Another Full Weekend of Racing!
This will be the last double for a few weeks - until stage race season starts at least :D
Saturday - Independence Valley (this was our team's race!)
2 laps 19.5 miles each
It was pouring rain! Since this was our race to put on we needed and got a great turn out for the team. We expected to have about 5 strong riders and out strategy was just to keep the tempo high to split the race fast - there is a hill about 1 mile into the race that tends to thin it out. As expected we split off about 1/3 of the field fast. We had a good majority in the split with the 5 expected riders and another getting over the climb in the front. Everything pretty much stayed status quo around the back side that is rolling and can be somewhat windy. On the second hill a few of us got gap for a little while and we actually widened it on the way down as there were some in our group that were very cautious descenders - but this descent is made to go fast - no sharp corners, nothing to worry about slowing down for. Being a smaller rider I had to chase hard to not lose my teammates! At the bottom of the hill we all came back together. We got the girls a little more orgainized and pacelined for a while until my strongest teammate decided to attack. Somehow no one reacted.... I was looking around just waiting for someone to chase so that I could latch on to them and counter, but it just never happend. Of course we were not going to participate in any chase for our teammate so we all sat on and waited. I'm not sure what the rest of the women were thinking, but we toodled along at about 14.5 mph for several miles before we hit the first hill again. By this time we had been going so slow that I was cold! We hit that hill and my legs felt like lead. I just managed to hold on to the group until I warmed back up a bit. We let some of the cautious descenders lead down the hill and sat in for most of the back side. I tested the waters with an attack and I got a pretty good gap going. Unfortunately the pack was a bit more on the ball this time and one of the ladies who had been sitting on the back for most of the race chased me down (they started the race with only two and they are both pretty experienced so they weren't about to work unless they had to...) We hit the last hill and I just worked on keeping on the wheel of the most fiesty of the riders left - since I knew she was one of the cautious descenders I though if we got a gap I might be able to lose her on the way down, but again it came back together once we all reached the bottom of the hill, but we did lose a few more people to the hill. At this point it was clear that my teammate was in no danger of being caught so we organized a pretty good little paceline for a while - why prolong the agony... it was still pouring rain. We reached the finish with about 10 or 12 left. My ultimate place was 8th. On the way back (the finish was several miles from the staging area) I got a flat! At least it wasn't during the race. But the saga goes on!! Since this was our race we all had to volunteer too! I was driving the wheel car for the Men's 3 race in the afternoon - Yikes - that was probably scarier than riding. After we stopped to change someones wheel we would have to speed up to catch the pack again. There were soooo many flats, we used every wheel in the car and had to turn a few people down. There was a crash and a broken chain - the sweep cars were busy. Then we got to pack it all up and drive up to the town that the next race was in....
Sequim #2
3 laps, 12 miles each
Wow was I feeling toasted this morning. We didn't get to our hotel until about 7:30. We threw all of our wet laundry into a washer and unpacked the cars, dried the bikes and took showers. Then off to dinner - one of the reasons we picked the hotel we did was because there is a decent Mexican place right next door (it was a bit after 9pm by now!) They were out of food.... OK by now its getting late, so we take off to find food. Fortunately there was a Chinese restaurant across the street - yes in a small town I had my reservations about how good it might be, but it was actually great! So fed and happy we went back to our rooms - sorted our laundry and I changed my flat. By the time I got to bed it was 11:30. So of course this morning I wasn't feeling tip top. I was at this race as support in any case, (this is a series and one of my teammates won the first race on a solo break - now our goal is to place her high for this race and the next) but I wasn't sure how much support I was going to be able to offer.. Turns out I was feeling better than my warmup predicted. The first lap was pretty controlled from what I can remember... more serious attacks started on the second lap. I chased down several until I was feeling pretty tired and one of my teammates took over for me. Our team and two others were pretty well represented today, but one of those teams had the #2 placed rider and their strategy was to sit on the back and save their energy. The third team was throwing every rider that they could at us, but each time one of us went out and reeled them in. I must say that felt good. On the third and final lap we were slogging our way up a grade and I was again at the front just sticking to one of the other teams, we got to the top and turned the corner when I looked back - ummmmmm where did that big gap come from.... So I had a choice to make, to try to make it stick or sit up. I decided that it would be best to try to make it stick. One of three things might happen. My teammate who won last week is strong and could probably bridge (which she did), I could deny points to the 2nd placed rider or we would get caught by the pack (which also happened). After being out on the break I was again feeling pretty fried and had to work hard to not lose contact on the small hill on the course, but I kept it going and everyone came together again at the bottom of the hill - good thing I have a fairly fast recovery, cause there someone went again. I was glad it was a short lived chase down (we were now on the windy side of the course and no one was easily getting away) After that no one tried to get away again since it was just kind of suicidal to try in that wind. The team with the #2 place rider finally started to move up and try to get to the front of the pack. Then.... we were neutralized by the mens 4/5 field in the last 2000 meters!!! just before the last corner. It couldn't have happened at a worse time. Everyone was just trying to set up for the last push to the line and to make matters even more peachy - a break of three guys came through then our lead car pulled back out - so we all thought that the break was all that was coming. Well - just as we were all regrouping and moving out again the whole of the men's pack came through. It goofed up our finish and theirs! They got held up behind our car and our pack and we got mixed into the tail end of their sprint. My teammate went out early - probably at 1000 meters and managed to hold off the field for a first place in our race!!! Whooo hooo! and I figured I was probably somewhere in the top 20, but I was counting a whole lot of men I guess since I was 9th overall. Not too bad considering my day before- next week I go to the last race in this series fresh!! No race on Saturday. It should be fun (insert evil grin here)
