Sunny at Sunny King
-by Kim Foland
It was a beautiful day for racing in Alabama at the Sunny King Criterium, the penultimate stage of the SE Crit series. Kim S. was fresh off a rest day, Missy was fresh off a needless crash the night before in Spartanburg (a crash that occurred AFTER the start/finish) and Kim F. was fresh off a 50 hour work week. With the uphill finish, Kim S. was the best bet for a fine finish.
The race was smaller than the other crit series races Kim S. and Missy had been doing but that didn't keep the race from being intense. The series standings were still under contention and the promoter had the idea (good or bad) to prime almost every lap. Intense it was.
With 10 minutes in to the race, I started to uncoil. And this was a race that was an hour and ten minutes long. My face was tense and I was hoping for a flat. Just kidding. But I did need to do some serious talking to myself to stay in the race.
Missy was having a time of it too. After crashing the night before in Spartanburg, she didn't realize it but was suffering from a concussion. She had all of the signs and although put out a great effort to race her best, was forced to pull out and take care of herself.
Kim S. was all in. She raced hard moving easily around the crit. With 5 laps to go she worked her way up to the front of the race and was battling it out for position. The start/finish stretch suited her and she was able to maintain her position. With 2 laps to go, the lead out trains were taking over with Cheerwine and Colavita and Aarons fighting for the win. Kim held her position and finished in
the field sprint for 20th place and securely in the money.
I rolled in the with field as well, however much farther back in 31st place securinghe last spot after payout. Luckily, there's always tomorrow.
Photos thanks to Trish Albert www.southeasterncycling.com