The Twilight Crit: Why It Pays To Be A Parasite
By Jen Zeuli

My goal in this race: a pack finish, something to offset my less-than-stellar 27th place (out of 30) at Sterling back in May. But I tried to be realistic; just staying upright would be an improvement. The field was small, only nine women, which made me less nervous, but it was a combination 3/4 race, which made me more nervous. There wouldn’t be enough of us to split into two groups, I reasoned. The threes would set the pace and I would just have to try to hold on.

I’d never set foot on a Nascar track before, so warmup consisted of me testing out the banked turns and fighting off the usual pre-race why-am-I-doing-this jitters. As we lined up, Kate told me, “Stay upright, and stay on my wheel unless you can find something better.” Okay. A strategy. The bell rang and we were off on our first of twenty-five laps.

Immediately things were more organized than I’d expected. There were two women from CVC who were working really well together, and people were generally in neat, reasonably civil lines. I was clinging to Kate, as instructed. We did things I would never have done if left to my own devices. She’d suddenly break off from a formerly steady pace to surge ahead. She’d shoot through gaps that didn’t look like gaps at all, not to me. She’d ride so close to the edge of the track that I was absolutely certain we’d both skid off. Watching her at one point, early on, I thought, “I can’t do that!” Then I switched that part of my brain off and concentrated on defending her wheel.

Around and around we went. There were three primes; I only vaguely remember two of them and was entirely unaware of the third. Kate pulled a lot. I hardly pulled at all. No one was pushing me to take a turn because my teammate was doing so much work. At some point a break formed; we chased them but didn’t quite catch them. But I was feeling good, really good. The pace was fine, and unlike my three earlier races, at no point did I want to die. It occurred to me vaguely, while fighting a girl with a Salem jersey off of Kate’s wheel, that I was having a positive experience.

We entered the final lap. Four women in the break were about a quarter-lap ahead of us. Kate was pulling the main pack, and I was happily riding along behind her, basking in my immanent victory. The glorious pack finish was almost mine. Then I looked at the break up ahead, and out of nowhere a thought popped into my head: I can totally get there. So I pulled around Kate and sprinted towards them. I honestly thought I was helping; Kate was probably tired, and I assumed she’d jump on my wheel. But when I reached the break and glanced back, no one at all was behind me. Strange. But there was no time to contemplate it; this group was really moving. I stayed right with them, and finished fifth. I couldn’t even believe it.

Talk about teamwork. Turns out, no one chased me in the final lap because when I sprinted for the break, Kate sat up, slowed down, and blocked for me. So I’d stayed upright, I’d exceeded my pack-finish ambitions, and I’d actually had a good time. My new goal: learn to reciprocate.

Nutmeg Criterium Cat4 Race Report 6/13/09
Andy Tucker

The Nutmeg Criterium was my second race with my new QuadCycles team. The course was a 1 mile or so loop on a wide paved pedestrian path in Walnut Hill Park, in New Britain CT. The course was smooth with several gentle turns, a slight uphill on the back stretch, and a sharper turn before the finish. The course was made a bit more interesting with the bumpers of several parked cars jutting out into the path of the field, and the occasional fitness walker making use of the multi-use path.

Quad was represented in the cat4 race by myself, Nessim Mezrahi, John Buchheit, Kenton Eash, and Jim Gomez. We rolled off at a moderate pace, with nothing special happening for the first few laps – everyone just getting a feel for the course. After that the pace picked up a bit with folks testing their legs out, but nothing more than that. There were no significant attacks at all for the entire race. I took a turn pulling around the course for a lap and tried for a few primes, with Nessim helping me out for one. Unfortunately, my competitors had a bit more umph and were able to just snatch the primes from me.

With a few laps to go John B came around me and I stuck on his wheel. He brought us up towards the front and kept the pace high. On the last lap I was able to stay up near the front, before I got engulfed on the back stretch. I thought that was it for me when a hole opened up and I shot through it to jump on a line. We barreled around the last corner and I came around the wheel in front of me to sprint for a third place finish.

Overall the race was fun and safe. Thanks to my new team for the lead outs – especially John for sacrificing himself on the last few laps. Well done! And to Nessim – it was great racing with you and I wish we could have done more! Good luck in DC!

