Of course that doesn't mean that Courtesy Bicycles Race Team wasn't there to race. We came to race and race we did! While we didn't have a full compliment of racers racing, including yours truly, we did manage to win 2 series titles during the night and our 2 riders that raced did so beautifully.....Not too bad with one of the smallest teams at the Thursday Night Series. With the weather once again cooperating and giving us a beautiful summer evening, the stage was set for a full turnout for all the fields and for some very tough racing.
We warned up before the race, and had a short conversation about the race and what was going to happen tonight. It was suggested that the race tonight would be the fastest races of the series and there would be some strong efforts out there. Likely because it's the last race and everyone is getting faster and fitter! We agreed that the efforts out there would require some smart strategic riding as our team was small and the others would be trying to simply power race tonight. The strategy was fairly simple, hold the series leads by staying in the front of the main groups but not getting tired out from the expected fast pace.Our riders lined up for the C race, anticipating a quick start. Tonight Seth Makotoko and Katrina Pawley Mason represented Courtesy Bicycles Race Team most excellently. Sure enough, only mere seconds into the race the pace was pushed up high. Seth and Katrina pushed hard to get into the lead group and find position to stay protected
with the initial fast pace. On the first corner, Seth got into a nice position but Katrina was pushed out by some bigger C men--she tried to be aggressive and stay in first third of the field but the larger men were just more aggressive. Katrina couldn't find a nice spot in the pack and slowly drifted back in the field, trying to find a nice place to be protected. It was
a very fast start as predicted and it was immediately having an effect on all the riders. Within a very short period of time, Katrina and a number of other riders were dropped off the back as the pace continued to be pushed hard.
It was very clear from the start that the race was being controlled and the setup was in place from the start. Nevertheless, both our riders pushed hard to maintain. Seth stayed nicely tucked into the field and wouldn't be daunted by the very quick pace. Over the load-speaker we all heard that the C race had now had its fastest lap of the year!!! Wow, the race was moving fast. The result was inevitable as more and more people were dropped from the main field.
As Katrina came around by herself, she was moving fast and managed to catch up to some other riders also dropped by the very spirited efforts
from the field. At first, finding herself in a group of 3 and, 
after a couple laps, she decided to move away and advanced by getting on with other riders. Katrina was moving very nicely up the field of dropped riders while having a lose derailleur hanger (it causes the rear gears to skip and not shift properly) but luckily it only effected only a few gears and she was able to power through.At the same time, Seth worked nicely in the main field, staying protected but also doing some hard work. The women were definitely setting the high pace with a goal of controlling the race and the finish. This meant that there were some strong pushes but there were any true attacks on the field, just hard surges and quite simply, a hard race.
Time flew by fast with the pace of the race. Both our riders were in top form and the C category championship would come down to the final sprint. And it was quite the sprint! Seth managed to get into a nice lane on the final sprint and bolted to the finish capturing third. It was a super finish with the 2 other men within a bike length or so, everyone was on the edge of their seats for this finish. Exceptional finish for the last race and everyone deserves credit. And, Seth managed to maintain the lead for the series with his third place finish for the night.
So, it was a hard race for both our riders to become series champions. Both riders finished strong demonstrating how and why they were indeed the series champions. Congratulations to Seth and Katrina for winning their respective groups in the Ciociaro Thursday Race Series.
Pictures by Chyla's Race Photos and check more out at her site Photography by Chyla.
Full results at: Ciociaro Cycling Club