A good ride for Carson- a confidence builder for sure!
TH,
Another day in the books, and another day getting better. Going into today, I knew we where in for a long one – 168km to be more precise. As such, I was up early for a solid, but not bloatingly filling, breakfast. With the tank topped off, I made sure my prep this morning was as close to perfect as possible – race food, clothes, bike, wheels. I don’t think there was anything missing, and I was at the venue with plenty of time to allow for a calm and methodic pre-race routine.
After rolling around for a little bit, I stripped out of the extra warm clothes and rolled to staging for the start. Second row off the line was a nice touch, but obviously not as critical in a 168km road race, as opposed to tomorrow night’s 90 minute crit. I rode near the front throughout the day, and kept a close eye on the action at the front. While I kept a lookout for a good opportunity to get into the daily escape, I also knew the effort was nearly doomed with so many intermediate sprint and KOM competitions, as well as Fly-V being keen to keep the yellow jersey for another day.
Once a small group rolled off the front, I knew things would settle down in bunch, and went straight to work on getting ready for the final part of the race, where differences could be made. Keeping the leg speed up, and staying seated as much as possible to conserve energy for the final couple laps and KOM’s when we would dial up the chase paid off huge as I was always able to make the first group over the climbs and through the windy sectors. Coming into town for the finish, I was feeling super good – good enough to think of attacking. Although, I knew the effort would be wasted as we still hadn’t caught the break, so I sat near the front half of our slightly reduced group and geared up for the sprint. Coming through the final corner, I only had modest position in the bunch, due to some swelling in the group, and the curbs lining “our half” of the road. Coming through the final corner with a 100 meters to go, I opened a good little burst and the legs felt strong. I crossed the line happy with my effort on several different levels.
Having achieved both of the personal goals I set for myself was a small private victory. And despite the race not being as selective as it was in years past, I was happy to achieve a good level to boost the moral a bit. After the slower start to my season, it is nice to get some positive mo’ rolling, and I am g-ed to keep it rolling as the season comes into full swing.
After getting back to the house, I cranked a nice recovery smoothie before jumping into a salt bath. Out of the bath, I got a massage before jumping into my Skins and getting ready for dinner. Tomorrow’s crit will offer more to lose, than to gain. I will be looking to ride descent position to avoid any crashes or losing time, before the big show gets under way on Sunday. That is certainly the stage which will make or break the race, and I am g-ed to make a good fight. 12 times Stabbing-the-Beast! On Sunset. Yeah buddy. Its gonna be good.
Dinner is hitting the table, I will keep you posted with an update tomorrow night after the crit.
Regards,
C-
