Saturday morning we awoke to partly sunny skies, lots of wind, and cool temperatures. We packed up and drove to the start area right down the road. I debated wearing arm warmers and was a bit concerned with the possibility of rain and dropping temperatures in the mountains. After my warm-up, I ended up going with just a jersey and shorts hoping for the best weather wise. I lined up with two teammates, Etsu and Ira. Much like me, Etsu is on the come back trail having suffered from a nasty infection which knocked him out for the middle part of the season. Ira on the other hand has been on a tear this season and is super strong not to mention a very smart racer. It was an easy decision who we were working for.
The race started under threatening skies as we headed toward the first climb. We crested the climb much quicker than I expected, partly due to our high speed along with the climb being shorter than I remembered. Once over the climb, I drifted to the back of the peloton for the first time down the descent to play it safe. The sharper corners toward the bottom of the descent ended up being a non-factor at speed making for a very non-technical descent. That being said, there were some beat up patches of asphalt on the right side to avoid. As we turned up the river valley, the rain started to fall every so gently, slowly building into a nice steady shower. I stayed tucked in at the back playing it conservative for the first lap, hopefully I could save enough energy to make the distance with something left in the tank. Numerous guys attacked and were reeled back as we made our way up the river valley and then back to hunter on Route 42. Four guys finally got away and the peloton was content to ease up a little. Unfortunately Etsu had a mechanical issue and dropped off on the gradual slog up Route 42 leaving Ira and me to do the honors for FGX in a field of 40-50 riders. As we passed by 15, 20, and 25 miles of race, it was clear that it was going to be a long day for me. My legs felt heavy and I was suffering but my power numbers were fine. I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't have the legs to make it to the end. The rain was proving a nice distraction however the shower passed as we neared 23A. After turning onto 23A heading back toward Hunter, Ira attacked hard to bridge up to the break. As the break turned onto Bridge Street in Hunter, I could see that Ira had closed the gap to the break to about 10 seconds. Unfortunately he never was able to completely close the gap and he drifted back to the peloton shortly before we hit the short climb at the beginning of the second lap. The wind was hammering anyone and everyone who dared sticking their nose out even the slightest bit on 23A and it took its toll on Ira. As we made our way up the climb I began to move toward the front as the breakaway completely disappeared from view. Despite Ira's best efforts attacking several times early on, covering other attacks, and attempting to bridge...he was still stuck in the peloton having missed the break that stuck. Watching him the first lap began to inspire me more and more. He was always perfectly positioned several riders back just out of the wind. After we crested the climb and began the descent, I told Ira to sit in and I was going to try to get a couple BH guys to work with me to close the gap to the breakaway. Warren, an acquaintance of mine on team BH was on the front and no one wanted to help. I told him I'd work with them to help close down the break and we got down to business. We hammered the second half of the descent as one or two other guys chipped into the chase. Heading up the river valley, the good work continued until some young guy sat up on the front. I had drifted back a bit with one of the BH guys to get a little rest. As soon as the pace slowed, we both looked at each other and immediately made our way back to the front on either side of the peloton. We lifted the pace back up only to have it drop again after our pulls. Frustrated, the BH guy attacked and I instinctively jumped his wheel and we were off the front. As I pulled through, he commented that maybe this will light a fire under their ass! Amazingly it worked. Several guys weren't very happy with us off the front and the pace rose sharply as they shut us down. Once we were caught, the pace remained steady and several guys were working with us again. I took a long pull onto Route 42 and kept the pace as high as I dared knowing the long gradual climb that was coming. Funny to be worried about a gradual climb but when shutting down a break for a teammate, you leave just enough in reserve to not get dropped until the job is done. On the way up, we caught a masters field and no shock, they mixed in with our field and wouldn't let us go. After cresting the second climb, we ripped down the short descent and I topped out just north of 53mph. At the bottom, there were a couple of attacks out of our field that I covered which ended up separating out the two fields finally. As we turned onto 23A, the remaining two guys in the break were just up the road and the peloton quickly began to shut it down as the break battled the fierce headwinds. By this point, I was pretty cooked and was hanging on near the back hiding from the wind as best I could...simply hoping to survive the last 7 miles. The peloton closed to within 10 seconds of the break and everyone sat up content that it was over. But it wasn't. I watched the break start to stretch the gap back out as one rider attacked and bridged up, breathing new life into the