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The downhill straightaway before the hard left turn. |
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To maximize friction and stability, riders keep there
hands on the drops of their handlebars and keep the outside leg
up and out of the way. |
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Steve popped on this race along with many others.
The field spent most of the 30 min race pushing the pace. |
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Here you can see Matt Hagman taking the corner towards
the back of the pack. Riders were coming into the turn at
30+ mph. |
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This was the only dangerous corner of the very basic
4-turn course layout: one uphill, one down hill, and 2
straight-aways. |
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At the front of the picture Matt Hagman is moving up in
position. Unlike many of the cat 5 racers, Matt used the
turn to increase position by cornering harder and faster than
other competitors. |
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Here the pack follows closely behind the pace car.
The end of the race saw a field of 50 split into a finishing
pack of 12 - 14 riders. |
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Here Matt is on the outside and towards the rear of the
group. |
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A fellow racer from the Bolt Bros. race team falls of
the back. Southeast Investments riders and Bolt Bros.
riders often ride together since they are so close to one
another. |
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Sitting pretty in the top 5, Matt felt winded a few
times during the race yet managed to recover each time and stay
in excellent position. |
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Coming out of the turn with more speed and momentum,
Matt prepares for an attack. He came off the front twice
during the race to split up the field. Racers hope to
reduce the size of the lead group as much as possible to reduce
the number of riders that may contend for the final sprint. |
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The two riders in front of Matt rode strong the entire
race and had finishes the reflected their speed. |
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A rider blew his rear tire out on the downhill turn and
slid 30 meters or so into the curb. Unfortunately, he was
done racing and required medical treatment afterwards. |
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The riders start to come together as the pace slows.
The deep breath before the plunge. |
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coming through the start/finish the pace picked up once
again and a rider comes off the back. |
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This was the crucial turn of the last lap. It went
right into an uphill which offered little chance of gaining
position in the pack. If riders didn't have position here,
then they likely wouldn't have the legs to move up in position
and sprint at the end. |
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The sprint finished off with 3 riders coming off the
group in the downhill and almost getting caught at the end.
Matt Hagman had a respectable 3rd place finish. |
