Well, the weekend is officially wrapped. Saturdays final Crossroads race visited the Charlotte suburb of Harrisburg. On a tight and technical course, both Gabe and I made the final selection of 13 after numerous attacks. The plan was to try and put Gabe on the podium, which would hopefully move him into top 5 on the final overall. Unfortunately, Gabe crashed with 1.5 laps to go, further injuring the wrist he fell on Friday night and suspected to be broken. With a big enough gap on the field, he was able to stay clear for 13th place, leaving him with a solid 7th place on the final omnium. Although hoping for the top 5, it was a great showing given the depth of each race, with riders from Colavita, Bissell, Team Type I, and Mt Khaki’s providing fierce competition at each venue, and the untimely broken wrist.
Matt Spohn also continued to show his mettle, being one the days chief animators and helping shape the winning selection. Even after numerous attacks, Matt still came in top 10 for the day and cemented his 8th overall for the Crossroads omnium. Matt will stay down in Winston -Salem for a few more days to cap off the Team Mt Khaki’s Development Camp before making his way home to prepare for the last part of the season.
Saturday night moved to downtown Charlotte for the Presbyterian Classic. Laura Van Gilder rode a great race, marking all the other top sprinters, and conserving herself for the suspected sprinters finale. In the end, it was a long drag race to the line and Laura came an excellent 4th place, just inches from top 3 and the podium.
In the Pro race, Stephan was feeling a bit off his game after his podium ride Friday and made the tough decision to pull out just past half way and try and conserve for Sundays Hanes Park race.
At Hanes Park, looking to avenge missing yesterdays podium, Laura showed her speed and moved herself up a notch to grab 3rd place, just narrowly missing second place.
In the pro race, relieved to feel better, Stephan patiently readied himself for the inevitable field sprint. This time the legs were there, but the luck wasn’t. In good position, Stephan got waylaid by a big pile-up on the last lap and had to use his effort just to catch back into the group as the sprint unfolded. Despite the mishap, Stephan still rolled in 25th on the day.
Also finishing solidly in mid group was Matt Spohn, happy to have completed his first big-time NRC crit, and having done so in the mix the entire time.
Gabe decided to skip the race and start his planned rest period a day early, and to also give the broken wrist some time to heal before we head off into cross season.
On a final note, a big BIG thanks to the Busby family in Salisbury, NC, for opening their doors to us and being great hosts for the week. It made the stay in NC much more relaxed and enjoyable. Sarah and Bret went out of their way to make us feel at home and it was much appreciated. Bret is an orthodontist in that area, so anyone in need, don’t hesitate to look him up here. Guaranteed he will take great care of you.