Feeling good and deciding to stretch my legs a bit.
Feeling a bit better than expected... opened a gap!
Gliding right along... thanks for the wheels, love!
That's a multiple-time National Champ and the Overall General Classification Leader chasing me in the yellow.
Making the girls work on the hill. YAY!
Still cruising along, love the girls chasing.
Keeping an eye on the field - those Radical girls are tricky and smart!
The Final Sprint - the field is splintered and going all-out.
I'm in 5th, but just barely behind 1-4
Digging a bit deeper.... Sam was cheering so wildly, he put down the camera.. I threw the wheel and took 3rd, inches ahead of 4th, inches behind 1 and 2.
It was quite a weekend. On Friday night, Sam and I made our way up North for the epic adventure that IS Tour of the Battenkill. This was our third year racing and it was the biggest and best year yet. It is an absolutely stellar event (and one of the hardest).
We had a lovely breakfast at our B&B and then rolled to the start. Lots of familiar faces were found around every corner.
We had a lovely breakfast at our B&B and then rolled to the start. Lots of familiar faces were found around every corner.
For the past 2 years, I have somehow managed to miss the race start - it's stupid, yes, of that I am aware, but now it's just comical. I left myself 20 minutes to get to the start this year and found - tada- the start was changed! I made it to the start line just as my field was pulling away. Grrrrreeeeeat. I caught on quick, but this meant I was all the way in the back of the field... and baby, I was not going anywhere. With a big field and yellow-line rule in place, it is near impossible to move around. Now, that's fine for the first few miles, but at mile 8 or so, you WANT to be in the front of the pack. At that point in the race, I managed a few crazy maneuvers and made my way up front.
Around mile 15 or so, the field Split - I was ever so slightly delayed behind a slower rider and that small gap defined the day.
I chased for 5 minutes, what felt like 5 hours and then grouped with a few other single riders. We started working together and for the next 30+ miles we could SEE the breakaway pack (and pace car) hanging about 15-20 seconds in front of us. It was brutally windy, from every angle. Ooh, diddleee - it was a challenge! Not to mention the crazy hills, dirt and otherwise, descents and simply demanding terrain.
Long story short, we worked and worked, toward the finish line, a few girls accelerated and I went with them. Sadly, the finish line inflatable blew away, so we were all sprinting blind. Had I thrown my wheel at the end, I would have been in the money. Instead I took 11th. I'm still pleased and had a great time riding with some very talented girls.
We stayed to watch the other events and to grab a bite at a super-sweet all-natural cafe. The drive home was looooong, but we still woke up early the following morning for the Bethel Criterium!
I had a nice time there, no breaks stuck, but I went for a bunch of sprints and pulled it out when I needed to in the final sprint.
11th and 3rd. Not a bad weekend.
After Sunday's race, I ran with super triathlete, race director, runner, momma and now bike racer extraordinaire, Megan! We cheered on athletes at the Danbury 1/2 and it was just a super way to end a super weekend.
In other news - my personal website is being redesigned as is my 2010 uniform - YAY!
Around mile 15 or so, the field Split - I was ever so slightly delayed behind a slower rider and that small gap defined the day.
I chased for 5 minutes, what felt like 5 hours and then grouped with a few other single riders. We started working together and for the next 30+ miles we could SEE the breakaway pack (and pace car) hanging about 15-20 seconds in front of us. It was brutally windy, from every angle. Ooh, diddleee - it was a challenge! Not to mention the crazy hills, dirt and otherwise, descents and simply demanding terrain.
Long story short, we worked and worked, toward the finish line, a few girls accelerated and I went with them. Sadly, the finish line inflatable blew away, so we were all sprinting blind. Had I thrown my wheel at the end, I would have been in the money. Instead I took 11th. I'm still pleased and had a great time riding with some very talented girls.
We stayed to watch the other events and to grab a bite at a super-sweet all-natural cafe. The drive home was looooong, but we still woke up early the following morning for the Bethel Criterium!
I had a nice time there, no breaks stuck, but I went for a bunch of sprints and pulled it out when I needed to in the final sprint.
11th and 3rd. Not a bad weekend.
After Sunday's race, I ran with super triathlete, race director, runner, momma and now bike racer extraordinaire, Megan! We cheered on athletes at the Danbury 1/2 and it was just a super way to end a super weekend.
In other news - my personal website is being redesigned as is my 2010 uniform - YAY!
1 comment:
11th and 3rd - NO, not bad at all, girl! glad you had a nice time, and way to sprint...i love the photo sequence and the kit looks great! :)
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