Spring Fling Criterium 3

Saturday was warm.    We drove to the race and the temperature was a balmy 48 degrees!  I was excited that I would not face another 33 degree start for the master’s race.  The sun was shining and we set up in our normal place.  Again, Ron Stratton was the man; he carried all the stuff we would need to get warmed up as a team. 

The first race was the Men’s Masters race.  It was 14 laps long.  The winds were straight off the water, which meant they pushed riders down the finishing lap.  Warm temperatures and favorable winds meant this would be a fast race!   The Masters did not disappoint.  Santa Fe Trails had a great warm up.  We were ready.  Or, so we thought.  So was everyone else.  The race started blistering fast.  Into lap two, we rode into the chicane.   Up hill and into the wind, we were riding at 30 miles per hour.  That was too much for this rider.  I was told after the race that the leader kept this up for three laps!  Art Mathisen and Mark Ramsden were the only riders able to keep pace for our team.  Not only did he keep the pace, he was in the three man break away off the front of the field.  I knew this because he lapped me with three laps to go!  Art ended up taking third place in one of the fastest amateur criteriums I have ever seen. 

Next up was the women’s category 4.  Ann found the course to be faster and women showed up who had not raced in the previous races.   Ann rode with the lead group,  Danielle Lansford  (fifth) and Mary Still (seventh) rode in the next group.  Anita Gonzalez and Patricia Schnieder were next.  Ann held on to win the race. 

The mens’ category four race started at 12:30.  The race was fast too.  Average speed for the pack was 25 miles an hour!  Down the finish stretch the pack routinely rode above 30 miles and hour.  This is a flat course!  Spencer Wallace finished eighth in this race. 

The women’s category ¾  started fast as well.  Ann Parthmore set a high tempo, keeping the pace high for her teammate Erica Haas.  Ann led the field through the final lap, into the chicane and head wind.  The high pace punished the field and allowed Erica the opportunity to wait for the perfect moment.  Erica attacked and won the final sprint taking second in the race.  Ann held out for seventh place.  Mary Still and Danielle Lansford rode very strongly throughout the race. 

Finally the men’s category five race started.  We had a terrific representation for Santa Fe Trails.  Sean Smith and Sparky Anderson rode well at the front of the field.  Spencer Wallace had the speed though.  The race was only twenty minutes long.  Spencer rode near the front.  In the final lap, Spencer attacked with about 200 meters to go.  Spencer raced off the front of the field.  The race made the curve  Spencer pushed hard on the pedals holding the field off to take the win with a punch through the air!

Big thanks to Roger Harrison for all the great photos!  Thanks to all our teammates who stuck around to help clean up, especially Mary Still, Danielle Lansford, Ron Stratton, and Marc Welde.