Wolfpack Hustle - Austin Crit Finale
Just like that the series for the Wolfpack Hustle is over. We cant thank Don enough for hosting and holding it down for Los Angeles in the unsanctioned fixedgear races. One thing we enjoy is that it brings out athletes from around the world to showcase their talents. This Crit Finale put our riders to the test. with Red Hook Milan winner and Big Team names like IRDMODENA and Impulse Stage, we knew it was going to be a battle. With the main event being on Saturday Oct. 17th, we packed up our team vehicle and headed east on the 10 fwy on Wednesday night. We drove 1,390 miles towards Texas with a few stops along the way and through one of the craziest Thunder Storms we have ever experienced. We arrived in San Antonio on Thursday night and hung out with some friends and locals of that city. Although it was a bit late it didn't stop us from having a good night, thanks again Bottom Bracket Social Club. Friday morning we woke up and had some delicious breakfast tacos before hitting the road to our main destination, Austin. We hung out that afternoon with some friends that were already in town and relaxed through out the night to be ready for the main event.
9:45am and the alarm clock is ringing as we rush to get ready for the race. We took a quick spin to the Driveway where the race was going to take place, only to find out we were early with enough time to get warmed up. Our team was on Group 4 with a few friends from LA we knew if we stayed close and jammed it as a group we would have a higher chance of getting a good position in the qualifier and that's exactly what we did. With a glitch in the timing chips and what seemed to be a delay while they got that sorted out All 97 racers were allowed to race since the cut was only 15 people. We sat in the 30s so we had a good position. As we calmly waited the Woman track finale was up and that meant our rider Natalie was up. last minute doubts made her run a big ratio that she was not use too and the way these women were riding they didn't hold anything back. With 8 laps to go the front pack caught up to her leaving her no choice but to take a DNF for the first time in the series. 97 racers lined up for the Men Track Finale with our team holding positions in the top 30s. Just as the race started the group was already separated with a few break away attempts, the chase pack, the pelaton, and the stragglers. With 3 laps in riders were already getting pulled and taken off the course because the front pack was coming in hot and for that matter no break away attempts managed to stick. On the 7th lap coming in to the first chicane 2 riders from different teams ended up colliding and falling in the front pack, with no quick choice to be made our team rider Cristian couldn't avoid the crash and in the process ended up going over his bars and resulting in a broken clavicle. We still had Angel and Hector pushing in the front lead working together to crank up the pace. This race was definitely one of the fastest race hosted by Wolfpack Hustle and it came down to the final sprint. With one last attempt to break away from an LA local a 52 year old bridged the gap and went all out on the last sprint winning the Austin Crit. Angel came in at a solid 11th place as he sprinted with Safa from Leader bikes for that top 10 finish. Just behind them was Hector coming in at 16th place. Overall we are stoked on the results of this final race and the achievement our team has accomplished. We have come a long way since we first started and are proud to say that we have established a solid team from the ground up and thanks to our sponsors that continue to support our team. Built not Bought.
