This was a tough race to get ready for there was only a 14 hour or so break in between the crit and the road race. I had done 2 practice runs of my laps on the course so I knew I would have the energy to finish following the criterium. There had been a thunderstorm and 20 degreee drop in temperature during the night so I had trouble sleeping and had to wake up in the middle of the night to close my window. I woke up really early as I had a 9am start time and needed enough time to eat my race day breakfast and have time to digest.
We arrived at the race course and the course looked surprinsigly dry so it looked liked the race was good to go despite the chance of a thundershower. It was pretty brisk outside which is good for racing...not so good for spectators. My parents had also come out to watch me race which is the first time they have ever seen me ride my bike for an extended period of time.
After doing a warm-up going up and down the flat section of the course. We were ready to get get going. We all lined and up and were led out by a lead motorcycle and pace car. It was a neutral start for 1km so we could all get settled into the pack. After the first km the pace car pulled over and the race started. I managed to stay with the pack for the first lap. During the climb on the way to the start/finsih area I could see a gap developing so as soon as we reached the top of the climb I decided to bridge the gap and not let it get away from me this time. I caught up with the break group and moved my way to the middle of the pack as to not get dropped again.
During the 3rd lap I got gapped once again during the climb. While I think I could have powered up and stayed with the group I was concerned about having the do it another 6 times and suffering more each time a that pace. After the climb I managed to form a pack with 2 other dropped riders and we continued on together for the next 5 laps rotating pulls.
About lap 7 we managed to catch 2 other dropped riders and went through the 8th lap as a group of 5. We also finally got passed by the cat 4 riders who started 5 minutes after us. We could not see the main pack anywhere so we must have been over 2km back. During the last lap 2 of the riders of my group got dropped on the first climb. As this was the final lap we decided not to wait for them. We got to the last climb and dropped another rider. I decided to use everything I had during the climb to sprint for the finish. I was hammering so hard and just trying to finish off the race I forgot to check to see if anyone was behind me.
Just as I was about the reach the finish line...one of the riders I thought I had dropped on the hill had been in my draft all along and pulled out at the last second from behind me to beat me by a foot at the finish line. This was the closest finished I've ever had. As we coasted down the straight we gave each other the fist pound...it was such an awesome way to finish off the race.
Finally I had finished off my first stage race and my first ever road race. It was tough but I learned a lot during the course of the three days. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the long weekend. After every race...I always find out where I need to focus my training and I also find out just how hard I can push myself.
Result: 21/42
Not bad for my first road race. I'm so glad I was able to form a pack with a bunch of other riders. That made all the difference in the world and allowed us to get a chance to finish the race. I actually really liked this course and I can't wait to do it again next year.
I also got a place on the Omnium finishing 21/27 as I got points from my hill climb placing. There were probably about 50 participants in my category so I finished up in the top half.
A big thanks to my parents for coming out to watch and taking pictures.
Also congrats to my teammates Mark, Craig and Stuart for their awesome performances in the Tour. Congrats to Mark on his 3rd place in Cat 4 overall and Craig on his 2nd place in Cat 3 overall. It feels awesome to be on a team that always manages to end up with riders on the podium at every event.
Posts
Great work, Kyle!
ReplyDelete