Written by Chris Craig
With the 2018 season coming to a close I am happy to say I was able to take home the Cal Cup! The Cal Cup is an omnium of last ten major races in the Velo Promo season. The competition was tight and we needed to perform well, at least 7th place, at the final race (Oakland Grand Prix) to lock it down. The riders in the hunt were Josh Carling, Chris Coble, and Cooper Shanks.
At the Oakland Grand Prix, we came with myself, Travis Mceuen, and Theo Goguely. Knowing that Josh would be a factor in the sprint and Cooper in the breaks; we were spread pretty thin. Our approach was to let a break without Cooper go and have myself sit in for the sprint. This plan worked out very well as it kept our team fresh. Throughout the race there were a series of small breaks and attacks, but the group stayed relatively together. There was only one move which had Cooper in it, we had to pull that back quickly. Going into the final few laps it was going to come down to a field sprint. I made sure to remain on Josh’s wheel to jump around him if there was an opportunity. But, on the final lap I got boxed in on a sharp right hand turn. So, by the time we came around to the final straightaway for the sprint I was sitting 8th wheel and Josh 5th. I launched my sprint and was able to pass two riders to get 6th and Josh ended up 2nd. The separation between 1st-6th was really tight. But, thankfully this was enough for me to lock down the Cal Cup!
The Cal Cup win was a great way to cap of the 2018 season and really excited for races to come in 2019. Thanks again to our sponsors and teammate who helped make this a great season. See you next year!
