At the Pioneer Park Downtown Criterium

Out for a ride I ran into a couple of Ski Utah women riders at a rail road crossing, who were waiting for the train to cross. I did not speak to them at the time, not wanting to be considered an intrusive, rude bore, and because I thought they were merely out for a training ride. Little did I know that there was a crit in process at Pioneer Park. Imagine my surprise when I glanced down the street to check traffic at an intersection and saw a pack of riders flash past. Whoa, a crit! I must check this out immediately!

A group of category 5 men riders were half way through their race, the wind was blowing from the West at about ten miles an hour. The view of the race is unique for a crit because the park is very flat and there are very few obstructions to block the view. Into the wind the pack tended to spread out somewhat, but by the time the pack reached the start/finish line with a tailwind they were gruppo compacto in the classic arrowhead formation. All of the weak attacks off the front, and they were rare, were promptly reeled in by the peloton. The race ended in a classic every man for himself mad sprint to the line.

Good show. Next race, much to my surprise, was the women category 1/2/3 race, and the Ski Utah women that I saw at the railroad crossing were participating in the race! [The results are found here.] At the start the women rode gruppo compacto until a green lap. A green lap offers a premium to the riders, usually in the form of money, for the first rider to sprint across the start/finish line. In this race when the women sprinted for the line a gap opened up in the pack like magic, and in spite of my better judgement, I started shouting, "Well done! You have a gap! Go! Four of the ladies went, much to my immense satisfaction. When they completed one lap and went past again I could not resist shouting, "Work together! Form an echelon! Take a pull and rotate! When they came around again I saw the ladies riding a perfect pace line, three riders in the fast lane and one in the slow lane, pull and rotate, much to my immense satisfaction. The gap began to widen with every lap. Perfect. They will never be caught.

In fairness, I tried to convey to the chase group the same strategy as the escapees. Work together in a pace line and you will catch them. Because the chase group contained more riders than the escapees, it is only logical to assume that the work load and energy expenditure among the chase group would have been much smaller than with the escapees. Even the weaker riders among the chase group could have skipped a pull and rested because of the superior number of riders. But, if riders of the escape group would have skipped pulls, even if it was only one rider of the group, it is safe to assume that they would have been caught. And the momentum of the chase pack of riders would have had a superior push/pull effect, the front riders are pushed and the rear riders are pulled by sheer force.

Well, I thought the outcome of the race be clear, until a second green lap, when the announcer offered a fifty dollar premium to the chase group of riders only. Near the start/finish line the ladies went into an all out sprint with determined effort and bang the gap diminished to the point where I thought the escapees would be caught outright! But, after the premium sprint, for the rest of the race, lap after lap, the same lady pulled the chase group and the other riders followed in her wake, they either could not or would not work, while the escape group continued to work together and ride a perfect pace line. The escape group was never caught and finished the race and their names should be written in gold, one, [151] Laura Howat (Ski Utah) two, [153] Kristen Kotval (Primal Utah) three, [157] Chantel Thackery Olsen (Primal Utah) four, [155] Laura Patten (Ski Utah Market Star). Only one problem ladies, when you have two team members in a four person escape group you should win the stage with ease with a lead out and a sprint. Protect your teammate until the last minute, shield her from the wind, she should stick on your wheel like glue, while your opponents are playing cat and mouse games with each other and with you, while eating wind! With a sudden burst of acceleration the victory should be a forgone conclusion! You have to decide among yourselves who is strongest, and make a sacrifice for the team.

Yes, I was very happy watching the ladies on the day before Mothers Day. I was in my element surrounded by cyclists and racing. The women probably wondered who was that deranged clown, gesticulating and shouting near the start/finish line. Even so, it was a great day with lovely weather, blue skies with wispy cirrus clouds, and there were great races with A+ performances.

Wouter Waylandt killed during a terrible accident during the Giro d' Italia, R.I.P.