2nd Race night of the season (second track race ever)
Opening 8 lap scratch
Did well at first on this; managed to get to the front and throw in a couple of attacks off the front, but burnt my matches too early and ended up sitting up and finishing last. I don't feel anywhere near as gutted to be last in a track race as I did when I attempted my first crit!
Win and Out
Planned to give it a sprint, as that plays to my strengths, but someone attacked on the first sprint lap, about 300m out, and I wasn't able to catch (I thought about it, but he was too far ahead, so it would've been a waste of energy) Same happened on the second one really. On the final one, a group of two went and I tried to catch up, but just couldn't bridge the gap.
Elimination
Much better tactics and positioning this week. I stayed on the blue line at the front as much as I could, and positioned myself as to try and not lose that position. Came 4th, but must've been by a gnats whisker, as we were side by side over the line (I actually thought I'd got it but my number was called)
Lessons learnt
Not every attack sticks, but not every attack works- pick the timing carefully
Sometimes (such as in a win & out) its better to preserve the energy and consolidate your losses if you know you can't bridge the gap
I feel like my gearing was too high, and I was struggling to keep the speed up. Will reduce the gearing next week (down from 86 to 81)
On wards and upwards. I'll be racing at a different track on Friday (but with the same dimensions) and will also have team mates to take a bit of advice from. Also then competing at an open event on Sunday, which I'm really looking forward to.