In a recent post, I shared some shots of an evening at the Jerry Baker Velodrome in Marymoor Park, Redmond.  We had a good time enjoying the racing, the food and the beer and, a couple of weeks later, they were holding a large meet with many international riders taking part.  This seemed like it would be worth a follow up visit.  That proved to be a good choice.  The size of the field made for much interesting racing and some drama.

Getting there proved a touch more difficult because a concert was also on at Marymoor Park but we made it in before the events got underway, so all was good.  The quality of some of the athletes was impressive.  In one race, a breakaway was well established for a large part of the race and I thought there was no way that they would be pulled back.  However, I was mistaken.  With only a couple of laps to go, a few broke away from the pack and bridged the gap to overhaul the breakaway with what seemed like ridiculous ease.  Most impressive.

There were some riders that were clearly in a league above.  You could see them managing their performance through the races, coming to the front for a while, biding their time for much of the race and then turning on the power when it was required to come home with the win.  Other riders went off on solo breaks which got them some time at the front but, by the end of the race, it was clear that they had burned themselves out.  It made for a lot of fun to watch so I am grateful for the effort that they all made.

Another top evening out.  The food truck may not have been quite so good, but the beer was still excellent, and the racing was a blast.  We shall see when we can next get down there to watch some more.