Pamplona Track Racing

First up this morning was the 300m time trials, followed by the 500m and then the 10km points.

500m
Not too sure how they drew the heats for the 500 meters but some were stacked and then others easier. For instance one ladies heat only had two starters and then others had five or six and it was the same in the men's heats. The first two qualified for the next round.
My first heat I had Nicoletta Falcone, a French skater and a Spanish skater. Nicoletta and I qualified easily into the next round.
The next round was tough I had Jercy Puello (1st 300m), Nicoletta (2nd 300m) and Francesca Lollobrigida who is Nicoletta's team mate. The track is really hard to pass on and the start is really crucial. I don't have a great start at the best of times and today it was really bad, I was a few meters behind off the start line. I wound up and tried to pass on the outside but Francesca drifted up to protect Nicoletta and I couldn't get past. The women could nearly hug the pole line so it was very difficult to pass covering extra distance around the outside. I ended up getting Francesca at the line to finish 3rd.
The final had three Colombian skaters and Nicoletta, Colombia took 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Nicoletta was last off the line and with three skaters from the same team it was always going to be a tough task especially round this track.

10km Points
The men had heats for the points race with 15 from each heat going through to a final with 30 skaters. The women's was just a straight final. Going into the race I thought the Colombian team would really dominate. They had two really strong distance skaters plus Cecilia. But I think the Colombians were too busy racing me instead of racing the race. The French team raced smart and took advantage of their numbers and the situation, they had about nine skaters start the race.
I got quiet a few points early on but had to use a lot of energy at the front to get my points, no one to lead me out. Then quiet a few times the Colombian team and myself were battling for the same points. So I used energy and missed out on points on a few occasions. After this someone from the French team would lead Laetitia through and get a bit of a gap, they picked up points that way for most of the race.
At one stage towards the end of the race Alexandra, kelly and Laeitia got a bit of a gap. It was looking very dangerous especially with Cecilia controlling the front of the pack. Everyone else in the pack was dead and no one looked too keen to chase them down. I had no choice but to chase, the three skaters out ahead were the ones with the points.
With about three laps to go Sabine and Laetitia had a gap. I tried to chase but then Alexandra got in front of me and I thought she would chase but she seemed to slow down. I got past her and then Kelly got in front of me. I got passed Kelly with about one and a half laps to go, I was dead and my legs were wobbly but I was catching them. Going into the final corner they still had a bit of a gap and we had to go around a lapped skater. I couldn't lunge properly and Laetitia beat me by about half a wheel or so for the second points.
Laetitia ended up beating me by one point and Alexandra Vivas finished third. I'm not sure on the other placings, Kelly had a few points and Sabine. Sabine also found it hard without a team, Cecilia was racing for Colombia and Nathalie wasn't racing on the track.