Wente Criterium

by Mark Klein

April 25, 2010
Wente Criterium Elite Cat. 5
40 minutes
Weather: sunny, mid 50′s, very little wind
Field Size: 48 riders
Team mates: Jeff Ager and friend Ed Tollefson
Placing: 11th

This race for Jeff and I was where we cut our teeth on racing a year ago and are now hooked into this sport. The race plan was simple; Jeff and Ed were working for me and were to deliver me to the end for the sprint and finish for with a win. It was to be my 40th birthday gift from Jeff & Ed and I have to say they executed this plan very well.

Race started great with very little to talk about. I was sitting on Jeff’s wheel for nearly the entire race. We sat 15th to 20th position for the entire race. We avoided a crash in that last corner before the straight away when a rider’s front wheel flatted and he and a couple others went down with about 7 laps to go. Ed was surfing the front of the race and took a couple of pulls. This year the pace of the race seemed a lot faster as we average 25 mph. With one to go Jeff started the push to the front. We heard another team call out to start their train. Jeff executed and got us into the top 5 as we went through the last corner at that point he stood up, pulled harder, and then pulled off with me and a 23 year old sprinting for first place with 300 yards to go…I was suffering with still 100 yards to go and we must have pulling a group behind us. My legs went dead, the 23 year old won, and the group came around me and I finished in 11th place. WOW!!!, it was an exciting feeling and finish for me. It is amazing how you can go from fighting for first to finishing 11th within 300 yards. Good times…

all photos courtesy of LivePlayRide ©