That's right, Fontana, home to Rotollo Chevrolet and California Speedway, and the birth place of the Hells Angels was home to Round 3 of the Kenda Cup Series.
I decided to take 2nd row start in staging, right behind Austin Squires. I figured that was as good a place as any since he has lead almost every lap of the series so far. This turned out to be a mistake as soon as the start bell because he got hung up and got a horrible jump. Going into the first tight left turn I got pinched off, pushed into the soft inside and had to unclip to avoid falling over. I regrouped quickly, but by the time I got going I was in last and there was a good gap to the end of the field.
The opening part of the first lap of any race is hectic as everyone shuffles around and tries to settle into a position they are comfortable with. I've always struggled with the opening lap and going hard enough to not let the lead pack get away, but not so hard that I don't have anything left in the tank for the last half a race. More often than not I spend the last few laps struggling and wishing I had an easier pace on the opening lap.
Leaving the first turn I knew any of my plans to settle in with the lead group were out the window. I immediately went into high gear and did what I could to pass as many people as possible by the first short singletrack climb. Those that have been in this position know what this means: HR immediately goes to max, legs burn and you find yourself constantly yelling "on your left" as you search for creative lines to pass people who are doing the same thing as you.
I worked my way to around 10th by the time we reached the long paved climb to the water tower. I looked ahead and saw some friends I'm normally racing with and knew I was about where I should have been off the start. Unfortunately I burned a lot of matches in the first 8 minutes to get there. I settled into the climb and did what I could to continue to pick people off and charging forward.
The rest of the race went much like the first lap: Push hard on the climb to stay together and gap the field, then try to make up more time on the downhill. Our group of 6 slowly turned to 5, then to 4, and by the start of the third lap there was 3 of us. I finally cracked on the flat to the finish at the end of the second lap and the 2 in front of me built a bigger gap on the paved climb. My goal at this point was to try to minimize the damage then hang it out on the downhill to catch up. They had about a 20 second gap at the top and I put my head down to try to make up some valuable time..... The only problem with this was we started catching the slower riders from the classes in front of us which made passing hard on the long single track downhill.
The gap was pretty much the same when we came around to start the 4th and final lap (approx 30 seconds) and at this point I was WORKED. I looked back and didn't see anyone behind me, so I focussed on maintaining my speed and hopefully making up a little time. The lap was pretty chaotic
because we were catching a lot of slower riders, and the faster youth riders were catching us.
When I hit the long straight to the finish, I started pedaling and sensed someone coming behind me. I kicked it up a notch and he immediately matched it. I thought about just letting him go, figuring he wasn't in my class, but decided to give it one run for the finish. By the time we got to the line we were both sprinting full speed and I ended up edging him out for the position. I'm glad I did to.... When I checked the results I noticed I beat the person behind me by .4 seconds. I would have been really unhappy if I had let him go only to find out he was in my class.
I ended up 8th on the day. It wasn't my best result, and I feel like I should have been able to stay with 5th and 6th longer and challenge for the podium. I think about that and get mad, then I remind myself I went into the day saying I'd be happy with a top 10. Oh well... On to the next race.
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