Cathy F. gets the V at MoM
At registration, when asked if I was with a team, I proudly said “Project 5 Racing” - which drew a loud cry of surprise from one of the women that I would be racing against - “You joined a team?” Yes. “Will others on your team be racing?” Yes. “Do you have a jersey?” No. - so that is how I found out I was riding “stealth” - cool sound. But, if stealth means quietly riding under the radar, that is not how I felt with the support I had from P2 and Ginger from the sidelines during the 4/5 race and on the course during the 3/4. Much more cool to have a team!!! And that support was awesome! Before the race, with my team (yeah), I talked out what I thought my competitor’s strategy would be in the 4/5 - Tati would take trades attacking. Do I go with each attack? Yes, if you think it will stick. So true to form, 2nd lap, Tati 1 attacks - covered up quickly. I strongly suspect at same spot next lap other Tati will attack - and she does! I get a good jump, catch her quickly and see the gap we have. We agree to work together - and that’s what we did - with P2 and Ginger reminding us along the way to keep that up. Terrible crash happened behind us on the break-away lap. Race was stopped with only a few laps to go. Pascale was insistent that we make sure we get our gap at the re-start - so both Tati and me approach the ref so that he agreed he would preserve our gap. On the final turn, I start my sprint - like we talked about during the warmup laps - and it worked! My first win!!! The 3/4 race was actually more fun for me. I don’t recall much of the activity that Ginger saw at the front simply because I did try a few attacks, then sat up to drift back into the pack. Totally cool for the three of us to have a bit of a strategy chat during the race - and then peel out to attempt it. I learned much much more with our post race discussion. P2 and Ginger were great in keeping themselves in position to finish strong. I am so looking forward to the next race. So - great day! I enjoyed meeting so many of you guys, listening to your pre- and post- race talks, and getting a P5 jersey! My stealth days are over - let’s go!
