Horton Overhauls Davis to Win Points Race at Encino Velodrome

Katie Horton of Montrose came from two points behind to win the senior women’s points race, 18-14, over Esther Davis of the CeloPacific team Saturday night at the Encino Velodrome.

Points are awarded to the first four cyclists to cross the start/finish line on specified laps in the 12-lap race.

Davis won the first sprint to take a 5-3 advantage but Horton built an insurmountable lead during the next five laps. Horton won the final two point laps. By the bell lap, Horton had stretched her lead to about 125 meters, half the distance around the 250-meter banked track.

Horton rebounded an hour later to easily win a 10-lap, point-per-lap race.

One point is awarded to the first-place cyclist after each lap and then on a 5-3-2-1 basis at the finish.

Horton claimed her second race of the night with 12 points. Davis, with four points, again finished second.

Alicia DeCampos of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Michelle Lehroff of Antelope Valley Velo finished third and fourth, respectively, in both races.

Tim Bengsten of the Velox team won a controversial senior men’s points race over Chris Johnson of Diamond Back/Santa Barbara.

Bengsten and Johnson, who were 1-2 on their final lap, tried surging past a pack of about seven riders but got caught in traffic. Erik Hollenbeck of the San Diego Bicycle Club was credited with 10 points for being first in the final sprint but he actually never finished the race because he stopped one lap short. Hollenbeck was third overall.

Bengsten won the competition with eight points and Johnson was second with seven. Johnson later held off John Walsh of Montrose in the final stretch to win the senior men’s miss-and-out. Johnson held a five-meter margin with a lap remaining but Walsh closed quickly over the last 100.