Race: 2 Hours from Anywhere Crit
Date: 9-29-2002
Place: Town Square in Haysville, NC
Time: 30 minutes + 5 laps

The Two Hours from Anywhere Omnium was held September 27-29 in and around Murphy, NC. I was only able to attend Sunday's crit.

The course was in the middle of the town square in Haysville, NC. What a picturesque little town! The crit course was about 1 km with 4 left hand turns on a combination of smooth streets with bumps and a few potholes on the hill. The start/finish line was on a slight downhill. Turns one and two were nice and wide. The backstrech was a very fast downhill to turn 3, which was very tight and a little sketchy. I heard several pedal scrapes in the early races in Turn 3. Turn 4 sent riders straight up to a steep, short hill to the finish line.

Five Category 4 Women lined up to tackle the course. I knew that it would be painful with the hill. Combine this with an average of 4 hours of sleep for the several previous nights, the stress of buying a house, a bad week at work, and several other things that have put me into a deep funk, I knew I was in trouble. I only knew one of the other competitors, Stephanie Kingery, from Suwanee, GA. I only hoped that the other women would be tired from racing Friday and Saturday. We started out with two steady laps. I settled in behind Janet from Asheville, 4th in the paceline. On about the third lap, a prime was announced. Beverly took off after it. My heart rate jumped about 20 beats that lap trying to keep up with the three women. I'm still not comfortable in the corners and would get gapped slightly on turns 3 and 4. My goal for this winter is to work on my cornering and to become more comfortable with staying close on someone's wheel that I'm not familiar with. After the prime lap, the pace settled for the next several laps. I glanced back and did not see Stephanie. I would later learn that she had to drop out after experiencing quad cramps. As the pace continued to be steady, I tried to get my heart rate to recover, but it was still over 180 bpm. I was breathing a little hard but not badly. About 15 minutes into the race, the first two women attacked. I popped down into a smaller gear in a vain attempt to stay with them. My left glut protested by seizing up, sending a painful wave down my left leg. Janet and I got dropped. I stayed with her for a few laps until my VCD flared up coming up the hill. Twenty minutes into the race, I was by myself. I decided to sit up and recover for a few laps to let the pain subside in my left leg and bring my respiration rate down. After several easy laps, I picked up the pace and drove hard. I reminded myself that all I had to do was to finish. It had been a stressful week, and this was a good way to let it out. When the bell rang with 5 to go, I dug a little deeper, determined to finish hard. My left side protested, and I tried not to listen. With 3 to go, the leaders lapped me, so I finished with them a lap early.

My legs were definitely not at their best. Stress combined with very little sleep does not make for optimal race preparation. Still, it was great to get out and be able to ride in the warm sunshine after 3 weeks of rain in Atlanta. The sky was a deep blue, and the weather was sunny and perfect. What a great way to enjoy a weekend! With a check for 4th place, it was even a little better.

The Women's 1-2-3 race could have been renamed the "Jeanie Longo Hour." Jeanie Longo is a 42 year old French woman who has won more World Championships than any other woman in history. Most recently, she took the 2001 World Time Trial championship in Lisbon, Portugal. Jeanie graced the Two Hours from Anywhere Omnium with her presence in the 1-2-3 Women's race. In talking with several women that raced with her, she was gracious and good natured. Jeanie was of of the front of the crit within the first lap and lapped the main field about 4 times. It was incredible watching how smooth she was; she

flowed through the turns and turned the pedals over effortlessly on the straight aways. If you've never watched anyone of her caliber ride, it is truly amazing and a delight. Back in the field, Kim Sawyer (Eagle Cycling) and Allison Carter (CAT) were mixing it up with five other riders. Allie and another woman eventually fell off of the back, but Kim stayed in until the end. On the next to last lap, the woman who won 2nd place in the Cat. 4 race took off and took 2nd in the 1-2-3 race. Kim powered home for 4th. Allie was seventh.

Jeanie Longo on her way to lapping the field 4 times.

Kim Sawyer leads the pack up the hill on the front side of the course.

Jeanie Longo on the second lap before taking off to lap the field for the first time.