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Jonathan Black [in the white helmet] and Matt Hagman [in the blue helmet] taking some warm up laps before the start of the race. |
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Matt Hagman and Thomas Savage [in the white jersey] set up for the start |
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Thomas may not have raced had that conversation been even more interesting... |
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This was a super flat course in a simple rectangular shape four left turns and all of them fast. |
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The finish was halfway between turns and would definitely end in a sprint finish. |
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The pack wasn't extremely aggressive on all of the straight-aways because everyone was concerned about hitting the corners properly. |
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This was the last turn before the finish line. The turn prior to this one caused a lot of bottlenecking due to racers fighting for position. |
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Matt Hagman comes through the turn grinding gears with hands on the drops. |
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There was never an issue of riders escaping from the front of the pack, but the field definitely dwindled by the last lap. |
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Matt Hagman is sucking wheel on a fellow rider wearing Rock Hill Bicycle Club's Jersey. Matt, Thomas, and Jonathan all had excellent position for the entire race. |
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This race was a great learning experience for Jonathan and Matt. Both of these racers just began racing competitively, and likewise just began cycling that season. Cornering and sucking wheel are technical skills that improve with training and practice. |
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Matt constantly used the fourth turn to better his position. After coming off the third turn on the inside he was able to cut the fourth corner a little harder than other riders and subsequently come out of the turn at higher speeds. |
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Jonathan had great legs throughout the race. He even dropped the hammer for two or so laps pulling the pack at 27+ mph. For some this wasn't too bad but for others, who were fighting to keep a wheel at the back of the group,
it was torture. |
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The race had an unexpected finish. On the last lap one of the front riders sat up just as the pack was taking off (presumably to better his teammates position) causing Matt to lose vital time and waste energy playing catch-up. A blowout on the last turn also upset the tempo and caused Jonathan and Thomas to finish a bit further back that they were capable of. |
