So after the Memorial Day Crit I had thought that I had enough points to get my Category 2 (aka semi-pro) upgrade on the road. So I sent in my upgrade request, and got to training. I was riding high for three days, thinking things like: these are the legs of a semi pro racer. I'm a semi pro. I've been working for this for years and I'm finally there. Lots of excitement and positive thought, and pride in my accomplishment.
Until I got my rejection notification. WHAT?!? Denied?!?
Turns out the points I had thought I was getting according to the USA Cycling website weren't upgrade points. Just points to rank me against other racers in my category. Because I give a crap about that. NO. I don't. So where I thought I had collected 27 of the necessary 25 points, I had only 9. Well, I was a little angry about that. And with good reason. I'm already a Cat 2 for Cyclocross. I'm already a Cat 2 for Track. I'm already a Cat 1 for Mountain biking. Clearly I have the fitness, experience, and pack handling skills to race at a high level. But I haven't finished high enough, consistently enough, to be eligible for an upgrade. Well, that left me a little bit pissed off.
By the time I got to the Butterfly crit, just six days after racing with the pro/semi pro field, I was out for blood. Now at this point, I had never stood at the top of the podium at a road race or a criterium. Second had been my best to date, and third was my best as a Cat 3. I wanted the win. I wanted to prove that I deserved the upgrade I had been denied. And I was going to do it.
Five minutes into the fifty minute race someone attacked off the front. I decided to bridge, so I jumped out of the pack, hoping to bridge the gap and work to stay off. Someone came with me and the two or us made contact and started working with the Berkeley guy that had initiated the break. We had been working together for about fifteen minutes when the guy that had come with me decided to "steal" two primes from us, instead of just working together and sorting out primes later. This is considered very bad form. You don't attack the break until much closer to the end of the race unless you think you can win it solo. You do not steal primes in a break. You take turns winning them and work together to stay away, otherwise you get caught by the group.
So I unleashed a little anger on the guy. I told him if he wanted to be the hero, that's just fine, he could pull us all the way to the finish. He tried to explain that he was "just getting the primes" to which I responded by repeating myself. He pulled. For a lap and a half. And then I attacked.
I launched as soon as he stopped pulling, trying to open up a gap. The Berkeley guy, Neil, came with me. Neil and I continued to work together, keeping the pack at about 30 seconds down, for the remaining 25 minutes or so of the race. Coming into the final lap I knew that Neil was going to attack me, and I figured it would be on the small hill near the end of the less than one mile long lap. Sure enough, that's where he went, but I was ready and I got on his wheel immediately. We rolled across the line, hearing the bell that announces one lap to go, still 30 seconds up on the pack, fans screaming. I knew were I would launch and hoped that my plan would work. Comming out of the second turn, as soon as Neil pulled to the left to let me take my pull I attacked. I sprinted to the third corner, trying to hold him off. I new I had gapped him with my initial attack, but he wasn't far behind. I came out of the final corner and sprinted toward the line. I could feel Neil just barely behind me, hear hims sprinting, felt the burning in my legs as I hurtled toward the line. I shifted up and continued to sprint, felt myself running out of gear, shifted again, Neil still hot in pursuit. The line was drawing closer, the crowd crying out in excitement, I pressed hard on the pedals and found myself flying across the finish line one bike lenght ahead of my competitor, well ahead of the rest of the field. I yelled out in victory, not even a word, just a noise. Part anger, part release, part triumph.
It was almost surreal. My first victory on the road. I have now won on the Track, in Cyclocross, in Cross Country mtb, and on the Road. This victory gave me another five points towards my upgrade. With 14 points racked up I'm only 11 away from Semi pro. On to the next race.
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