The day began with some pretty greasy corners and off camber sections as it made its way around the velodrome, thanks to two good days of raining. This bode well for Cycle U - PopCap's Melanie Lewis and Kristi Berg. The plan was for both girls to get to the front quickly so as not to get caught up in the impending mayhem of the stair and off camber section shortly after the start. Unfortunately within the first 50 meters, Berg's chain snapped and she was forced to run to the first pit. Meanwhile, Lewis worked the plan well and got the hole shot and was at the front end when they hit the stairs. Berg made her way to the pit and was given another Specialized Crux by team mechanic, Justin, and she now had to fight from dead last. Justin fixed the chain, and was ready for the next pit if necessary. Lewis rode very well the entire race, racing very smart and tachtically sound to finish in a fantastic 2nd place. Berg worked her way all the way back up to 7th place after completing some of the fastest laps of any of the women. It's not what she was hoping for as a result, but at least she was able to limit her losses in the series overall points.
In the Men's race, Evan Renwick went off in the first wave and was hoping for a good healthy race to prove that his back injury is indeed on the mend. Shortly after his start, Master riders Sean Kelsey and Chad Berg took off out onto the course. Kelsey got a great start leading the beginning of the race. As the race settled in, Berg began to feel the effects of racing the previous days "Woolley Cross" and was suffering. At this time Kelsey was receiving a little help by friend Matt Lynch taking huge pulls to keep race leader Rich McClung in sight as well as keep clear of the chasers. It worked well, and Kelsey came in 2nd place, enough to keep him in 1st place overall with two races left in the series. Berg finished off the pace in 13th, and Renwick came in shortly after in 16th for the Elite men happy to finish healthy.
Special guests were on hand for the race as PopCap's founder, Brian Fiete and his wife Pamela came out to cheer their team in the cold and wet. The team enjoyed having them at the race and is very appreciative at having PopCap as a co-title sponsor. Thanks for your support Brian, Pamela, and everyone at PopCap Games.
Next weekend will be a double with MFG #5 on Saturday at Magnasun Park in Seattle, and then SCX #4 on Sunday in Enumclaw. Stay tuned and thanks for following.
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