break. Before I knew it, they were over 30 seconds up the road and apparently the peloton was happy to race for fourth place. I moved forward as gaps were opening further back, trying to find more steady wheels to follow. Just then, Warren attacked and without a thought I jumped his wheel as we went shooting out the front. I had no intention of trying to get away because I was suffering pretty badly now, rather I just wanted to cover the move to protect Ira. I pulled through when Warren signaled and couldn't believe how strong the headwind was. My legs were cooked and I didn't have much before I eased up and a third guy pulled through. He wasn't much stronger and it quickly became apparent to Warren that this attack was going no where. At least we managed to close the gap to the break down a bit. I drifted back to around tenth wheel and was shocked to see everyone sitting up looking around as the break once again stretched the gap disappearing quickly up the road. Now I was pissed. How stupid can you be? I knew Ira was probably a bit tired and trying to conserve for the finish since he packs a good sprint so I didn't expect him to work. After watching Ira ride a great race, I was really annoyed with the stupid tactics playing out. My frustration finally boiled over and I started making my way to the front to do something about it. Unfortunately the top 6 or 7 guys had the entire lane blocked and I couldn't get through. Angry as hell at these idiots for doing nothing but looking around at each other as the race slips away, I yelled "get out of my way" as I sliced through a tight spot between two of the riders. I hit the front and drilled it for all I was worth. I took note of the gap to the break which was around 50-60 seconds, put my head down and sank into the pain completely focused. In two to three minutes of battling the headwind, I had cut the gap in half but I needed a break. I flicked my elbow and amazingly someone pulled through...and then slowly eased off the pace not wanting to work too hard. After a minute or two of rest and even more annoyed, I drove to the front again and buried myself one final time. I knew this was it as we entered the outskirts of Hunter. If I didn't get the peloton close enough, no one else was going to work and the race was over. I sank deeper into the drops with my head slightly down focusing on turning the legs over as hard and as long as I could. My legs were searing with pain but I kept going. A quick glance at my power confirmed there was still something left as I hovered just over 300 watts. Everything began to blur except for my focus on putting as much pressure on the pedals as possible. It seemed like an eternity went by as I drilled the front and then I saw the parked cop car ahead and lifted my head as we approached Bridge Street...and there was the break! I turned onto Bridge Street using every bit of the road so as to carry as much speed as possible. I rose out of the saddle and accelerated with everything I had left and counted down the gap. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...6 seconds! Despite the burning of my legs, I hammered into the small rise after we crossed the river and pulled off to the far right and exploded, completely slouched over the bars...done. I sensed the peloton flying by on my left as we rounded the final turn heading for the finish. I tried desperately to grab onto the back of the peloton and did so briefly until they accelerated. At 1K to go, I was spit out the back and didn't even care. My job was done. At 500M to go, I completely sat up craning my neck for a view of the sprint. I saw Ira's white jersey go shooting out of the front as I pumped my fist in the air and yelled "GO!" As the Peloton neared the line, I could no longer see what was going on and slowly pedaled in. I crossed the line as Etsu and several of our 4's cheered me on. I made my way up to Ira as he turned around to come back. He had finished second, frustrated for mistiming his sprint. Regardless, we were both ecstatic with the result and teamwork. We pulled off to the side and talked with our teammates and a few other guys from our race, including the guy who bridged up to the break and almost won the race...had it not been for me. Had I not taken those last two pulls, the break would have easily made it to the finish. They were caught just inside of 500M to go. The best part was rolling in off the back watching Ira go shooting out of the peloton for the sprint finish. What a great feeling. He deserved the shot at the win and he delivered with a great finish. I was just happy I had something left to give him the shot at the win...especially after the race he rode. Although I'm still not sure where it came from considering I was hanging on the back hoping to survive with 7 miles to go haha!
I received a lot of nice compliments from Ira and many other teammates. For me, the satisfaction came from finally being competitive again. Ira deserves all the credit for the race, he rode so smart the entire way and was super strong, taking chances to force the race in his favor. Additionally, he always commented after my pulls "good job" or "nice work." It was a great feeling to ride competitively and be able to impact the outcome of the race once again. It has been a very long road back with many days of doubt and second guessing. But lucky race #13 proved I was back. After the suffering and pain subsided, I reflected on my born again love of racing. I can't wait to get back out there!
happy you had a good race and are back.
ReplyDeleteJeff and Carla