March 11, Season Opener

Double dipped today, a term being thrown around describing racing 2-races in a day. For Me being a SM4 it is a rarity to have the opportunity to get in 2 races in one day, so I had to take full advantage of this.
Race 1-Stazio (training race).
Stazio is a local training race in Boulder, put on by Denver Boulder Couriers, Chris G, a big race promoter in the region, and the Mens Open can attract some big names if they are in the area. Tyler Hamilton was warned by the UCI for hitting these races while his license was under suspension. Lately the Tour of California boys have been in town so the Open has been a drag race.
Luckily for me, I get to hang with peeps my speed, in the SM4's (the guys just getting into racing). We had a 60 person field to start. The course is a rectangular loop around an industrial park, with 2 real corners, a short power climb just after the 1st corner, and a long, long flat drag strip finish stretch. Race Time 40 min.
The race started with a mellow 1st lap, everyone easing into it, but after that it was on, with a flurry of attacks on and after the hill. I took a couple of runs at the field after the hill on the downhill stretch, to open things up a bit. After the fancy pants riding settled down, the remainder of the race was pretty uneventful. I spent more time trying to avoid the bomb craters in the road at the top of the hill, those potholes made for a rough ride a times. We finally hit 5 laps to go, and the fun began. Speed picked up, and a couple of people tried to get off the front. One dude from Team Einsteins soloed 3 laps, we let him dangle out there just in reach and reeled him in with 2 laps to go. Last lap and it was on, full steam ahead leaving just enough for the sprint at the finish. The stretch to the finish is about 300-400m by best guess, and its a drag race, straight and wide. Going into the final sweeping turn before to the finish I was about 8th wheel or so. The drag race was on and I pulled out the 11th spot. Not so bad for a 130 lb midget against these big strong sprinters.
Race 2-DU, at Investco Field
To be Continued......