The downhill finish-playing it safe

It's no secret that downhill finishes are dangerous. High speeds become higher, bikes become less stable, and crashes become uglier (as well as the people in the crashes...).

On second thought, maybe it is a secret. I'm not sure if the average cat 4/5 rider knows this, although I'm sure that the 4/5 field at the Whitewater Road Race (actually circuit race), knows this now, and at least 8 people have first hand experience in becoming uglier.

It's also no secret that cat 4/5 fields have a stereotype of being full of sketchy riders (note: to that cat 4/5 who is constantly talking about how sketch the other riders in their race were, you need to know here and now that you were part of that sketch and not just a witness to it.) The stereotype is true.

After just the first lap of seven into this race, I knew that if the group stayed together on the last climb, I wouldn't be contesting the sprint. The course was sketchy, the riders were sketchy, and a finish in that situation was sure to get ugly.

That's exactly what happened. As we crested the hill and the finish line came into view, everyone went nuts, and mass carnage ensued. I stayed to the side and cyclocrossed through the gravel shoulder around the biggest road racing accident I've ever seen. I rolled in at 16th place, which meant there were only 16 of us who didn't go down. I know I was the last person to finish who didn't crash. 8 people finished after me, and I'm thinking that 4-7 people never made it across the finish line who were involved.

And let me tell you, at least two of the people involved got very uglied.

Some times it's smart to sit out on a sprint. I can think of a few good reasons:

My face isn't any uglier than it was before.
All of the pain is on the inside, ya know, like lactic acid stuff.
I don't have to take time off the bike to let my body heel.
I didn't shave my legs, so any and all road rash would have been painful.
Breckenridge 68 - two weeks.
12 hours of sundance.
The ever important 3 gun biathlon next month.

The best 16th place finish ever just happened.