Gopher Cycling Blog

The second to last Thursday track racing night saw some exciting action. As has become usual this summer, the U of M was well represented.

In the women's field, Miriam W and Julie K rode strongly. Julie finished 2nd in the omnium after winning the Miss & Out in an exciting sprint finish against Elena Dorr and placing 2nd and 3rd in the Scratch and Points races.

After a brief absence of U of M riders from the Cat 4/5 field (everyone has upgraded to Cat 3 this summer!), tonight saw a return of Maroon and Gold (in a flavor of Kenwood blue) to the 4/5's. Josh S, the Devil himself, stepped off his mountain bike and into the ring. True to his mountain biking spirits, he rode away in the first Scratch race, thinking that if he left a 100m-gap between him and the next rider, he would not likely be overtaken. True enough. The next two races, the Miss & Out and another Scratch race, saw him moving away from pure power towards a more tactical riding style, which was beautifully executed, especially in the Miss & Out that left the crowd gasping when the fourth-to-last rider was eliminated by a tire's width. The Devil won the Miss & Out and placed a strong second in the final Scratch race to take the omnium by a solid 4 point margin. Well done!

The Cat 3 field had, once again, a strong contingent of U of M riders who put the hurt on the rest of the bunch. Michael S, Eric S, and Satoshi I represented. Andrew T was out of town, at his beloved cousin's wedding. Michael finished 2nd in the omnium after beating out Brian Crosby in the final sprint of the Miss & Out and taking two 3rd places. Satoshi was 5th overall with two 4th places, in the Miss & Out and Points race.

In the Cat 1/2 field, Ben R took 2nd in the omnium and has secured himself Rider of the Year status one night before the conclusion of this year's Thursday night series, edging out Pete Hanna of GPoop. He finished 2nd in the first Scratch race, beat in the final sprint by Rob Lindstrom, 3rd in the Keirin, and 1st in the final Points race to tie for points with Rob.

This was Ben's last track night at the NSC this year; he's off to elite nationals this weekend. One more Thursday night for the rest of the crew (Andrew, Eric, Michael, Satoshi), after that it's time for collegiate nationals in Trexlertown.

Tonight's full results are posted here. Pictures may follow later, check back.