Results:
Andy T 3
Nessim M 50
Jim G 54
Kenton E 56
John B 62

Having just come off four days of hard racing and the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, I wasn’t too sure how my legs would feel during this ride. John Naegle who had raced Fitchburg with me was in the same boat, especially after putting in a few attacks during last Friday’s road stage. With a solid crew on board to race (Ken Han, Eric Martin and, John Naegle) and everyone’s favorite late afternoon start time we decided we needed to race aggressively. This was only compounded by the fact that our own Chris Eager had taken the victory in Cat. 3 race with a PRO style leadout train and a big enough margin that he was able to look back a couple times to make sure before throwing his hands up in a well-earned victory salute. But I’ll leave the details of that for their race report.

The course itself was very short, a little under a kilometer in length with a slight and I do mean slight, sweeping rise up to the right followed by a right turn into a bit of a headwind. Then a hard right into a false-flat (I wouldn’t really call it a descent) into another hard right into a quick sweeper to the start finish.

From the gun I rolled up to cover the first move which was almost instantly neutralized. Erik from Cambridge Bicycle came across with me to cover the move and before we knew it we had a 50 meter gap on the field. Nothing serious nor anything we thought would stick that early in the race – however, we agreed to ride the same tempo and see what happens. Just a couple moments later, two riders from Bikeworks/Hallamore bridged across which prompted John Naegle to cover which brought a couple more rider’s whose team escapes me. With good representation in the break and only BRC really wanting to bring the move back our odds looked with about 10 people back in the field working to slow the pace while we increased our gap. However, things are never that simple…

The two Hallamore guys in our move either didn’t want to work, or were simply unaware of how to work in a breakaway. Not to take anything away from them, but it seemed like it was a case of the latter it is bike racing after all and our goal was to make this break stick. John and I took turns being the heavy in the break which meant a lot of yelling at people who wouldn’t pull through, who would sit on the back for too long etc. After about 10 or 15 minutes we managed about a half lap on the field and I knew if we just kept working together we should be able to stick it for the remainder of the race. Then things started to deteriorate quickly.

While taking his turn at the front, Erik lost sight of the pace car and accidently took a wrong turn off the course. While it was pretty funny, I knew we just lost a solid worker in the break and now all of Cambridge would be at the front trying to bring us back. Then, after a few laps sans-Erik the first prime was called. Immediately, I called off the sprint amongst my breakaway companions and the smart people were in concurrence. Then at about 300 meters to the line, some kid sprints for it! To make matters worse, the Hallamore kids panicked and chased after him. Perhaps it was daft of me to think more of upgrade points than a voucher for a pair of arm-warmers…in July. I believe John even offered to give them a pair of arm-warmers if they wanted ‘em that badly. Then about a lap before our break was caught, a guy in a yellow jersey who had flatted was pushed out into the breakaway and not the field. Then, he had the nerve to attack our breakaway! You have to be kidding me; that’s poor, poor form!

Our break had finally dissolved with about 16 laps to go with this guy out there on a solo mission to hold it to the line. My mission was to make sure that didn’t happen. I never dropped more than 5 spots back from the front of the field just to keep an eye on attacks etc. This paid dividends as I covered moves from Spaits (BRC) and Jordan (Cambridge Bicycle) late in the race which somehow ended up with me about 50 meters in front of the field solo which got the team some more air time, though I had no intention of being out there by myself having burned through a few matches trying to stick the break and covering attacks. Cambridge tried to organize a train with about 5 to go and Eric Martin tried to catch them when they were still trying to solidify their position and made a hard effort up the rise but was unable to break free. Finally it came down to the last lap and John and I were still right near the front. NEBC was able to capitalize by getting through the last corner first and then powered the short 300 meter sprint to the line. I stuck John’s wheel waiting to see if he would go and he had a problem with his gears. From there, I jumped wheels and made a hard effort for the line just getting nipped by a Van Dessel rider. I was happy to take third putting QuadCycles on the podium twice in the same race.

by John Buchheit and John Naegle

Under sunny skies on the coast of Rhode Island, the Category 4 men made another impressive showing at the Rick Newhouse Memorial Ninigret Criterium. Nessim Mazrahi took the win and John Naegle placed fourth. John Buchheit finished with the pack. Here’s the way it unfolded:

The race was a timed race. It was advertised as 55 minutes, but ended up being closer to 45 minutes. It began at noon. The course was a dead-flat 7 corner course built on an old airstrip with a right-to-left cross wind on the finishing stretch. The wind direction meant a headwind coming into the last corner of the race. We arrived at 10:30 am and had a quick team meeting. Everyone was relaxed. We decided that because the course was windy and open (the pack can almost always see any breakaway), the race would be decided by a field sprint. As John N felt good, Nessim felt tired from training and John B had yet to race this season, we decided to lead John N out for the field sprint. We decided Nessim would take the first leg of the lead-out and John B the second. John B wanted to see what he had for a sprint and told his ‘mates he’d compete for an early prime. Nessim offered a lead out.

