I rode a 12.4 second 200 meters, which was good for 10th. But the fastest time was 12.1 seconds, which means that there wasn't much that separated the top finishers. Rich Voss qualified second with 12.2 seconds, and was surprised that his first round was not going to be an easy one. Normally, the second qualifier would have a fairly easy ride against the seventh qualifier, but not this year. There were a couple of upsets, with lower-seeded riders winning against higher ones, and a few of the best-of-three heats actually going to three rides. Rich lost his heat, but won the eventual ride for fifth place.
I was in the ride for 9th-12th places. Sprinters are heavily rewarded on this track when they ride from the front, as it takes a lot to pass someone here. (The track has fairly shallow banking, short straights and long turns, which means that one has to ride a significantly longer distance to pass in the turns, and minimal opportunity to pass in the straights.)
I have a habit of watching the official while he or she arranges the little sticks with numbers written on them that are used to determine starting position on the track. I saw the number 1 flash by while the official was shuffling them, and I went for that stick. So I had the inside lane, and the opportunity to control the race a little. I won the heat and got ninth place in the men's 50-54 age group, and so this stick-watching will continue in the future.
Ron Hargrave advanced to the semis in his age group, and he will be leading the first lap of Sunday's team sprint, with me riding the second lap and Rich finishing.
I'm happy with my riding today, much like I was with last Tuesday's 500 meter time trial (in which I got seventh of 27 starters). I'm riding well, but it seems that all the fast boys in my age group have shown up.
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