Athens Twilight 4/26/08

April 28, 2008 on 2:22 am | In Road Racing, Industry 9 Elite Road Team |

As most of you know athens twilight was this past weekend and it was the first big event for the Industry Nine Team. Myself, Adam Ray, and Andrew Erskine participated.

We had to first go through the grid qualifier that was the day before. It was a bit confusing if you have never done it but basically you ride the computrainer for 3k(simulating the crit course) and your time will determine your start/pole position for the twilight the next night. This is pretty important since there is usually 150-200 participants.

The top 8 times for the computrainer then compete for cash and i guess glory @ 9:00 pm that same day of the qualifier. Well somehow i managed to make the final eight for the finals and finish 4th overall. It was a bit nerve racking riding on the stage in front of LOTS people watching and yelling at you for close to 8 painfull minutes. Finishing 4th also ment a call up to the front line for the Athens Twilight.

On to the crit now and i will try to keep it short. MADNESS…I got caught up in a crash within the first few laps. Got a wheel change and was put back in but placed in THE BACK. Worked hard to move up including having to swerve and sprint around more crashes. 4 laps to go feeling pretty good considering how fast it was then another crash in turn 1. Nowhere to swerve so got wedged in with the carnage and was gapped. Lots of pain in the legs at this point and was not able to catch up to the pack and ended up finishing just behind the field.

Adam and Andrew both were also mixed up in many crashes and were unable to finish. This im sure would be the toughest race we would due for the season so it can only get easier. Adam and Andrew also had a pretty good start position from the qualifier but happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.  The town of athens was absolutely rocking with excitement and it was truly an experience that we will not forget.

 Chris Ernst