Franklin Omnium

The kittens were wide awake early Saturday AM to make the journey to Franklin, Virginia for the first ever Franklin Omnium. The Vanderkittens were honored to be asked to share the event with Celerity, a very classy group of racers. Humid weather gave way to beautiful blue skies for the whole weekend.

It’s not often to find a nice short time trial course in a town with very little traffic. The Franklin police officers, as well as the residents, seemed to be very happy to have us in their town. For the time trial, VK had Ali, Laura, Brittany and Jen representing in the CAT 1/2/3 category. The outcome of that race was Ali taking the gold, Laura taking the bronze, Brittany in 4th and Jen in 5th. Representing VK in the CAT 4/40 plus was BJ, Karen, Suszann and Lisa. BJ brought home the gold, Karen the silver, Suszann bringing home bar points in 9th and Lisa doing the same in 10th place.

After a quick cat nap and some good grub at Fred’s Restaurant, we got ready for some exciting action for a very technical crit course. BJ was probably the happiest of all because photo opportunities were abundant with great shots being taken from every corner. The CAT 4/40 plus women consisted of BJ, Karen and Suszann. Action took place immediately when BJ took off to make sure she got through the first turn without company. That worked for a few laps but unfortunately she came up on a rider down who had clipped her pedal and BJ did one of her very graceful head over heels maneuvers. Saved by her helmet and a pit crew to get her back in the race, she was able to finish in 3rd place. Karen was right behind in 5th and Suszann placing in 6th. The Cat 1/2/3 race was very exciting and much safer. In the end, it was Ali sprinting to the finish against Erin and Emily (VA Asset Group) where Ali pulled off a 2nd. Close behind was Jen in 4th, Laura in 7th and Brittany in 8th.

Sunday morning was just another beautiful day to do a race. 14 miles of quiet with a few rollers was a perfect way to end the weekend with a nice road race around town. The Cat 4/40 plus took off at 8:00 for 2 laps. The field stayed together for the first lap but the pace picked up quickly on the next lap. A few attempts were made but nothing really stuck other than the field thinning out for the final sprint. Karen, in an out of body experience, took the win at the end with BJ taking 4th. Everyone stayed upright when a motorcycle went down near the finish. Our CAT 1/2/3 racers went late in the day. Laurel and Emily (Va Asset Group) took off and were never seen again to take the top 2 spots. Ali came in 4th, Jen 5th, Brittany 6th and Laura 8th. When all was said and done, Ali captured 2nd place in the CAT 1/2/3 Omnium. In the CAT 4/40 plus BJ took home some loot with 1st in the omnium in that category and Karen took home the 2nd coveted spot.

We all want to thank Celerity for a great weekend. They did an outstanding job for their first annual event. We also want to thank Donna for being a race official and a big shout out to Wendie and Maggie for driving all the way to Franklin to help out with volunteering.