The Wells Fargo Twilight Criterium was held in downtown Boise, ID. The crit was part of the National Racing Calendar this year. That meant a lot of big names would show up to contest the Men’s Pro/1/2 and Women’s 1-3 events. I saw Ina Teutenberg (a powerful sprinter) by the Port-O-Johns. She said, “Hello Heather” in her German accent. I talked with Ashley Kimmet (sprinter and track rider) while I warmed up. She asked me twice what side the number went on, and I told her the right side. It wasn’t until I was taking a lap of the course that I realized my number was on the left side. Uhl had to help me re-pin the number. Several people from my neighborhood showed up to watch me race. It was fun to hear them cheering. This race always draws a huge crowd; Boise shows up to support its events. The noise from the crowd was inspiring.

The race was fast and furious most of the time. Several breaks got off, only to be reeled back in. I sprinted and won the first prime of $20. I went for a $100 prime with 17 laps to go and just missed it, so I kept going. I was off by myself for several laps, but I could feel my power declining. When the pack caught me I sat in and tried to recover. On the last lap, Ina started pushing people around to get into position. Since the crash in March was still on my mind, I didn’t want any part of that jockeying for position. Needless to say I rounded the last corner in poor position and finished 11th. Melissa Sanborn won it again (she won last year), with Ina 2nd and Laura Downey (Dasani) 3rd.