Crit Theory (Frisco Crit) 4th place!

The Squad 

With the multiple races and the great success of GIANT Racing, these next few posts are going to be a bit on the shorter end of things.

The morning of the race had the chance to be a logistical nightmare. I was leaving my home at around 6:30am, needed to drive through Dallas to Flowermound to where I was staying (thank you JD, Tiffany and Jade!), build Sara’s bike, drive to airport to pick Sara up, and then head up North to Frisco with enough time for Sara to get ready for the women’s race.

Luckily the drive was smooth, and I was able to accomplish all the goals for the morning and got to the race with plenty of time to spare.

Lining up the race had a nice surprise, instead of GIANT rocking the 3 riders we had on Pre-Reg, I was greeted by a full team. GIANT had Tristan, Matt, Bret, Geoff and myself toeing up to the starting line.

The race started out smooth as the field was a little timid to go flying through the technical section on lap one. However, we made it through the first lap in one piece and the race gradually picked up speed.

GIANT was represented in all major moves and we even contested and won a few primes while we were out racing. After I changed front wheels from a slow leak I had, I made it close to the front where GIANT was lining up behind RBM as teams were lining their guys up for the finish. With about 3 laps to go, I looked up and was surprised to see that Tristan, Bret, and Geoff had snuck off the front of the field and were riding away for glory. I quickly got near the front and was ready to get the next best result possible if they were able to hold off the chasing field.

As we entered the final lap I was where I wanted to be, about 4^th wheel in a single file peloton. I looked up and could see that the break was coming back fast, and I was ready to get the next best result for the team. I hung on to the wheel in front of me as we were banking hard in the turns and it was obvious that there was no pack left to swarm as we approached the final few turns. I was 3^rd wheel with just 2 corners to go when 2^nd wheel attacked into the turn, I tried to follow him through but got pinched out bad. I lost a lot of momentum and immediately starting sprinting. With my loss in momentum one rider was able to come around me and take that last spot on the podium. I was able to hold a 4^th place finish

Here is a little video of the last lap from the rear camera of the winner (Chris Tolley)