Today we did the Utah State Criterium Championships in Farmington, Utah. The course was held around the campus of the Davis Applied Technology College. The course was pretty smooth with a rise on the start/finish stretch, climbed around corner 1 then a flat backside with a couple rounded corners to a downhill to the last corner.

Heather started off first. Since she’s been trying to get rid of a lingering sinus infection and is on two medications, she decided to not race like herself. In other words, sit in and only go for the primes and finish. This worked out well since with the Utah State Championship on the line, she was not eligible for that honor and it would be up to the Utah riders to make it a race. So Heather sat in for most of the race, winning the one and only prime (a hat and a t-shirt). Crystal Yap scared some of the Utah riders with a solo break that lasted quite a few laps, but only to be finally reeled in the the last half lap! Heather ended up sprinting for first, but Laura Howatt, right behind Heather, got the Utah State Champion honors.

I knew my race would be hard since all of Healthy Choice was here in addition to there being a lot of good crit riders in Utah. I got in a good hour warmup and felt pretty good even the day after the Sundance Hill Climb. The race started fast and never let up. I was toward the front the first few laps but then I drifted back where I stayed for most of the rest of the race. With a slight wind on the backstretch and a rise on the home stretch, it wasn’t as easy at the back as on other courses. The trick of letting a gap open up before the corners weren’t working as well on a totally flat course. I managed to hang on to the pack, which did shed quite a few riders due to the fast pace.

By the finish, I was spent and I was finished and was glad to have completed another “training” race. We averaged 27 MPH, not bad given the course. I ended up 19th out of 42 starters. Not too bad.