Ocala Race Weekend

This past weekend was the Ocala Omnium with a RR and TT on Saturday and another RR on Sunday. I felt good all week and was stoked to race.

Saturday's road race was rolling but there wasn't anything to difficult. All the women categories raced together.

The course was very nice. I felt great on all the climbs and felt like my climbing improved since the last time I raced on this course.

The first lap was pretty steady. There were a couple little attacks but nothing stuck. When we came up the final hill there was a split in the field. I found myself in a break of 8 with all the big names. We were soon pulled back and the group settled back down.

There was a KOM about 5 miles into the second lap. I felt good during the sprint and finished around 5th.

In the last 5 miles I moved up to the front. I was prepared for the sprint but was concerned with the downhill finish. In the last mile I was stuck against the yellow line. As we began to crest the final hill I attacked to try and get a gap before the downhill. Another women followed me and came flying by me. I tried to jump on her wheel but wasn't able to. I ended up finishing 11th.

Later that day we had a 4.88 mile timetrial. It was wicked hot out and I felt pretty tired. The TT course was the finishing section of the morning's road race course. I felt okay in the TT and had a time of 12:42.

Sunday's road race course was a lolly-pop shape. The terrain was mostly flat with 1 or 2 little rollers. It wasn't as selective as the previous race.

I felt really good during my warm up. At the start I was totally ready to race. I drifted back into the middle of the field and tried to just stay out of the wind and conserve energy.

For the first 10 miles the field kept a steady tempo around 22mph. There were a few attacks but there wasn't much going on. It was getting pretty hot out and it was really starting to get to me. I took the opportunity to pore water on my back and legs. It felt great and really saved me.

As we came around to start our final lap a group of 5 including Tina Elliot were just of the front. I bridged up but we were soon pulled back.

The next lap, the pace was a little faster and the attacks were starting to fly. With 5 miles to go Julie Walker (Team Florida Velo) was a little off the front of the field. A group of 3 women tried to bridge. We had soon reeled the chase group back into the field but Julie had put the hammer down and was already a few hundred meters away.

As we made the final left and exited the loop I began to move up. I searched for Jennie Collin's (Team ASV) wheel and marked it. She is one of the best sprinters and I wanted to follow her to the line. For the last 3 miles I fought for her wheel. I managed to hold it until the sprint.

As we rounded the final corner I could see a girl trying to sneak in on my inside. I moved up a little and got in front of her. Once we straightened out the sprint started. I felt great in the sprint and moved up two places. I finished 4th in the sprint and 5th overall. It was my best sprint finish of the year.

Next weekend is the Clermont Omnium. It is the last race in Florida before nationals and I am really looking forward to it.

thanks for reading,

ciao