Third place feels a lot like first

Update: Gui took fourth in the Chariott, not fifth, and also won the second sprint in the points race. I also have no idea at this point what place Dan came in on the first sprint.

Today was day two of the Kissena opening weekend. On the plate for today were mass start events. For the Men's Cat 5 that meant a 6 lap scratch, 9 lap points race (with three sprints), a Miss-and-Out and a Chariott. Men's 1-3, 4 and Women did a Keirin as well.

I got to the track a little early and started warming up. Just as I finished my warm up, my parents showed up! I had invited them to the track to come and watch me race. Right before the races started they announced the points. I was in fourth place with 8 points and my friend Dan was in second place with 10 points. Gui was just behind me in the placing. We were all pretty close in points, so today was going to be interesting...

First up - the 6 lap scratch. Judging from my performance yesterday and noting that I'm a) better at longer distance races and b) not a very good sprinter I went into this race not expecting to do too well. After 5 laps I positioned myself near the front. On turn two I was coming up to the front and decided to just hammer it and break away from the pack. I figured I'd get caught before the finish but I also knew it was pretty much my only shot. It ended up working out. One rider (this guy Robert) caught my wheel and sling-shotted around turn four to take first place, but I was right behind him in second. My friend Dan took third. I got a total of 5 points for this race and Dan got 3 points, tying us for second.

While we were all waiting for our next race to start Dan, Gui and I decided to discuss tactics. The next race was a 9 lap points race in which ever third lap was a sprint, and the top four people in each sprint would get 5, 3, 2 and 1 point(s) respectively. We decided that we would sit in the pack for the first 3 laps and not contest the first sprint. Instead we would save up our energy so that while everyone else was slowing down to rest after the sprint, we would take off and try to gap the field. We would ride in a pace line and rotate every 200m. Dan wasn't too sure we could maintain a break for 6 laps but eventually I convinced him to give it a try. "Hey, if it works, we win. If it doesn't, we get back in the pack." Our friend Andrew overheard us discussing our strategy and asked if he could be a part of our plan. Four people, four placings...it seemed like a good fit.

The 9 lap points race started. We stuck to the plan although I believe Dan ended up taking second or third placing in the first sprint despite not really trying for it. We started to hammer it on turn one while the rest of the pack was recovering from the sprint. We quickly got a gap on the field, however Robert (the guy who won the scratch race) caught us. One the second sprint (first sprint since our break) Robert came screaming around turn 3 and ended up bumping my elbow with his thigh as he sped past me. Fortunately it was a light tap and no one lost control. These things are bound to happen in track racing so I was glad that my first experience with this didn't involve a nasty accident. Gui ended up taking first in the second sprint. We easily maintained our break and were never caught by the rest of the field. However as luck would have it, I kept ending up in the back of the break during the sprints due to our rotation order, and since there were 4 other riders in the break I didn't get any points. But overall I was very satisfied that our strategy worked almost perfectly (if it were not for Robert catching us it would have been perfect) and didn't mind losing each sprint. Dan was now way ahead of me in points and Gui was one point behind.

Next up was the Miss-and-Out. I was a little bit worried about this race since it basically involves a sprint every single lap, and you have to contest it or risk being pulled out of the race. I had to come up with a strategy for this race. I talked with Dan and Gui again about possibly making a break. However the general consensus was that it would be very difficult to make that initial break since we couldn't just sit back, let everyone else sprint and then make our move. We HAD to sprint. Ultimately I decided that I would play the field as best I could until it got small enough that I risked getting pulled out of the race. At that point I would make a break for it and try to maintain it for as long as possible. If Dan and Gui wanted to join me and help they could.

The race started and the first few laps were pretty easy. While there were quite a few strong riders in the pack, there were also a lot of newer people who didn't have the experience or the training and they were picked out of the field quickly. When there were only 6 people left I started to get nervous. On the next lap I was the second person over the line and the guy ahead of me kept going. I think he was trying to make a break for it so I got on his wheel. However so did most of the rest of the field. I was at the front of the pace line we had going, and stayed at the front for about a lap. I pulled off to see Dan right behind me. I thought about getting on his wheel but saw Andrew coming up behind Dan and decided to let him take it. Robert then came out of nowhere to take Andrew's wheel so I got behind Robert. On turn three I looked behind me and realized that there was no one else left in the race. I knew at this point it was over - I couldn't out-sprint the three people ahead of me. Still, fourth place meant that I earned two points, putting me three points ahead of Gui.

At this point I was chatting with my parents and a couple of my friends and completely missed the announcement that you had to sign up for the Chariott race. I didn't realize this until just before they started the second (and last) qualifying heat. Whoops. Gui qualified for the finals but ended up taking fifth fourth with points only be awarded to the top three. My placing was safe. I was in third overall.

The officials announced the winners and handed out medals. Robert was in first place having won all the races today. Dan was in second and I was in third. The three of us got our picture taken together by our friend Crihs. As soon as he develops the film I will post the picture here.

My parents were very excited and proud of me. They had a great time at the track and I'm glad that they were there to cheer for me.