The Masters C/D race was 2 laps, 39+/-miles, with 58 riders starting. Frankly, the weather was totally crapo; rain, wind, sleet, snow, upper 30s/low 40s. Coming out of the neutral start, I knew that the first hill would be coming right up, so I worked my way up, as to not get caught behind the masses, should somebody decide to fire it up from the start, which is what happened; one rider broke off, the pack content not to chase, as we knew it would be a long, punishing haul for anybody flying solo off the front. According to a friend of mine who races for Second Ascent, the fist hill was the end of the game for many, himself included. Going into the flatter section after climb one, a couple riders took off. One rider got cooked and was absorbed by the field. The other ultimately bridged the guy off the front; the two were never caught. Impressive! Heading towards climb two, lap one, I jockeyed my way to the front, knowing that we would be hitting it hard again. The field was likely thinned here again, but I couldn’t tell as my focus was forward. It was at this point that I was able to get with a group of guys to establish an organized paceline. FINALLY! We were working hard and making ground on the two off the front, but alas, there were those who were more content sucking wheel and not pulling through with the consistency of the rest.
Heading into lap 2, I knew that if anything was going to happen, it would be on the climbs, so I maintained position near the front, trying to conserve energy, being smart. As we started climb one, that pace increased and I found myself making the selection as the field split in two. A friend of mine from the Rocket Ride got dropped here. I was bummed, as I knew that he and I would work together coming into the finish. Now the group was down to around 15. The pace slowed after the climb, as we were all trying to quickly recover from the match that we all just lit. It was groupo compacto all the way to climb two. As expected, the climb was intense, and several attacks came, with nobody dancing away. At this point, I could feel my body cramping, due to the cold and wet; (There was snow along the roadside!) my jaw was nearly inoperable, my legs and my torso were on two different planets and my legs were cramping. I did my best to pedal smoothly, and stretch my legs to avoid further seizure.
Coming into the last couple miles, a few unsuccessful attacks went. I hung in there and worked my way to the front, knowing that the intensity was going to get greater. Knowing that my legs were not likely going to be my friend in a sprint, I positioned myself in front toward the center line, as to control the speed to a level my body could take and to block any would be attackers. This lasted for a little while and I was able to reserve some juice, but the attack came. I jumped, but my legs started to seize as the pack came around. At this point, it felt like I was pedaling squares. Somehow, I was able to hang on and get back in the mix going into the final 200 meters. Surprisingly, I was able to move up a few notches in the sprint, netting 8th place. Only 27 riders finished.
Following the race, we had to roll back 2.5 miles to the starting point, where I was delighted to have a set of dry, warm clothes and some food. LUXURY!
~Travis
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