I have always wanted to see some real racing so I spent the day yesterday at Day 2 of the Edgar Soto Memorial Criterium. It was held in downtown Nashville with the course starting on 2nd Ave and covering 3rd and 1st as well. I saw pretty much all of every race with short breaks for food and the bathroom.
I saw some impressive juniors, and several pro teams were in evidence. I'll blog about it later as I want to get some names right and results aren't posted yet.
A couple of quick highlights:
Masters 30s race included a World TT Masters champion, Michael ?. At one point he lapped the field. Then he backed off to save himself for the pro race.
Pro/Cat1-2 race: Early 4 man breakaway created a good 30 second lead. With about 20 minutes left in a 90 minute race, the field, lead by the aforementioned Michael, started to reel them in. Lap by lap the lead decreased until with about 3 to go they disappeared into the peloton. But then poor Michael got cooked as he had no teammates with him and a train of what may have been Jittery Joes (Hard to read jerseys when they are moving that fast, plus it was dark) blew through.
Funny aside: I parked several miles away and rode in. Even though I was wearing capris it was often assumed that I was racing, had raced, could answer detailed questions.
Black Beauty received lots of attention. Even from some racers.
In Juniors 10-14 there was one girl. She was small and didn't place, but got lots of attention. I think she wore her kit and number for the rest of the day.
It's Michael Olheiser
