We're off to the Cherry Pie Criterium this weekend for Gabe's first big official group crit. He's pretty nervous considering he's lumped in with the 17-18 year old group, and there are tons of advanced category riders. Looks like Specialized, SJBC, Tieni Duro, and Team Swift are here in force. A slow clip in doesn't bode well.

The pack is moving very fast today and there's one crash at the switch over that came close to Gabe. They'll be heading up and over this hill quite a few times. Specialized is working really hard at the front.

Gabe hangs on to the pack for a few laps, but the pace just proves too much. As he starts to slip back and regroup with a few riders, the officials whistle them off the course. Gabe is pretty disappointed, but there's a lot to learn from a 16th place finish. It sure was nice racing in 80 degree weather in February though!