After a good thirty-five minute warm-up and some stretching, we met on the course and discussed the details of the lead-outs (where each lead-out should begin and end, which side of the track would be best for sprinting and which way the lead-out riders would pull off). We felt confident at the line.

After a few laps, a rider from the Blue Hill Cycling Club attacked and with the help of a teammate stayed out for three or four laps. His one teammate in the race moved to the front of the pack to block and chase down anyone trying to bridge to his teammate. The attacker never got far enough out to make the pack uncomfortable. In fact, the pack seemed to understand that this tactic was making two riders put forth a lot of effort with little chance of success. The single attacker, on a windy course and in full view of the pack, was not going to stay away for 30 minutes and his teammate was working hard reeling people in (when his teammate would probably have been better off if he had been joined by some other riders). The breakaway failed as the rider seemed to just wear out.

The first prime was the called and Nessim checked in with John B. They agreed to try and take it. Nessim provided a strong lead-out and soon he, John B. and another rider on John’s wheel were in front of the pack. However, John B was having trouble holding Nessim’s wheel and Nessim opened up a gap. John B., realizing he did not have much in the tank, directed Nessim to try to take the prime. John thought that even if he could come around Nessim, his efforts would only bring the rider behind him in for the win. The rider on John B’s wheel did come around him and looked like he might take it, but Nessim accelerated before the line and beat him. After this event, John B told Nessim and John N that the order of the lead out should be changed so that Nessim gave the final lead out. It was clear that today Nessim would provide the stronger lead out.

Soon thereafter a couple of riders attacked to create a three man breakaway. After a few laps, a fourth rider bridged and for a while they looked strong, building up perhaps a fifteen second lead on the field. The Quad riders remained in the shelter of the pack, riding conservatively. The break’s advantage decreased to around 6 seconds, but it was getting close to the finish and John N. and Nessim agreed that the break posed a threat, enough so that Nessim went ahead to either break up the rhythm of the group, or, in the alternative, allow the break to pull him to the finish. Nessim quickly bridged and when it became his turn to pull, he just soft pedaled. One of the riders in the break told him that if he was going to be part of the break, he had to work, at which point Nessim delivered the bad news: he was not there to help. This seemed to demoralize the break and it soon fell apart.

Before we knew there were two laps to go. John N. and Nessim were in good position, in the front third of the pack. John B. was not, but began moving up to see if he might be able to start the lead out as planned. Approximately five hundred meters before the finish, before the second to last corner, John B. pulled up alongside Nessim and John N., put did not have the energy to contribute. Nessim accelerated through this corner, slipping between two riders, and opened up a gap on the field. John N. lost Nessim’s wheel when Nessim made the move. Nessim continued to open up this gap coming around the second corner and was able to hold it all the way to the finish. John N. took the inside line sheltered from the wind by two riders to his right sprinted for fourth. John B. was in decent position, but after making his way to the front in the final lap, had nothing for the sprint, and was passed by many riders coming down the final stretch (I felt like I was going backwards).

Another great result for the team!

Results on BikeReg.com

Synopsis: 2nd place

I hadn’t planned on making the Tufts Crit only my second race of the season. However, no matter how many races I wish I’d done, I couldn’t have hoped for a much better result. The weather threatened until the very start of the race (we actually had some showers pass through the area around 12:30), but the course was dry, with overcast skies and temperatures in the low 50’s when the race started. There were about 20 starters, four from QuadCycles—myself, Eric Silva, Toby Phillpotts, and newcomer Jeremy Jo, a graduating senior from Tufts.

The race started briskly, as usual; you don’t want to be near the back the first time through turn 2. You can’t be sure who will negotiate it well the first time, and who will take a dive into the wall of hay bales.

