Daaah-dun, daaah-dun, daaah-dun. Yep, that’s the sound you hear in the movie Jaws . And that’s the sound a jedi crit shark is trained to hear in times of need.
This weekend I was the solo HSP rep at the Washington State Omnium Championship in Wenatchee. So, without the Hit-Squad, I had to summon the crit shark powers. I would need these powers to conquer the mighty Canadian teams in attendance.
Tactics change when your situation changes. And not having two or three strong team mates definitely qualifies as a situation change. So my tactics had to change. A fellow racer & I were discussing the crit beforehand & he suggested I just sit on the Red Truck (a strong Canadian team) train and sprint around them at the finish. This is not what I was thinking. Rule number 1 in the Crit Shark Credo: do not count on others to execute your plan. So my plan was to be very attentive at the front and let moves develop before I committed to them. Then, when a move looked tasty, I would jump across to it. You simply can not cover everything when you’re rollin’ solo, so you must roll the dice a bit sometimes & hope your judgement is good. And Crit Shark rule number 2: if you can’t jump across to moves, you’re not a crit shark.
My tactic was working well, but none of the moves stuck. So now I had to deal with the lead-outs that all the teams were going to try to unleash. To stay out of trouble I had to roll in the top-3 and go with every move. Two dudes jumped away with 2 laps to go & I jumped to them. The first guy faded the instant he got a gap & the other stopped pedaling as soon as he was first wheel…Crit Shark rule number 3: do not stop pedaling on the last lap. So that brings us to the last lap with 2 corners to go & I’m 1st wheel (in the wind, pulling the pack). Not ideal, but I remembered rule number 3. Which brings us right to Crit Shark rule number 4: position trumps everything. If I were to try & slide back to shelter, I was sure to loose more than a few positions…I would surely loose the race. I pedaled hard a few strokes & hoped for an attack to come around me, cause I was ready to pounce on any move. My senses were heightened, like a cheetah as he hunts a gazelle. I just needed a gazelle. Well, a Canadian gazelle appeared before me & then the race entered the Matrix. I executed the coup de grace. That’s crit sharkin’.

-Rocket