Family, The Atlantic, and some Criterium action in Delray Beach!

A very nice pre race national anthem. Pincus family
seen hanging over barriers.

I have had Delray marked on my calendar for quite some time now. Not just because it will be my first USA criterium race, but also because I would be seeing a huge chunk of my family. Many of my relatives, the Pincus side of my family, live close to Delray and were planning to support me at the race that weekend, as well as spend some time with me before the event. It is crazy to think that the last time I saw many of these relatives were a decade ago, and some of them I never even remember seeing. But nonetheless, I was super excited to have been flown a day early to spend some time with the family.

I will probably have a nice post about the Pincus Family gathering soon, but in the meantime I will just have the criterium here.

Before the race started I was easily able to find my teammates. We were meeting to go ever pre race plans, tactics, as well as distribute some food for the race. For Delray we were bringing our all American squad. Meaning we left all the accents on a plane or a van heading to the opposite corner of the country to race San Dimas in California. For Delray we had Thomas, Justin, Chris, Hogan, Stephen and myself.

The pre race meeting was a simple one. Stephen, Hogan and myself would be on duty for the early part of the race. Chris was the wildcard with freedom to ride in whichever way he saw fit. And Thomas and Justin would be saved for any sort of sprint finish if it came down to it.

A little bit of Pincus family fun in the VIP section

As we finally started lining up for the start of the race (over an hour delayed) I was able to get a spot on the second row. All I had to do was get my clip in, and I should be golden to be in position to cover any sort of early moves that would try to go in the early laps. Stephen and Hogan were able to start near the front with me as well. We were off to a great start. As the announcer started giving call ups to many racers I could not help but notice the high volume of Pincus’ in the VIP lounge of the race. I had my great grandmother, grandmother, aunt, two great aunts, a great uncle and a cousin. All of which were there to support me. This race was also being streamed online via youtube and velonews, so I knew I had even more family and friends watching the race from online.

Like any criterium the start of the race was quick. I was able to clip into my pedals with no problem and was chasing down moves almost instantly. The three of us on duty for the early moves were not missing a beat and we found our selves in every single split that happened in the first couple of laps. On the third lap there was a quick attack heading into corner 2. I was next to Stephen and was cuing up to go after the move. Stephen was already on the wheel and did not hesitate to follow. As the gap opened I moved into a good spot to follow any sort of counter moves that would follow after them. However I did not know that would end up being the move that stays away for the entirety of the race.

Stephen started to pull away from the group and the bright neon green of his helmet was lost to the shadows of Delray. Within a few laps the announcer was telling us that the three-man group was up to a 20 second lead. Which on this 1 km course is out of site, even on the longest straight. As the laps slowly but surely started to tick off, I moved to the middle of the pack. My bike was making some really nasty sounds and I did not want to risk injuring myself or other fighting at the front.

For the next 20 some odd laps I would be trouble shooting what was wrong with my bike. It sounded like I had a cross between an open skewer and a loose cassette. At about this point into the race the announcer was telling us that the break was 17 seconds from lapping the field!  I was getting excited. If Stephen lapped us, we would be able to help him stay safe and in position for a guaranteed podium. At about this point in the race I gave up on trying to fix my bike and moved towards the front to be in position for any sort of race move or effort. (At the end of the race I would find that it was a loose bottle cage that was sounding like death)

As I was moving up towards the front the announcer started blaring “Astellas fell out of the break! Astellas out of the break! Astellas out of the break” This was not good. Almost instantly I was able to find the legs to ride up to my teammates and get on the front to try to put in some efforts to prevent the break from lapping the field, and hopefully even catch the break. Over the next few laps the break started to get reeled in. It went from 17 seconds from lapping us, to just 10 seconds up the road. I knew the break was going to come back now…. I was wrong.

 In the final 20 laps of the race I could start to feel the fatigue of early move coverage, as well as some mid race attacks and chasing to help bring back the leaders. With only two guys up the road with a pack of close to 100 chasers with only 10 seconds of leash in the final 20 laps, you would think that teams would finish the job and reel in the long led leaders. I was wrong. No team took any initiative to bring back the leaders in the closing laps, and consequently the leaders started to pull away to a 25 second lead.

At this point of the race I new that there were a lot of guys who were way fresher then me. I for the most part did my job and did not need to contest the pushing and shoving that was happening at the front of the group. I knew that Thomas and Justin were up there doing their part of the deal and all I wanted to do was finish safely.

I rolled into the finish of the race safe and sound. The next couple hours after that race were a blur. It was a mix of a quick team debrief, me scurrying to find all my things scattered between a hotel and an apartment, packing a bike, and a quick nap before my 6am flight back to Texas.

Post race photo

I feel Delray was a great positive experience. I was able to spend lots of time with my family, family members who I may or may not see again in a very long time. I was able to race comfortably on my new equipment. (Only titanium bike in Delray!) and I was able to enjoy some time thinking to myself about the next few months I have planned. Where most my thoughts were on how to prevent my hair from going grey as I approach the end of the semester.

Cycling has always been good to me. Only a few days before Delray I was racing my bike in the desert of Arizona. Now I was on the ocean in front of my family. The next big race on the calender is going to be the Charlotte-Belmont Omnium in North Carolina.

I believe our top results were Justin and Thomas who finished 9th and 12th receptively. We also took away several primes from the race.

Not the mountains