Luckily, the group was small, and relatively experienced to boot, so the race was pretty smooth. In fact, I can only recall one crash, involving our own Jeremy Jo, which happened on the long straightaway between turns 6 and 1.

All in all, our team worked well together. We launched multiple attacks, trying to wear down the people we marked as dangerous before the race. Eric attacked about a third of the way through, and one of our marked riders chased him down. Toby and Jeremy took turns riding second wheel, keeping their eye on the group while keeping themselves out of the wind.

During the third quarter of the race, I was feeling a little antsy, so I put in small attacks on several laps, usually so that I could take turns 2-4 by myself, since there were a couple of competitors who weren’t as skilled cornering, and I could maintain a gap without expending as much effort.

With about 10 laps to go, I tried to create a gap with a rider from MIT, who had won the collegiate B race earlier in the day. He clearly had the talents of a time trialist, as he took several strong pulls, but we weren’t able to make a gap stick. This move did split the group, with a lead group of 8 forming for the final 5 laps.

As the bell rang with one lap to go, I was in good position, second wheel. Because I didn’t have much of a problem riding at the front during the first 29 laps, I was confident that I’d be able to pick my position for the final lap. Coming out the final turn, however, I was a little further back then I would liked, in fourth. The eventual race winner, Steven Gauthier, was second wheel, and when the lead rider jumped with about 200m to go, he was on it. I was too far back to ever reach Steven’s wheel, but I maintained the gap through the finish. If I’d been on his wheel, I’d like to think I could have passed him, in spite of his well-known tenacity in the sprint. In retrospect, I should have known his was the wheel to be on if it came down to a sprint, as I raced against him many times at New England Velodrome last summer.

Still, I’m very pleased with second place. My thanks to Eric, Toby, and Jeremy for working for me in the race. The plan from the beginning was to set me up with a lead-out, if possible, and, in any case, to wear down the competition with multiple attacks, and covering any attacks key riders made during the race, which they did admirably.

Results on BikeReg.com

Below is a video of the finish, taken by my brother. You can’t see the final move, but you can see the result.

Executive Summary: 7th place

Pre-race

Pre- pre-race

It’s good to have a home race. The drive is easy. You feel like the day is good no matter what your result because you marshaled, helping other people have a fantastic time racing their bikes. You have a great cheering section. All these things were true today at the Beanpot Crit, hosted by Tufts and impossible to pull off without the hard work of many Tufts and TeamQuad club members.

After marshaling from 9-12, I grabbed a quick lunch (well, quick once I waited in line for half an hour) from the Boloco on Boston Ave., a major sponsor of the race weekend. The burrito was tasty and was a solid addition to my breakfast of Trader Joe’s Honey O’s. Mmmmm. I was done around 1— time to think about getting ready to race.

“Think about”?. “Take my sweet time” is more like it. Fast forward → 2:45. I’ve just finished pinning my number to my skinsuit. I duck into my car and quickly change, checking my pin-job for quality. Something to be aware of is Flappy Number Syndrome, a sure sign of an inexperienced racer, and something that kills my concentration when I come down with a bad case. Luckily, I pinned it right the first time, and my number needed no adjustments.

Warm-up

Hop on the trainer between Ian and Brian V., two of my team-mates in the race. The sun had gone behind a cloud, so I put on my sweatshirt (I really need to pick up a QuadCycles long-sleeve jersey or thermal in the next clothing order). I did a couple of short efforts, but I really just wanted to loosen the legs up, as I’d put in a solid effort at Charge Pond the day before. I knew it would be fast from the whistle, as Brian’s plan was to have him and Ian go all-out for the first five laps, in order to blow the field apart, and hopefully end up with Eric S. and myself in the final group, ready to execute a lead-out down Professors Row on the final lap.

