After tens days off the bike I returned to racing today. The course was very smooth and the back side a slight riser but with the tailwind that was the fastest part of the course. For the 3's race I was of course islated without any teammates so I should have just been sitting in letting all the other teams pull back breaks. The race was paying 8 deep and 2 guys had got away. The field remained intact until we had 12 laps to go, a group of 6 guys were off the front and holding steady but no one was chasing because all teams were represented. Again the race was only paying 8 deep so I didn't want to miss out so I deviated from the plan of just sitting in and chased hard and I made contact with that chase group but when I got to them I was so tired I couldnt hang on and tried to fall back into the field. Only when I did that they had ramped things up I got spit off the back there. End of day for me in the 3's race. Tactically I screwed myself. I should have stayed glued in the field.
Next up was the 1/2/3 race. I knew in the race I would definitely just ride with the field. This race was 27 laps (55 miles). I stayed glued on the back of the pack the entire race up until 2 laps to go. I group of 6 were off the front and we were racing for 2 places initially but on the last lap the field did catch 4 of those guys. Through out the race there were attacks and counters but I didn't do any extra work and it was very easy just sitting on. The race was fast but I would say no faster than the A race on Tuesday nights. I tried sprinting in but my legs locked up and I sat up to roll in at 29th place. We had 60 starters so I was pleased. This was my first race on the Rabobank and it rides very smooth and responsive. I would say Giant has the edge over Scott now for me personally.
Soulard is next on the agenda and the return of my Addict. Flying back to StL Friday morning. See ya there!
1 comment:
Sounds like Cat 3s are about as fast on the east coast as the midwest. Good work!
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