The SugarCRM team finished off a great weekend of racing in Oakland yesterday, here's Karla's report....
This entire weekend worked out well for the SugarCRM team. We went into the 4th of July race with a concrete goal and we achieved it. Our goal was to set Starla up for the win, we did that and she delivered like a rock star. Today our goal as a team was to set me up for the win since it was my hometown race. We wanted to be active, but since there weren't many of us we knew we had to be careful with how we spent our energy. We thought there was a good chance of a break being able to stay away since the course was a bit technical and it was a windy day. So SugarCRM was vigilant and always represented in moves that went off the front. Kim Fong was extremely active with chasing down any threatening moves off the front, while Starla and I were also careful to cover attacks. As the race came down to the final laps, the whole peloton was together and it looked like a bunch sprint would be inevitable. With 3 to go, we were at the front getting set up for the final sprint and keeping the pace up. At one lap to go, a Proman attakced and created a good gap off the front of the field. Starla quickly came forward to chase, with me sitting right on her wheel. I was a little worried that it was too early, since we still had a full lap to go, but she put in a huge effort to lessen the gap and make sure noone would come around us. With half a lap to go, I knew the time was right to slingshot around Starla-I sprinted to make contact with the Proman rider, and the was able to come around her before the final corner. I just put my head down and didn't look back during the final straightaway, and in the end, I crossed the line first!
Karla winning the field sprint (photo courtesy of Garrett Lau)I'm extremely proud of how our team worked together this weekend. Both times we were up against strong fields, and both times we stuck to our plan and pulled off the win. There's nothing better than teamwork that feels like clockwork.
The winning team at Oakland Grand Prix (photo courtesy of Garrett Lau)Thanks for reading,
Karla
