Category: 4
Result: Off the back

Not a good result but a fun race anyway. The first of three laps was pretty fast going up the main climb. I was feeling good and hanging with the group nearing the top of the climb. Then someone ahead crashed and I ran into the rider in front of me. We were going very slow of course, I didn't even fall over, but I had to unclip. By the time I got moving again I was off the back by about 5 seconds. There was a surprisingly large group (maybe 30 or 40) going over the first climb together. I chased back on during the descent, but only barely. As we made the sharp turn onto Flynn Road, I was at the back as the pack strung out onto the next climb. The pace was pushed and I popped off the back. From there I chased alone until just before Midway Road where I was caught by a chase group of about 8 or 10 riders.

At the beginning of the second lap climb, our group was about 1 min behind the lead group. Our group wasn't going too hard, so I considered riding off in pursuit of the main group. But ultimately I didn't think I'd make the bridge and would end up wasting my energy so I stuck with the larger group. I saw Matt Idler at this point, and he chose to ride ahead in pursuit. I'm glad I didn't join him, as we know his luck was not good later in the lap. Our group stuck together and made good time on the lap.

Going into the third lap I rode off the front of our group, taking one rider with me. We worked well together on the climb, keeping the pace high. We quickly gathered two stragglers and proceeded to complete the remainder of the third lap with a silky-smooth 4-man paceline, which was really fun. Not until the final turn/straightaway did the attacks happen, leaving me last of our 4 man group and 24th overall.

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