GMSR – Wrapup

It’s back to reality here in Maine now. I had a bit of difficulty sleeping no doubt due to fatigue, although my legs aren’t sore. I would classify my entire body as “worn.” It was surprising to realize how much upper body I used all weekend when sprinting and muscling up climbs.
My general opinion of the stage race is I’m content with my finish within my class. I can’t imagine I could have improved on my Prologue time as I was redlining it from the start. The Circuit Race came down to the sprint which isn’t my specialty, so I’m content with that finish. The Road Race will be remembered as an opportunity lost. All I had to do was match the surge up the last 30 yards of the Middlebury Gap and I would have been in the front field and could have certainly earned a better finish. However, the group of 6 of us made the most of the situation and to finish only 6 minutes behind the winner was a real accomplishment. The Criterium was a blur, literally. I gave it all I had and am pleased with the result.
Overall, I think my top-20 GC is accurate. Could I have cracked the top-15? Absolutely. But the lessons learned and the experience gained puts me in a good position to shoot for a top-10 in the Masters 40+. Crap, I’ll be 40 next year! I definitely underestimated the category I was in. The field I am actually licensed for was the Cat. 4 35+. I can pretty much bet everyone ahead of me was both younger and/or a Cat. 1-3. All of my finishing times would have won the events in the other category. At least I can’t be accused of sandbagging! Instead of bringing home prize money, I brought home experience and the satisfaction of knowing I was competitive in an elite field. It was by far the hardest, cleanest, funnest road racing I’ve ever experienced!
I’m taking some deserved time off and beginning the transition to cyclocross, the final bike season!