Santa Clara PAL BMX 8/18/13- Alessandra vs. Andrew

A rivalry is brewing between Andrew and Alessandra. Alessandra has gone from trailing way behind to photo finishes in the last several weeks. Due to some delays with posting the grids a group of the Striders were able to do a few practice races starting from the actual starting line. Alessandra was really riding well. I think she won two out of three of the practice races, and one of them by a big margin. Anyway, when race time came they'd already done several races from the starting line so I'm not sure Alessandra quite understood what was going on. They usually only get two races from the starting line (one if she doesn't advance). It was really funny because in moto #1 Alessandra had a large lead on Andrew (and a huge lead on everyone else) coming into the finish line, and as she was approaching the trophy girl stepped out of the shed (which is placed just in front of the finish), and Alessandra went straight to her (without crossing the line) to collect her trophy. Everyone had a good laugh, and I had to turn Alessandra around and tell her to pass over the finish line. She ended up second to Andrew. The main was another close race, but Alessandra let Andrew pass her in the last turn (which is usually where Alessandra is faster), and couldn't quite close the gap back up before the finish. Oh well, she had a great time, and left with another second place trophy. She wanted to go straight home, which is a bit strange because she usually likes to hang out with the kids for a few, but I think she was coming down with a mild cold.