Sunday was the last upgrade race for the CBR Series making it the last opportunity for racers to get points for 2017. In addition to getting the final points, there was a bonus objective in mind, attaining the Leader’s Jersey currently held by Shaun Bagley leading by 1 point. Knowing how close we were I knew that this race wouldn’t be easy. Shaun has proven to be a great race finisher and even a greater sprinter throughout the CBR series. With a field of over 72 riders, I was going to be limited in the amount of attacks I could throw against the field.
During the race, CNCPT Team was covering moves to lead out an effective sprint finish. Meanwhile, HSR Racing was proving to work cohesively as a team. I knew Shaun had the upper hand to win it. On top of those teams were all the individual riders throwing attacks along with other big teams such as Base Cartel, Big Orange, La Grange and many others. I knew I had my work cut out for me.
Everything together in the last 5 laps with Concept Team being the most organized in forming a lead-out for their sprinter. There were small skirmishes behind CNCPT’s lead-out train which I knew was the place to be. With one lap to go and coming into the last corner, I was in a group with Dante Young, a CNCPT rider, another one of his team members and Jon Davis.
A rider launched early on the outside with John Garbo following his wheel and me behind it. I come into the corner in 4th position, but took it too wide pushing me in 5th position, losing speed, causing a drag race with Shaun Bagley and I head to head for that 4th place. I click down a gear and dug a little deeper to come in 4th. Jon Davis and Dante Young got a photo finish for 1st & 2nd. John Garbo finished a respectable 3rd place and a 3rd place in the overall.
The 2018 Season is looking bright with high numbers of racers coming out to race on an off-season crit. I look forward to racing with the SoCalCycling.com Team in the 2018 season, full force at CBR. Stay tuned.
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SoCalCycling.com,  Jenson USA, Voler Apparel, Caravan Canopy, Clif Bar, FSA, Union Sport, ROL Wheels, TRP Brakes, KMC Chains, Fuji Bicycles, Julbo, Larsen’s Restaurants and Forze.
Report, Video & Photo by Leo Bugtai
