Winters Road Race Pro/1/2

This was going to be the last big race of the season and I wanted to make it a good one. I picked up Cyrus really early and we made the hour and a half drive to Winters where we were almost the first people there.
Breakfast was an egg sandwich that I'd eaten in the car on the way to the race.

As this was one of the main races of the Cal Cup it was likely going to be a big field with some tough racing. It was 4 laps for about 95 miles.

Things started out fairly easy with a couple of little attacks on the first lap, people were getting off the front trying to give themselves a little breathing room on the field before the first lap climb. The first time up the climb was hard but not crazy, little gaps opened but by the end of the descent I was back in the main group and rolling the flat.

Lap 2 was very different, we were going slow enough that we were caught by the Masters field that started behind us and were neutralized coming into the start of the climb. This meant that the group were rested going into the climb and almost everyone stayed together. Small breaks had got away and come back together.

The third lap was also fairly easy as there was a break up the road and things had calmed down. A large group managed to get back on the main field and the size of the field had grown significantly from the second lap. At this point I saw Cyrus for the first time and also noticed that Andrew Touchstone had gone missing. I would eventually find out the after a number of early attacks he had pulled out.

With a small break up the road things were fairly easy until we came into the feed zone. I needed a bottle and hesitated long enough that a gap opened up and I was very alone on the climb, there were still a lot of riders behind me but the main group of about 15 were gone. Over the top of the climb I waited for the group behind me as it contained Steve OMara and another Mikes Bikes rider who was strong, it also had Cyrus. We all worked together as we picked up more people and tried to chase the main group. Guys were. Cracking and dropping off of our group but I still felt strong and was driving to the finish. In hindsight I should have attacked at about a mile out but again hesitated to make a move. Our group came down to a sprint and I think I finished about 4 back. This was good enough for 28th at about 1.5 minutes back on the winners.

With 26 people not finishing out of the 80 starters I was really pleased with this result in a Pro/1/2 race. As alway it was lack of power not fitness that held me back. It seems the heart and lungs are fine but I need a bigger pair of legs.

Now it was time to take a break and get ready for Cyclocross season with a trip to Cross Vegas next month.

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Location:Mountain View, CA United States