I woke up Sunday with a headache and feeling a bit low after coughing on and off all night. I decided to start despite feeling less than stellar. I was nervous for the climb up Platte Cove Rd as was most of the women's field. While we were warming up and staging gear ratios seemed to be the only thing the women were talking about. I was also a little bit nervous because I had only seen the last 12 mile of the course and a 10 mile stretch in the middle that we had ridden the day before (a section of 23 into Windham, and the climb out and that long downhill that worried me in Saturday's race). With the exception of a few courses where we did multiple laps, I have at least driven the whole loop before racing it.
The course started off fairly flat and we climbed to KOM1 within 7 miles of the start before descending down to Rt 23 for some false flat rollers into Windham, the climb out and the crazy long descent. This time we made a right off of 23 for a bunch of flat with a few rollers that took us through a super fast (almost down hill) feed zone. After the feed zone was more of the same until mile 45 when we hit the climb on Platte Cove Rd. From the top of the climb in held a few more rollers and a fast descent into a flat finish at mile 56 ish.
The women’s race was odd. We started out fairly slow, but things heated up for KOM 1 when we were still 8km out. I stuck with the main group most of the way and then ended at the top in the second group on the road but we worked together and bridged before the end of the downhill (I barely hung on on the descent). Being back in the field things got more comfortable until we reached the town of Windham. The other groups on the road bridged back up for the most part but they had to push for longer so I am glad I extended myself a little to stick with that second group.
As soon as we crossed what had been Saturday’s finish line, a major attack went off and the pace skyrocketed. It is a gentle climb out of Windham and we hammered it. Things then went into surge and slow mode and people attacked and then things settled and then attacked again. The second major attack came at the beginning of that same long downhill we did the day before. Having ridden it once I was a little more comfortable – hanging 1 – 2 bike lengths back. After that descent we went into rolling terrain for 20 miles and things settled in pretty steady...
Until the feed zone. The feed zone was in a flat and fast spot so it was a bit chaotic in the field going through there. I just moved to the yellow line and stayed there. While half the field was still in the feed zone someone on the front attacked and we went tearing out of there. However, literally 20 seconds later, once we were around a bend the women on the front stopped for a pee break – nearly causing a wreck in the back. I don’t know why they attacked out of the feed just to stop around the bend. I guess someone really had to go. The whole field was stopped (lead car stopped so we all had to).
After we got rolling again things were steady until mile 40. The climb up Platte Cove Rd (Devils Kitchen, 2 miles or so of average 11% grade with some pitches up to 23%) started at 45, but it seems no one really knew where it started. The whole peloton got really nervous. Can't really describe the feeling. There were subtle changes in the demeanor of the riders. We slowed a little. The women started talking a bit more with each other. People started moving around in the pack a little - though not in a way that obviously said they were positioning themselves near the front.
The climb was tough, but I just kept it steady and didn’t worry about anyone else. I had put on my 12-27 and was wondering if that was an easy enough gear. It was. I climbed out of the back of the pack and was pretty steadily passing men and women all the way up. My HR stayed under control, my breathing regular, the legs weren’t burning Yes, I know that means I could have and probably should have gone harder, but I was enjoying the climb. At one particularly steep switch back I must have looked like I was smiling because one of the many many people lining the sides of the road told me to stop smiling and keep riding. The only black mark on the climb was a van driver ignored the road closed and kept stopping in the middle of the road (pretty much directly in front of me) because the riders in front of the van were going slowly and many were getting off to walk. That forced me to the sides of the road where the pavement wasn’t nice and on some of the switchbacks I couldn’t choose the part of the road with the easier pitch. The van kept leap frogging with me and it was making me crabby.
Anyway I stayed on the bike all the way up. Caught someone at the top and another woman caught us and the three of us worked together the last 10 miles of rollers into the finish. Landis was at the race and in the second group of Pro/1/2 men on the road. His pack caught my little group about 400 meters from the finish causing a little confusion in our sprint, but I got to finish with Floyd. Yay or something and stuff. Anyway I managed a 29th on the stage (out f 48 starters and it only lists 44 finishers), and a 29th on the GC. Not great results but I had fun, learned a lot, and managed not to get dropped on the big descent!
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