I was so glad to return for the 80th Annual Tour of Somerville. The weather was awesome, and tons of our Star Track teammates and other friends were there too. Coach Brian and Coach Pete brought tents for us to warm up under, and Ms Shelly manned a tent near the Start/Finish line. Unfortunately, Ari was sick and was super bummed out that he couldn’t race, but still had a good time chatting with friends and watching the races. I did two races, the Junior 9–14 and Junior 15–18.
The 9–14 race was lots of fun. There was some shoulder bumping during the race, and my Star Track teammate Viv unfortunately crashed. I got caught right behind the crash, and it took me half a lap to catch back up to the field. That got me really tired. Then, on the last lap, everyone was fighting for position. I had a perfect spot for the sprint but got boxed in. I finished 6th and was pretty happy with that, since everyone who placed ahead of me was older.
Next was the 15–18 race. That race was really fast—some of the best juniors in the country were racing. As soon as I clipped in, I sprinted for a good position. But I got pushed toward the back because the front was just too fast for me. We were going really fast! On one lap I averaged 50.5 km/h. I ran out of energy with 7 laps to go and got dropped. I ended up riding with Lucien and one other rider, and we got pulled with 4 laps to go. Anyway, I did better than I had originally hoped and was happy with that race too.
So, I had a great time overall. I’m happy with my races and made some new friends.
