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It didn’t feel like that this time. It was still exciting, and I cheered them on from my spot in between Minnie and Brandon, but there was definitely something off about this run. Greg performed well, his bike obviously improved and his confidence even stronger this time. He shot out to the front right from the beginning, only trailing Darren. At first it seemed there would be no competition. These two would simply glide to the finish and it would be done.
Then the other teams started gaining on them. Rather than there being a clearly defined ranking, there was a crush of bikes shifting up and down as they spiraled around the track. After several laps, Greg came out in front again. Darren slid up behind him, and another two teams gained on them. Darren and Greg both inched ahead, and for the next several laps, there was little change. It looked like they were just riding around in circles. As the final stretch of the race approached, I left the company box and headed down toward the rest of the team. Using credentials Gus gave to me earlier, I got into the secure area and went to join the others waiting for the end. It was obvious our two riders were going to come out on top, and I wanted to be as close as possible to capture the victory.
Then something suddenly changed. Greg and Darren were jockeying for first place when a bike came up behind Darren and swerved too close. He shifted to get out of the way, but the positioning was too tight, and the rider clipped his tire. He managed to stay upright but slid across the track, allowing Greg to jump forward and losing valuable seconds. I snapped picture after picture of Greg winning first position but gasped as Darren toppled, the wreck shoving him over the line in fifth place.
Quentin and the rest of the team ran toward him, but when I saw him get up and let out an angry yell, I knew he was all right. I needed to turn my attention to the celebration at the finish line. I live-tweeted the excitement, capturing as much of Greg’s thrill at his first win as I could while people rushed in around him to congratulate him. After a few seconds, Darren, Quentin, and the rest of the team joined us. Darren graciously congratulated Greg, but I could tell he was furious.
When some of the chaos died down, I went over to Darren. Patting my friend on the back, I leaned in so he would be able to hear me.
“You doing okay?” I asked. “That looked like a nasty skid.”
“I’m all right,” he said. “I’ll probably be sore as hell for the next few days, but it looked worse than it was. I’m just pissed I lost my position because of that asshole. That wreck was totally Austin’s fault. It wasn’t even a mistake. It was just really bad riding. He could have killed someone out there just because he doesn’t know how to control himself.”
“I’m sorry. Hopefully he learns his lesson.”
When the post-race celebration died down, Brandon and I headed home, dissecting the race and everything that happened. I didn’t let him know how I was feeling. He’d enjoyed the experience, so I didn’t want to dampen his spirits by letting him know how anticlimactic the race seemed.
25
Quentin
The team went to the bar to celebrate Greg’s win, but didn’t have the same energy as the first race. Even Greg didn’t seem as interested in being there as before. He was much more interested in going home and getting some rest. He’d put himself through the wringer trying to get ready for this race, now that it was over and he accomplished his goal, he wanted some downtime. Instead of us staying out late and not starting work until after lunch the next day, I decided to trim down the rest of the week. As soon as I got home after the brief celebration at the bar, I sent out a group text to everyone on the crew letting them know we were going to take half days on both Thursday and Friday. That would give us time to do the usual post-race evaluations but let us get in some relaxation as well.
Thursday was almost methodical. I hadn’t bothered to unload the trucks after the race, so we spent the first couple of hours after getting into the complex breaking down and getting everything put away. I then met with Greg to personally congratulate him and talk about what was next. He was already looking ahead to the next race but was happy to have a couple of days where there wasn’t as much pressure. He looked forward to spending Thursday morning cleaning his bike and going over maintenance and repair needs with the team of mechanics, then planned to spend Friday meeting with a physical trainer at the complex gym. Now that he felt his bike was in peak condition, he wanted to focus on his body. Doing CrossFit like Darren didn’t appeal to Greg. He was much more the traditional cardio and weight training type. But that’s why I kept several different physical trainers on retainer. It meant anyone on the team, but especially the riders, could make sure they were taking care of their health.