Racin’

The First Third

If only all good plans could be executed successfully. Actually, Brian did his part pretty well. QuadCycles got the front-line call-up, crucial for good position through Turn 1 and Turn 2, the tightest turns on the course, and early selection-makers. Brian got the hole shot, with Ian and myself sitting 4th and 5th wheel between Turn 1 and Turn 2. However, Lady Carnage called early today, causing the over-eager (SMCC?) racer sitting third wheel (and who clearly didn’t pre-ride the course) to lose traction in Turn 2 and wipe out. I was able to squeak by his still-vertical bike after slamming on my brakes and almost skidding out myself, but I was trying to turn a 53-15 or so from a near-standstill— it was a lot like the first few stirs of a new jar of all-natural peanut butter— slow going. Brian, to his credit, kept his head down and didn’t let up on the gas. If he had, there likely would have been a larger lead group after five laps, which would have hurt my chances down the road. Also to his credit, it took the chasers ’til the end of the second lap to catch him, at which point he was near-spent, having broken wind in an all-out sprint for almost 2km. Gutsy risk for your teammates’ benefit. Hats off to BV.

The pain didn’t want to let up there. People were still itchin’ to go fast, so the pace was high for most of the first third of the 25-lap race. No one seemed to be putting in attacks outright, just driving the pace to test the legs and get a feel for the course. I felt pretty good on the course, this being my third year racing it. I found I was able to corner harder and sharper than most of the other riders, using that to my advantage on Turn 2 to maintain speed, and through the chicane of Turns 3 & 4 to get me up the short rise and into the slight-downhill of Talbot Ave. The short, punchy hill of Latin Way was also good for me, as short, rapid accelerations, rather than more-sustained efforts at a lower intensity, are a strength of mine.. The killer false-flat that is the first half of Professors Row, however, was just that. Killer. Every time.

The Middle Third

Other than general pain from a high rate of speed, not much of interest happened in the middle part of the race. The Yale rider and one of the Team NERAC riders in the lead group with me seemed indecisive about whether they wanted to go two-abreast through Turn 2 and then get dropped trying to accelerate down Whitfield, so I seemed to alternate positions with them multiple times on successive laps, as first they insisted on going inside me on the turn, causing me to drop back for speed and safety (how often are those two related?), but then they would let 3- to 4-length gaps open up after the turn, and I’d need come around them in order to not get dropped. Highly irksome.

I also put in one, three-quarter-hearted attack somewhere around the exact middle of the race. I accelerated up the right side through the intersection of Pro-Row and Packard Ave, establishing a slight gap, and I took Turn 1 and Turn 2 without touching my brakes. Heaven. I peeked over my shoulder once on Whitfield, once on Talbot, and knew that I had at least two people with me, and probably the whole group just strung out behind, I let off the gas after coming around Turn 6, making sure to let someone else take the wind for a while, while I recouped* and everyone regrouped.

The Final Third

It’s still amazing to me how it always happens: the last five laps (excluding the last one, sometimes two) are the slowest of the race. No one was interested in doing any work, and if a chase group had been closer on our tails, they might have caught us. I was able to move around pretty much at will, but I didn’t get good position (it was mostly mental I think my legs could’ve done it) going into Turn 1 on the bell lap. That wasn’t a huge deal— a Team NERAC rider had a bit of a gap— and I felt confident that the group would pull him back in. I’m not positive, but I think I was wrong (we never caught him), as the NERAC guys went 1-2. Anyway, my bigger tactical error was not going around the two collegiate guys in the group sooner. Yale-guy and Pierre from BU had both raced earlier in the day, and I should’ve known that their finish-line power would be the first thing to go. I was behind Yale coming out of Turn 6 on the final lap, and had to accelerate around both him and Pierre, and I didn’t have a wheel for most of the last straight-away. By the time I was around them, the lead five or six riders had a good gap, and I was only able to nip one other guy at the line, for a 7th place finish. However, I was quite pleased with the way my legs held out for the intense opening to the race (I sprained my ankle right around New Year’s, so that’s put me back about 4 weeks in my training from where I’d like to be), and I had some legs left at the end, to boot. The crowd support throughout the race, from ex Tufts teammates, Quad teammates, and especially the Quad tent at the pit, was indispensable motivation, and it helped me stick with the race when I could have called it a good workout after 30-minutes mentally hit the showers. I’m going out of the country for the next week, but I’m looking forward to more solid team racing upon my return.

*— I honestly don’t know whether I recouped, or whether I even needed to. I’ve been racing this season so far without any sort of computer or HRM. I misplaced the head unit of my Polar S-720 sometime during the ’cross season, and haven’t yet found it. Darn. All my workouts are wattage-based, and my trainer is calibrated for accurate watt reading with an associated computer, but it’s so clunky and ugly (and wired!) that I can’t stand to put it on my frame for use out-of-doors. I know, not recommended, especially not in long-breakaway situations, and, believe me, I loves me my data, but it’s do-able to do-without for 40-minute crits that I know I’m going to take to a field sprint if at all possible.

