Nevada City Classic

Nevada City Classic
Category 3/4
Field size 85
Result 37 Overall 6th cat 4

It was a hot day in Nevada city and I was a little late to getting my numbers pinned on my Jersey so my warm up was about 15 minutes. This would be my first category four race and the first time riding with such a large group. The course was a 1.1 mile lap with basically nothing but uphill or downhill. The road surfaces were good and anything that was sketchy was spray painted and noticeable. Once the race started I was towards the back of the large group and not really worried about fighting for position because the pace was fast and many riders were dropping off. I was able to hang on with the front group for maybe the first 4 laps after that I was basically riding alone. After being dropped from the front group my goal was to finish the race and not get pulled out. I continued at a hard pace and was trying to keep the group in sight. I was hurting and pushing myself way to hard if I was going to try to finish the race. I slowed my pace and was able to recover a bit. At this point the field had already been split for many laps. I dont remember exactly when I started using the neutral water station but I was using it alot towards the second half of the race. There was also a guy that was spraying the riders with a hose to cool them off near the water station. I rode through the water every lap. I was thankful that guy was there. I was frequently taking the bottles to dump on my head to keep me sanse and cool enough to continue. Throughout the race I saw two or three riders overcook the second turn and run into the hay bales but they were able to stay upright. There was one crash that I am aware of and that happened on turn two. I was cautioned for the turn but the race continued. I was able to throw a water bottle to some children who kept asking for bottles and enjoy the race. Despite there being 85 riders that started the race only 43 riders actaully finished. I was fortunate enough to not get pulled out of the race and was lapped with 2 or three laps to the finish. I was happy to finish and enjoyed the coruse and spirit of the fans. This race was the ultimate Hammer Fest!

Geno Uliana