellow race mates at the line and were given our (somewhat confusing) pre-race instructions. We were only going to have 15 sprint laps because our field size did not make some threshold. Sprint laps would start on the second lap and would end, no matter whether we had actually done 15 or not, with three to go. Oh and, if we didn’t hear a bell each lap, we were still supposed to sprint... ?

The race started off somewhat smoothly. Most of the riders in the peloton were not used to this format of racing. I decided to think about it at as a points race because, really, that’s what it was. I didn’t go for the first two primes because I wanted to check out who was sprinting and where the sprinting was starting etc. Plus we had 15 of these to do. AND there were two very strong time-trialist type riders that I had to keep an eye on. The middle of the race was somewhat the same thing over and over again. Haley would either lead me out for sprint laps or I would jump on someone else who committed to going out of the last turn. I took five of the sprints in total. Each time I sprinted I would gap the field and a Wells Fargo rider would be on my wheel. She was determined to get off the front but I was more inclined to stay in what was left of the field to practice my bunch sprinting and set-up.

Haley attacked after one of my last sprints and ended up gapping the field and drawing another strong rider out of the group. Luckily Billy Crane was on the sidelines and told Haley that she had the gap and encouraged her to keep going. She stayed off solo for three or four laps, giving me a break and taking three sprints. She out-rode her chaser but eventually sat up and let the field catch her.

With three laps to go I finally ended up in a break with the two strong riders I had been concerned about. I was not willing to work so close to the finish (knowing that I had a good chance in a bunch kick) but took a check of my body and realized that I could contribute to the break staying off and not jeopardize my sprint. With one lap to go though, I sat on. One of the riders pulled a smart move and attacked me with two turns to go (with the last two lengths being into pretty big head winds). She managed to time it perfectly with me taking a drink of water. She and the other rider gapped me but I was not going to let that happen. I put in a good effort and caught back on before the last turn. I stayed in third position where I could see everyone, knowing that one of the riders would jump early. She did and I was right there to counter her. It was a tough sprint and I was definitely feeling all the earlier sprints but I managed to pull away from her to take the win. Haley did an awesome job monitoring the field behind us and then taking second in the field sprint. What a day!

As always, thanks for reading!

--Lauren