We’re glad we came early to Junior Road Nationals to catch some of the Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD) crit races. The series takes place around Milwaukee, and our first ToAD race was in Cedarburg. I raced in the 9–12 field, while Ari lined up in the 13–14.
I had a great battle with Ian Barton. We went off the front together for most of the race. On the last lap, he jumped out of the final corner. I just managed to catch him before the line and took the win.
Ari’s race was tougher. He had a strong start but got caught behind a crash in the final corner of the first lap. He had to take a free lap with two other riders. When he sprinted out of the neutral pit, his helmet strap buckle came off. Since you can only take a free lap once, that was the end of his race.
We were lucky to find the buckle afterward. A tailor stitched it securely, so it won’t happen again. Better now than during Nationals!