I woke up before my 7:30 alarm feeling good.  Ate a solid breakfast, packed the car and was on the road by 8:30 for a noon race. 

I drank green tea all the way down.  I felt a little cold coming on.  I wondered if I should take it easy in the race and cancel my plans to do Wells the next day. 

I got to the race, registered and changed.  I had over an hour to warm up.  I did my warm up on the street and was feeling really strong.  It was one of those days when everything seemed right.  My bike felt good, my legs loose and strong.  I did a few sprints, the hard efforts felt…effortless.  I rethought my plan to just sit in.  I was optimistic about my chances to have a successful race, even though I had no teammates in the race.  I was also thinking about how I wanted to redeem myself after getting my lungs torn out at Tufts last weekend.

I warmed up for an hour.  I showed up to the starting line 10 minutes early, sweating and ready to sprint off of the line.  I was in the second row in the line up because I had a little trouble with my left pedal when we were called to the line. 

Upon rolling out and trying to sprint, my left cleat popped out of the pedal (1st time ever).  I took my time and tried to get it back in.  I failed.  It kept popping out. It wasn’t like I was hitting it on the wrong side, it just failed to fully engage.  It didn’t click in, even though my foot seemed to be in the correct position.   

I decided to just sit in and play with the pedal when there were rests in the pace.  

My cleat kept popping out.  I kept putting it back in.  I held on for 3 laps like this.  Physically, I felt good.  It was no problem for me to sit in even though my foot was popping out every 1/4 mile.  I was concious of the fact that when it popped out, I would jerk around, I felt that I was a potential hazard in the peleton.  I decided that I should take a free lap adn try to fix it.  I thought that my pedal was messed up, so I put my head down and pushed to the front of the pack on the 3rd lap.  I was near the front ofthe peleton on crossing the finish line.  I pulled over to try to fix the pedal during my free lap.  I intended to fix the pedal and jump in near the front of the peleton.  I started yelling to the bystanders for a multi tool and a masters rider ran for one.  I inspected the pedal and could find nothing wrong.  I was winded, high on caffiene, sugar and adreneline.  In short, I was unable to think straight.  Finally a guy asked, “is the cleat alright?” It wasn’t.  It had broken.  Someone suggested strapping my foot to the pedal.  I just stormed off, threw the bike on the car and drove away.  They rang the halfway bell as I drove out of the parking lot.  What a waste.  You should check your cleats. 

This was my fourth race in two days, so I was a bit beat but felt OK.  The course is a very technical 6 corner criterium with one steep rise.

I got the hole shot into the first two corners thanks to the call up and Speedplays.  The field stretched out in tow.  The first few laps went off quite fast and the field fractured into many small groups.  After about 30 minutes I was settled into the lead group of 12-15 people.  There were a couple of UNH guys, guys from ECV and BRC, and an assortment of other teams.

With about 10 of 30 laps left and going into corner #1, I was near the back of the group when the rider in front of me appeared to lock up his rear wheel permanently (Chain problem?  Who knows.)  He went straight instead of turning left and I was on his outside.  He wedged me into the corner and I stopped abruptly.  I didn’t contact him, the curb, or the pavement, but I came to a dead stop.  I now had to chase.  (There’s no free lap if you’re simply stuck behind a crash.)

I went into time trial mode for 2 to 3 laps in an attempt to make up ground, but it wasn’t enough to catch the lead group.  My race was over.

Rain and Pain.  This would describe this race.  A small field so no protection. Small attacks came early, but it wasn’t until the middle of the race a small break stuck.  I did try to bridge the pack back, but no one was will to help. So Rhys and I remained patient.  In the final lap two bozos thought the race changed into a cross race and took to the grass.  They took Rhys off my wheel and on to the grass. I ended up placing 10th in my very first Cat 3 race.  We would have placed better if Rhys was able to remain on my wheel.  Next time Rhys….

It was the first race back in nearly a year for me.  The legs felt good the entire race.  A small break got away. I came close to bridge the gap, but engine shut down.  Early in the season I guess.  At the finish I sprinted about 300m away, I coasted over the line with no one within 100 feet or so.  Ah…good to be back.