The first day was the Burlington Road Race. The course was changed slightly from previous years in that it was extended to 102 miles. Little did I know how difficult those 102 miles would be. The team discussed the plan and we knew we had a couple sprinters who could potentially win in the Ryans--Knapp and Aitcheson. My job was to cover the early dangerous moves and if I found myself in a break then I would obviously try to win. I covered several moves that included the danger teams; Aerocat and Roadhouse. After about 30 miles of racing, John Grant very innocuously rolled off the front and I simply followed. We were quickly joined by Josh Carter from Aerocat. We immediately began working well together and the gap jumped up to almost 4 minutes at one point. We went through the turn around and got a good look at the field that was surprisingly moving at a good clip. I was surprised at the random assortment of those chasing, considering the three strongest teams were represented in the break. The moto informed me that I had a teammate chasing, so I immediately stopped working and sure enough Mac bridged in a monster effort bringing along one other.
As soon as he joined we were informed our gap had plummeted down to just over 2 minutes. We immediately started rotating as hard as we possibly could, dropping the rider who bridged with Mac. We only had a little over 1 minute with about 25 miles left. We were going as hard as we could, it was a full on team trial and a brutal effort. I wished I could have attacked about 5k out but with the pace and the small gap over the field it was too risky and I honestly did have the legs for a 3 mile effort at that pace. We hit the last hill that leads into the 600 meter downhill kick to the line and I attacked and was immediately caught. Mac then went to no avail and I countered one more time with absolutely everything I had. It unfortunately did not work and I tacked on to the sprint. Carter led it out with Grant on his wheel and myself in third. That is how we finished. I honestly thought I could win this race but ultimately could not pull it out. I was happy to be on the podium for Panther p/b Competitive Cyclist but would have loved to win.
The next day was the coveted Snake Alley Criterium and my legs were feeling the previous days effort. I started 41st which after call ups is closer to 50. I did not get the best start and was behind the lead group. Last year I went into the red too quickly and never caught the leaders. After not making the group as quickly as I would have liked I had no choice but to settle into TT mode and hope to reel in the leaders. I caught them with about 13 laps to go. When I arrived a break leapt off of the front and knowing that I didnt have the legs to win, I went to the front to bring it back for Ryan K and Ryan A. I got close enough for riders to start jumping across and the teammates were able to go with them WIth 2 to go I clung to the back desperately trying to stay in contact as the legs were dead. I got popped off at the top of the Snake the last time up and rolled in for 15th, a career best at Snake Alley but not what I had hoped for.
The rest of the weekend was a wash for me as I developed some knee pain and was not able to finish Melon City and did not line up for Quad Cities. I have gotten a lot of treatment in hopes to be at my best for Nature Valley and Nationals. I have lofty goals for both events and hopefully I can accomplish them. Hopefully I can look back at this adversity as something I overcame to still accomplish my goals. I will keep you posted.
Thanks for reading.
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