Disappointment numero dos!
This is one of the peak races in my training plan. It consists of three stages: Saturday's 40 mile road race, Sunday morning's 8 mile time trial up Pain Mountain, and Sunday afternoon's criterium. Last year I did really well in this race, picking up 18th, 5th, and 9th respectively on my way to finishing 7th place overall. I was pumped for this race, feeling in better shape than I was last year.
Saturday's road race did not go as well as I hoped. It ended in a bunch sprint which is not my strong suit. At the end of the day, I simply didn't have the gas to put in a good sprint. I finished 19th. I was bitterly disappointed.
Sunday mornings TT was the redemption for me. It's an 8 mile course: 4 miles relatively flat and then 4 miles up pain mountain. Last year I distinctly remember thinking that I would have to dismount and walk my bike up some of the steeper sections. At those times, I reached down and found something extra. Last year, I completed the stage in exactly 26 minutes and took 5th place. This year, it seemed just a little easier. I worked hard on the flat parts but saved a little for the climb. Riders go off at 30 second intervals but none of the three riders in front of me showed up. As a consequence the rider in front of me started with a 2 minute advantage. Very quickly on the climb, I started to see riders and I started to pass them. When I reached the steepest parts, I just kept on cranking. I felt great and I crossed the line in 24:49, a minute and 11 seconds faster than last year...and 4 seconds faster than the winning time last year. Would this be it? Would I finally get my win? It was not to happen. Wes Schempf (see Fawn Grove Roubaix post) put in a time of 23:53. As it turns out, shaving more than a minute off of my time landed me in 5th place again!
Still, I thought that with a strong finish in the criterium I could place well overall. Last year I remember feeling great in the crit and this year was no different. My family and several friends from my neighborhood were cheering me on. Coming into the second to last lap my legs felt strong and I was looking forward to putting in a good sprint and finishing hopefully in the top 6. But that sprint would happen without me. There's a saying in cycling, "there are two types of riders: those who have gone down and those who haven't gone down YET." Coming into the 2nd turn, several riders dove into the corner. There was a bottleneck with no room to move. I ended up crossing wheels with another rider and landed on my ass. My race was over. My new shorts had a giant rip allowing me to show the entire town of Ephrata my right butt cheek.
Despite the unceremonious end to my quest for glory, I finished the race in 12th overall. Not bad, but not what I was hoping for.
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