23rd GC
Enough procrastinating. The race ended a week ago yesterday and I haven’t had the time, energy, or interest in wrapping up the stage race with a report on the criterium. I was still perplexed by my ill-fated road race the previous day. Why did that happen to me? I tried my best to channel my energy into the crit and had visions of grandeur; stealing away from the pack and crossing the line solo for the victory. Unfortunately, it’s not like I didn’t race hard in the road race, I still had weary legs from the climb and the solo effort. Plus, no one told the rest of the guys in my group they were supposed to soft pedal and let me win! It was another gorgeous day, this time in downtown Burlington. The course winds it way through the city streets and is potentially deadly at best. There is a cobblestone section, a screaming descent into a turn, and some serious potholes. Put 60 guys on a line and say go and you’ve got a potential disaster on your hands. Luckily, my group had some of the most talented and intelligent racers in the circuit so it was good, clean, fun and FAST racing.
These are shots of the women's race.
As I had feared, the pace was torrid right from the gun. I was maxed out by the first lap. I suppose a lot of that had to do with the fact that I didn’t get clipped in at the start and was about dead-last! I wasted no time and worked my way to the front, intent to possibly go for some of the sprints for points to move up in the GC, and to go with any break. I was never in a position to contest the sprints, so that was a bust. And somehow, 1 rider got away and solo’d for the win. That was supposed to be me I thought! I would have done anything to work with anyone to get away, but it was really a survival-fest given the speed of the pack. Fortunately, my hard work to stay towards the front paid off and I was in good position on the last lap heading to the finish. I had been using a fast line on the outside on the descent and often passed many people. I again had the opportunity to do so on the last lap, but I opted to stay in line instead and see where my sprint would take me. I was 10th at the base of the descent and was nipped at the line by the eventual GC winner, a rider from Canada who was really sucky at crits. He rode as if he were in a road race, changing lanes and lines at will, not thinking about what or who was behind him. We touched wheels pretty heavily once.
“What could have been” is the theme for the weekend. I had solid finishes in 3 of 4 stages and would have been well inside the top-10 had I not flatted. I have nothing to show for the weekend other than knowing “what could have been!” Oh well. Another GMSR, another learning experience. Next year will be great! Or not!
My favorite part of the weekend: a cooldown spin on the Bikeway
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