SE Crits Series, Beaufort, SC

Here is the race report from yesterday's race in South Carolina...ouch!

"We, got our butts handed to us tonight in a huge way. The race was so freakin fast from the gun. I can't even put into words how fast things get in these races. One thing this Crit series is doing is setting the bar a an entirely new level. Beaufort is a gorgeous small town in the South Carolina Lowcountry but I had lactic acid in my eyes so I couldn't see it very well. 142 riders started 47 finished and only 20 were on the lead lap. The main problem.....ok.... major problem was turn one. The start/finish stretch was really long, slight downhill grade, and two lanes, so we were going 35mph single file into turn one which was 90 degrees and down to a very narrow single lane, we called "The Alley". There were two layers of hay bales and then some giant cushions up against all the street signs and telephone poles. Good thing that they were there!! Huge crash early in the race in turn one almost neutralized the field, approx 40 riders went into the pits including Karel and myself. Turn one very was sketchy from that point on. I have never scene riders blow up like they did last night in the middle of a lap. Literally 5-10 riders would get dropped because one riders could not hold the pace. Curtis lasted about 20 minutes as did Karel. I made it 32 minutes. I was cutting deals with myself at 27 minutes to make it one more lap. All three of us were pretty mentally crushed after that performance but we I rolled off the course things were put into perspective. There were full domestic pro teams sitting on the sidelines watching the race just like us. We thought, heck, they do this for a living and lasted as long as us so we now are understanding that these races are a roll of the dice. A good position is the difference between lasting 20 minutes and finishing. In the end Hilton Clarke from Toyota United won in a sprint just edging out Kyle Wamsley from Colavita. We will find out more about levels of suffering tonight in Waltorboro, SC.

JK"