Following is Karl Erickson's race report from the .
Keirin - I sat up with 1.5 laps to go when the lead rider swung dangerously up track, sandwiching several riders together and pushing one rider into the boards. Riding safe was far more important to me than qualifying for the repechage round.
Miss-and-out - I was safely tucked away in the lane for the first 1/3 of the race and had an easy time as riders were eliminated one by one. Then with about 20 laps to go, I found myself in the back with a fast-moving pack that filled the entire width of the track.
The first evening was a little disappointing but I was still looking forward to the scratch and points races on Saturday.
15k scratch race - I was active right from the start, participating in three different break-aways. The first two breaks were short-lived (although I did pick up a bottle of wine for a prime at 35 laps to go) but the third break gathered some real muscle and looked promising. The pack recognized the danger and went full-throttle to catch us. We were then countered by a solo rider who took over three quarters of a lap before the pack went into chase mode again and brought everything together. In the end I was boxed in while the bulk of the pack came over the top.
20k points race - The points race started with a slightly more reserved pace than the scratch race. I began around 10th wheel and was up to 2nd wheel by the 3rd lap. I decided to try my luck and took a solo flier with 57 laps to go. The pack didn't really react, so I settled in, hoping to stay away until the points at 50 to go. The pack allowed the gap to grow to about half a lap before they started accelerating for the sprint. Giddeon Massie (2008 olympic team sprinter) took the 2nd place points with a hard-charging pack in tow. I continued working to see if it would be possible to capitalize on a post-sprint breather. It turned out that the pack's easy pace was around 30 mph, so my break only lasted another two laps before I was swallowed up by the pack. For the next 15 laps, I sat tucked in the pack recovering and trying to find another opportunity to snatch some points. With 32 laps to go, the opportunity presented itself. The pack was stretched out with some gaps between groups of riders and the sprinters lane was open with the lead riders sitting up. I shot through the opening and built up about a 2-3 bike length lead before anyone reacted. At the line Giddeon Massie nipped me for first place points and then the pack came roaring through so there was little time to rest before we started hammering again. In the last 20 laps, I rode defense, working to prevent anyone from taking a lap or any single break from eating up too many points. In the end, the two scoring laps put me in 3rd overall behind Kenny Williams (1st Rate Mortgage) and Daniel Holloway (Garmin Chipotle). Giddeon Massie lost a lap on the field but came back about 20 minutes later to win the flying lap record attempt.