OK, so now I know! Cat 3 is faster.

Below is my report I sent out to my team. I can say that upgrading to Cat 3 on the track is nothing like upgrading to Cat 3 on the road. When I upgraded on the road I hardly noticed a difference, except that races got longer. On the track, there is a clear difference in speed, ability, and speed. Plus the guys around me have a lot more hardware, as in, the cost of the bikes around me in the field has gone up considerably!

On to the report:

Since my last report I've upgraded to Cat 3, so I will have a little
less I can report on the 4's racing. But, Friday night was a great
night of tomato power!

Jerry, John and Niels represented us in the 4's, all of them getting
invited to the "big show". They had a tempo race (points every lap,
two places deep, 2 pts, 1 pt). This is one of those races that a lot
of people don't enjoy, since the racing is fast and furious from the
get go. But my friends, if you didn't see it, you would be amazed by
our tomato trio - they were scoring points left and right! Niels took
the lion's share, and came away with 2nd place.

The Cat 3's began with a 12 lap scratch race. This being my first 3's
race, I didn't know what to expect, other than a sneaky suspicion it
would be faster than the 4's. But, everyone's been talking about how
fast the 4's field is this year, so I had an inkling it wouldn't be
too different. I could not be more wrong! We hit it from the
beginning, and strung out single file at high speed about every other
lap, then a brief respite, followed by more hammering. I got gapped
when the final 200 m sprint began, but I saw Mark up there among the
group. Brian and I strolled in to the finish. I checked my computer
afterward - the fastest sprint I'd seen in the 4's races was 35.6
mph. In the 3's scratch race, we hit 33.2 mph, and it was not a
sprint - just cruising along single file.

The 3's had Chariot heats next, which is a one lap, all out sprint in
a group of 3-5 riders, from a held start. I didn't expect to do too
well in this race, as "explosion" is not one of my talents. Mark, on
the other hand, excels at this kind of endeavor, and handily took to
the front of his group, and held it all the way to the line! It was a
thing of beauty. Both Brian and I, um, let our groups beat us. I'm
sure we were saving ourselves for the points race later, right
Brian?

Next up, the 4's had the ever popular 4x4, and Niels had high hopes.
This is definitely his best event, and he showed it once again by
cleanly taking two sprints, and a couple of 2nds (right, Niels?).
John and Jerry also looked great out there - Jerry is definitely
starting to adapt to the track with a number of "cheeky" moves that
will no doubt pay off soon. I was pretty sure John got 2nd or 3rd in
one of the sprints (and he thought so too), but a protest after the
race came to naught. Niels won this race, and so he was assured of
taking the omnium for cat 4's.

Niels has now earned enough to joined Mark, Brian and I in the 3's!

While Brian and I got cold and stiff, Mark was in the finals of the
Chariot - he blasted away from the line again, this time accepting a
bit of a draft, and he took and amazing 2nd, beating Hyun Lee into 3rd
by a small margin, and only half a wheel off of 1st place. We were
screaming our lungs out for the entire finishing stretch.

Last up for the 3's, while John was already enjoying the beer garden,
was the 5x5 progressive points race. This is run just like the points
race, with a sprint every 5 laps for points, but the value and depth
of the points increases with each sprint lap. I had joked to Brian
that I was hoping for 1 point, as this was the only race in which I
might be competitive in the 3's, but when I didn't attack for the 1st
sprint (1 point, 1 place deep), he took a flyer and scored the point.
I was sitting in second wheel of the pack, doing my best blocking
imitation, in case Brian wanted more pain, but he eased up and we
assimilated him. The next sprint went by without me noticing much,
other than trying to stay near the front, and then Ryan Miller
attacked, and I jumped on his wheel. He didn't seem to be fully
committed, so I past him in the finishing straight and encouraged him
to actually make his move stick. We did two half-lap rotations before
we were joined by 2 other riders, and I was thinking "Yes, four
riders, and the sprint will soon be 4 places deep! I'm going to get
points!" However, within short order we were joined by 3 other
riders, one of which happened to be Mark. I was leading the break
coming down the backstretch, and when I saw a flying tomato, I eased
up just a bit (he didn't really need the help) and Mark took the
points. They break wasn't super interested in chasing, and I sure
wasn't in good shape, as they all blew by me snatching up the
remaining points. But we stayed together, absorbed Mark, and then
were caught the lap before the last sprint. By then I was spent, but
I saw Mark again up in the lead pack for the final sprint.

So, results for the night - I know I need to get faster. Niels rocks
and will be joining me soon. Mark is flying, and took 4th for the
omnium, earning him some cool, hard $.

I hear Mr President will soon be joining us in the 3's after a little
time in the 4's, right Travis? And, rumor has it J-Dub is taking the
track class next weekend. We are going to have so much fun this
season!