Dilworth Crit Report

The Dilworth Crit in the beautiful neighborhood of Charlotte was yesterday (Sat, May 2nd). I had the great opprtunity to race at 8:15Am in the Cat5 under 34 race. Us Cat5ers always seem to race a the buttcrack of dawn. There were around 20 racers in my race. The course was great with a long uphill finish. The long uphill followed a nasty left turn that was greater than 90 degress and had two manhole covers and some broken pavement in it. All which made that corner very challenging...especially in a 5 race! I started out the race not felling so well and having some heavy legs for some reason. The race was fast from the get-go. I tried to stay near the front. The race featured a lot of first-time racers and just a bunch of guys that were downright unsafe. There was alot of crossing wheels, elbow rubbing, and people not holding their lines. Then throw in that orner and it made for an unsafe race. With about 7 laps to go I had enough and went alone on a flyer. I made it 1+ laps but then I fatigued on the hill and was reeled in. I recovered for a few laps and then my beloved side-stitch issue reared it's ugly face. My side began cramping on the last two laps. I sat in and was in the middle of the pack heading into the last lap. The group began picking up the pace and everyone was acting crazy so in the last corner (the nasty one) I let the pack go and finished around 10th. I am learning it is better to live to fight another day than be mixed up in something dangerous. Not a huge fan of crashing, especially since my last crash. Danny raced in the 3-4 race and finished strong. Sirena finished third in the women's 4 race. Hope everyone else had a good weekend of racing.