Southeastern Track Regional Championships

Dates: July 19-20, 2002
Place: Dick Lane Velodrome, East Point, GA

The Southeastern Track Regional and Georgia State Championships were held at the Dick Lane Velodrome July 19-20. Eleven women contested the races: 200 meter Time Trial, Sprints, Points Race, 500 meter Time Trial, Team Time Trial, and 3 kilometer pursuit.

Friday night's first event was the 200 m TT. I'd never done any of these events before, so it was all a new experience for me. After some last minute instructions from the Velo Bella ladies, I went to the boards for the TT. Riders had 3 laps with 2 laps to "ramp it up" before the TT in the final 200 meters of the three laps. My goal was to be at full speed coming down off of the banking and to stay out of the saddle as long as possible. I was at full speed when I wanted to be, but I sat down a little too soon. I tried to concentrate on keeping as close the black line as I could, but I wandered a little bit up the track. That probably cost me a half a second. I need to work on staying straighter and "riding the line" a little more closely. The 200 m TT was used as the seeding event for the sprints. I was against Esther Davis and Kelli Rogan, two track veterans. We were do to 3 laps. Kelli drew the card to lead out. The first two laps were very slow, with all of us watching one another. Into turn 2, I saw one of the Bellas try to make their move. I countered and got up to my full speed and was nipped at the line by both Bellas. I thought that I did well, considering I probably did not have a chance against the more experienced riders.

Saturday's afternoon events were the 500 m TT for women, 1K for men, and the 3 K (women) and 4 K (men) pursuits. The 500 m TT was approximately a lap and a half. Shannon's winning time was about 35 seconds. I'd never done a standing start before, and I realized the importance of staying out of the saddle as long as possible to get the greatest speed. I came in at 47.9, which was good enough for 5th. The 3 K pursuit was up next for the women. I did not put in my best performance because my legs were quite tired. On the 3rd of 12 laps, I could feel my legs beginning to slow down. I tried my best to keep spinning the pedals as fast as I could, but I slowed down quite a bit until I was able to gun it a little bit on the fast lap. The men contested the 1K after the women's 500 m. In discussing the differences in events for men and women, several of the men shared a little tidbit about the 1 K. Going into the 3rd lap is called the "refrigerator" because it feels as though a refrigerator has been placed on your back. The lactic acid causes the rider to slow down and feel very sluggish after about 50 seconds on the track. Most of the women said they did not feel that in the 500 m because it is too short.

Atlanta Velo/Litespeed dominated with women's competition with Shannon Hutchinson winning every event. Michelle Mculloch and Tracy Sproule most often took second. Vello Bella's first regional championships was a success as well. Esther Davis placed 4th in the Sprints competition, and the team won the Silver in the Team Time Trial.