WC #2
After a horrible qualifier on Friday I decided to pull my head out of you know where, make a few small changes to my bike, & make the best of my 11th place qualifier.
I knew I was getting good starts and felt fast on the first straight, which is always important in the 4x races. The rest of my track speed was feeling better, so I was feeling confident that I could get a good result. The challenge was on since after the first round I already didn't have lane choice. With the soft boggy conditions on the first straight, lane 1 was the best to have as it was the most packed down. Lanes 2 and 3 were probably the worst and lane 4 was the second best. In the semi final I was left with last choice in the start and that put me in gate 3. I got a good start and was in the lead, but Dan had lane one and about three quarters the way down the straight away he was able to get next to me, having the inside into turn one. He over cooked the turn and I managed to get back past him and take the lead.
In the final I was left with 3rd choice, so I took lane 4 as there were only 3 and 4 left. Again I had a great start and was in first, but once again Dan came from lane one just before the first turn with a good run and had inside position. There was not much I could do but hope he would make a mistake again, which didn't happen.
Dan first, Me second, and Guiddo third. I was OK with second considering how bad I felt the day before on the track and having such bad lane choice throughout the day. Congrats to Dan on his first WC win.
To top off the weekend, Rachael won the womens DH and Gee took the mens win, so it was a hat trick for the Atherton family this weekend. Pretty amazing...
Posted by Brian on June 1, 2008 12:54 PM