I really enjoyed this stage race. I went into it without any real expectations since this was my first 3 /4 race. Over the last 2 weeks or so, I haven’t felt all that great. Legs were just flat and I’ve been trying to get over some sort of chest congestion.
I pronounced to Igda, Emi, and of course Leo, that this weekend was all about "Team Warner". They were both great supporters during the weekend. Maybe not so much Leo, but he did manage to put smiles on our faces even though he drove us all nuts barking at everything and everybody. We joked a bunch about when Team Warner was being grumpy or unsupportive at times. It kept us all in check...well, mainly me since I was grumpy a few times. Emi and Igda were awesome during the road race. Emi handed me a bottle on Lap 4 just like a pro. Just glad I didn't rip his arm off. They had to endure sitting for 2 hours next to a horse paddock that wreaked of manure. Igda got lots of pics and video I hope to put this week.
We had a fun drive home playing all sorts of child games like 20 questions and some strange rhyming game Emi devised. Lots of laughs.
Full Results HERE
Road Race:
Since I hadn’t previewed the course, the plan was to sit in and get familiar with the course. VERY early in Lap 1, I see Tom jump up to Lance (BikeRack) and they go off to bridge up to a few other guys. The course is winding with enough up and downs that if you got more than 30-45 seconds up the road you were out of sight. The field was very lackadaisical about this early move. Honestly, there really wasn’t much “blocking” that needed to be done on this first lap. The field was content to just toodle along. At the beginning of lap 2, I made my way to front and spoke to the NCVC guy who I knew had a guy in the break as well. There were a few guys starting to put in some efforts, but between him and I mixing in the rotations it was going nowhere. We even commented to each other that it looked like the field was super lazy today. Cool. After the climb, I just got on the front for a couple of miles spinning a high cadence making it look like I was working but in reality I was only pushing about 250w’s. I didn’t really want to give it away that I was blocking just yet.
On lap 3, CCV/Ironhill team started to ramp up a chase. I just stayed in the mix and sat on everything. Pretty uneventful. Toward the end of lap 3, the Shirks team added all of their guys to the front and started to chase pretty hard. By now, the gap was over 2 minutes and they were getting nervous. I kept working my through the rotation and giving some half hearted pull throughs. I think they finally figured out what I was doing, so I was content to sit 4th wheel and just let the 3 Shirks guys do all of the work. I stopped pulling through and just sat there. Nobody behind me wanted to give them a hand. On lap 4 at the climb, a Shirk’s guy and a CCV/Ironhill blasted up the climb. I figured letting them go would all but shut down the chase, which it did. The Shirk’s team started blocking now. Lap 5 was pretty much a snoozer with lots of solo attacks. Nothing organized was going.
I ended up 14th. A tad disappointed I didn’t go a bit earlier with a few guys on the uphill slog to the finish, but really it would only have been a handful of places gained.
TT:
Posted 23:49 which tied for fourth place. I was very happy with how I felt. This was the best I’ve felt on the bike in about 3 weeks. The legs were good. I was mentally focused, pushing hard. I felt great. My luck ran out a bit a little over half-way through when the storm ripped through. In the last 3 miles, it really was raining hard and a pretty stiff crosswind was now blowing. I just kept grinding away. All in all, I was happy with the result. It helped pay for some gas.
Crit:
Tom calculated out that I was around 8th on GC going into the crit. Fortunately, though, Tom was sitting #1 on GC with a couple of guys neck and neck. When you have a teammate with a shot at winning or podium, it’s time to sacrifice. The plan was for me to try and keep the pace high enough with 5 to go that no attacks would go, especially with any of the top GC guys in it. My race nearly ended on lap 2 when a guy wildly swung into me for no reason. Thankfully, I had room to swing wide, but it put me at the back of the field. I later found out that this guy crashed out 2/3’s through the race. Otherwise, the course was pretty fun. I guess my only regret is not working harder to bring the break back sooner. Little did we know that there was one guy within spitting distance if he won. With 6 to go, I jumped to the front and started working. Honestly, I was suffering a bit, but I was going to do my best. I just tried to keeping pushing it. Lacy pulled through hard for a couple of laps and I had to drop back a bit to recover. With 2 to go, I drove back up to the front for one last dig and dropped off the front just after 1 to go. I wish I had some more in the tank, but it was all I could muster. I saw Tom was second wheel right behind the Shirk's guy we were marking pulling now on the front. I was pretty much toast. I slotted back in toward the back of the field and got to view the carnage that took place on the final sprint. I was just glad to see Tom get through it. I rolled in for 28th.
I ended up 13th on GC. Congrats, Tom! Helluva race. It was a great time.
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