Georgia Labor Day Omnium

Race: Georgia Labor Day Omnium Saturday Women's Criterium
Date: 8-31-2002
Place: Uptown Columbus, GA
Distance: 17.5 miles
Speed: 17.5 mph
Time: 60 minutes
Division: Women (All)

This was the first year for the Georgia Labor Day Omnium, an extension of the US Pro 100K classic held each Labor Day in Marietta, GA. All amateur events were held in and around Columbus, GA. The 6/10 mile course for the first day of crits was in the heart of the renovated River District in uptown Columbus. It was a 4 corner, flat circuit with long straight-aways, the typical American crit course. This was to be my first attempt at racing with "the big girls" before making the leap up to Cat. 3 next year. I knew that it would be a hard race with several of the top Pro Women in the country expected to attend. I am still recovering from my crash in Vermont, and my left leg still bothers me a little bit when the pace picks up. I've noticed since the crash that I've had problems with power and more problems than usual with my breathing. Whether this is the end of a long season or a result of still trying to recover, I am not sure.

There were 22 women on the line, including about one other Cat. 4 that I knew from mountain bike races. My goal for the race was to hang in for 3 laps or about 2.4 miles. I got a position on the front row. After the official said go, we were off, and I mean OFF--FLYING! I'd already fallen back several places by the time we entered the first corner. I saw Amy right ahead of me and thought "get on Amy's wheel, hang on Amy's wheel." She's nice and steady to follow, and I was already nervous enough for my first big crit. I hung on to the middle of the pack through turn 3. Somehow, I slipped back a few more places as we got strung out over the next lap. We came through the start/finish line, and there was no relenting in the pace. The ladies that were up front kept driving us hard. In the back stretch, I got caught in a gust from the headwind. I gave it my all to catch back on to the tail of the group. On the home stretch on the next lap, the pack suddenly eased up. I thought this would be my chance to catch up and hang with the peleton a little longer. The fast girls had other ideas. No sooner were we around the next corner, and they took off again. I got spit out the back along with several other people. My heart rate monitor was beeping, telling me that I was over my red line, and my computer said something about 3xx mph. I could not read it because my head was getting light, and my vision blurred. I could not breathe either and knew that I had to pull up or pull out of the race. The other girls and I sat up to regroup. I hung in for about three and a half laps, just longer than my goal. We crossed the finish line, and around turn 1 I realized I was by myself. On the next lap, I saw two of the other girls standing on the other side of the fencing. I was not giving up unless the officials pulled me. I knew that I was going to get lapped soon, so I put my head down and tried to go faster. My legs would not give me anything. They were useless as were my lungs by this point. For the rest of the race, I could not breathe properly. It was not really hot out nor was it terribly humid; I do not know what my the EIL flare up unless it was the big effort so early in the race. I turned my legs as fast as they would go, which was not that fast at all. I checked my average speed, which was 17 mph about 15 minutes into the race. I've done Cat. 4 crits that were much faster than this. No matter how much I tried to push my legs, they would not spin the pedals around faster. By this time, I'd been lapped at least once by almost everyone out on the course. A little miffed and embarrassed for my lackluster performance, I continued on. I paid for the race and might as well finish a workout. I picked up the pace the little bit that I could. I saw Kim and Amy coming around every now and then looking strong. On one lap, Kim was up front on the chase group pushing the pace. I wish I could have been there to help them more. I was struggling with my own lack of speed. Half way into the race, I'd been lapped at least twice by the lead group. They were going very hard, and more riders were dropped from the leaders. I sat up on top of my bars and dropped into my small ring. Miraculously, my speed picked up. My legs were relieved that I was no longer pushing a big gear into the headwind down the backstretch. I was able to maintain a higher pace in a smaller gear on the backside and pick it up in a larger gear when I had the tailwind. I maintained an almost constant 18 mph for the last fifteen minutes of the race. I heard a few friends cheering, which really helped to keep me going. With a few minutes to go, my legs decided that they felt better and would give slightly more effort than in the first three quarters of the race. I finished strongly. The most important thing was that I finished.

I learned a few things from this crit. Crits are not fun when you are tired, sore, recovering from injury, hot, cannot breathe, get stomach cramps, or any combination thereof. Finishing is just as important for me as winning. I know that I'm going to get trampled on when I move up, but it is something that I really want to do to challenge myself. Of all things, the crit paid 20 deep. I placed 19th and was in the money.

The Nalley-Eagle Ladies (Trish Albert, Amy Spruill, and Kim Sawyer) on the starting line.

The field was still together early in the race.