For the road race the women raced with the men cat 3. The rr course is one of the hardest courses that the FL race season has to offer. It is in Clermont, the "hilly" part of Florida. The course is 9 miles long and is basically up or down. The major climb is Sugar Loaf right before the start finish.
The first 2 miles were neutral. I started to far back and tried to move up as much as I could during that period. Once we hit the first hill the group split up a little bit and it was easier to move up through the field. I made it towards the front half of the field and felt pretty good with my positioning. When we hit sugar loaf I wasn't able to hang and popped off the back. I was with another woman and we rode together for about 4 miles before being joined by 4 other women and 3 men.
We had a nice group going and kept the speed fairly steady. There were a couple attacks but for the most part we stayed together. It was really hot outside and we all suffered over the hills as the sun was blazing down on us.
We came around for our second lap and we were still together. Two ladies took off up sugar loaf. They slowed down towards the top and we all regrouped. I came around to the feed zone hoping to get some ice cold Gatorade or water. I got lucky and got two ice cold bottles, thanks to my dad and grandpa who did amazing jobs making sure I got my feeds.
For the next lap we all stayed together. We kept the pace steady and basically rode it like a training ride. On the next lap we saw that we were coming up on another rider in the distance. As we crossed the finish line we heard the announcers say it was another Herbal Life woman. We already had one Herbal Life girl in our group already and we soon had one more.
The new Herbal Life girl was climbing really well. She hammered up all the climbs and I struggled to hang on. I ended up blowing half way through the lap and was riding on my own. In the distance I could see another women about 30-45 seconds in front of me. I put my head down and hammered to catch her. I finally made it up to her wheel about 2 miles from the finish. We were both tired and the thought of going up sugar loaf one last time was not pleasant. She attacked with about 1 1/2 mi to go but I hopped on her wheel and she pulled until we hit the final hill. I wasn't sure how it would play out but I waited to see how she was feeling. She seemed tired so I gave it a go and attacked. I got a gap and held it til the line. My overall placing wasn't great but I had a great ride and it was really good training.
That night I got plenty of sleep and carbs to get ready to for the Ferndale circuit.
The circuit course was about 3 miles long. It was flat and wasn't to technical. The women pro,1,2,3 were put with the women cat 4. I was excited to have a race with only women.
At the start Michelle Blake and I were setting the pace at the front. I was ready to get the race started so I looked at Michelle and told her I was going to attack. We went around a corner and I sprinted out of it. I could see from my shadow that I had a gap. I held it for a minute before getting caught. Once the field caught up they wouldn't pull through. When we came around to complete our first lap I attacked out of the final corner. This time when they caught me I was able to get into the draft. The next couple laps weren't to exciting. There were a couple attacks but we ended up staying together.
About 15 minutes into our race Tina( Cycle Science ) and Sheila ( Herbal Life) attacked and got a gap. It was a counter attack and I was to tired to try and follow. Herbal life had 6 riders in our race so our chase effort ended up failing. They were long gone in only one lap's time.
It was now a race for third. Team ORC and Herbal Life went back and forward. ORC had two ladies in our field and they would attack and counter attack but Herbal Life was always right on top of it. I was happy to just follow the wheels and wait for the finish.
With 3 laps to go the attacks became more intense, but the group always came back together. When two laps to go came around we heard the announcers say that if the leaders caught us then we would be finishing on that lap. I raced the entire lap struggling to keep positioning in case we got caught. We ended up eluding the leaders and having to do one more lap. Cat and mouse games were being played and attacks were being made. I just sat in and tried to stay towards the front. I was struggling against herbal life while they tried to box me into the middle of them. I finally made it free and not a minute to soon. We rounded the corner before the final corner. There it was, the stop sign that signified the final turn. I was 4 wheel coming out of the corner. I passed one woman and held my position. The finish was slightly uphill and I almost died about 20 meters from the line but I held my position and ended up 4th place overall.
I learned alot this weekend. I'm excited for the next race that the women race with the cat 3 men. If anything the road race was amazing training. In the circuit I realized that I HAVE to make it into the move. Also final corner positioning (rookie mistake on my part) me being fourth wheel...ya not the smartest. All in all I had a great weekend. I had my best finish so far and got in great training for Camp and Nationals.
Next weekend is the State Crit and in 4 weeks I leave for South East Regional Camp. I'm totally stoked for both.
thanks for reading,
Ciao
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