As Smiley (Craig Upton) and I warm up on our trainers we look like any other American criterium rider ready to do battle in the next race. It is Saturday afternoon in sunny downtown Sacramento and it's about 28C, there is a race happening in the park opposite and there is a lot of nervous looking cyclists warming up - all on trainers. Warming up on the road would be like playing chicken with all the truck driving good ol' boys that live here and you know you would lose the game. So we warm up the way Americans do, it's very posy but as US crits seem to start at Mach 1 it's very effective.
We get to the start line of the Pro 1/2, the field is small 'only' 80 riders. The course is a closed road in a park. We finally do a warm up lap on the course, it's oval shaped and smooth, it's like riding a velodrome. As we wait for the gun to go off I talk to Mike McCarthy, he is a very good 'master and ex-world points race champion and he normally rides 40+ races. It turns out that this is his 3rd race today, he has done the 30+, 40+ and now the Pro1/2's. When I suggest he gets himself a wig and ride the womans race also, he stops talking to me - I don't know whether he is contemplating the idea or thinks these god damn Australians are all freaks - he's an intense kind of guy. But racing all the races is not a bad scam, something that we hadn't thought about it. Is also easy to do as both Smiley and I have UCI licenses and not Californian racing licenses so we can race whatever we like.
Off we go and there is 1 hour of racing ahead before I finish my first American criterium. I'm a bit nervous as US crits have a bad, bad, reputation, they are supposed to be extremely fast and extremely dangerous. The fast part I don't mind, the dangerous part I understand as everyone thinks they are Eric Zabel and rides like it's a stage of the Tour de France. It starts reasonably fast. I feel fine and the whole thing is like riding some giant track race. You even have to be a little careful with pedaling around the top curve. If anyone has had the unfortunate experience of riding Blenheim's 'flat' velodrome you will know what I mean.
Both Smiley and I get bored after 20 minutes or so and start attacking. Smiley gets completely carried away and gives the 11 a twirl and shatters the bunch. It gets back together and it's obvious that no-one is going to get away today. There is the odd Saturn and Navigator pro here who try, but they have 20 guys onto them instantly.That is the price of wearing one of those jersey's. The primes are plentiful but it's as dangerous as hell sprinting with the lunatics.
Smiley keeps at it attacking every 5 minutes and only ends up with 30 guys on his wheel every time he moves. I hear a call for 5 minutes to go after what seems like 20 minutes of racing. Smiley and I have been trying to get in any bunch that looked like it was going somewhere, so with a few minutes remaining I counter an attack and take 2 guys with me. We get to the start/finish line and get 3 laps to go, it would have been better if it had been 2, but that is okay. Then I look back and just about fall off my bike, we have a huge gap the biggest of the day.
Smiley said everyone just sat up looking at him zig zagging across the road attempting to discourage any chasing. We get into it and get to the line again, to get - 3 to go again - this race is done on time so the clock is not counting down fast enough. We still have a decent gap but this will be tough. Sure enough we get caught inside the last lap. I tag on to the bunch and watch the sprinting antics from a safe distance, these guys take every risk, but don't have a huge amount of experience, so after seeing some frightening lock ups I look at things from an even greater distance.
Someone wins without any carnage happening and that is that my first US criterium over with. Smiley and I both agree it was fun but not something that you would want to do too often. As we cross the line on the warm down lap the two 'Australians' get a cheer from the crowd. We are tempted to shout some Australian type insults but settle for "yeh on'ya mate" which just gets blank looks, its English Jim but not as we know it.
Next up the world famous in America Sea Otter Classic.
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