/Once again, Jeff and his crew rolled out a top-notch Tour of Hermann. And this year, the weather was perfect. I knew I wasn't in the shape I wanted to be in order to compete, but I also knew that wouldn't keep me from having fun anyway.
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Stage 1: ITT, Saturday morning.
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I left the start house at 9:13:30 and finished my 11 miles in a very disappointing 29+ minutes. I knew I wasn't good, but I'd lost nearly 2 minutes on my own time from last year! Sheesh! I started out trying to hold a certain gear but I just couldn't get comfortable and find a rhythm I could sustain. Eventually, I found a good rhythm but it was waaay too slow and I finished a miserable 40th.
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Stage 2: Crit, Saturday afternoon.
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The crit is why I come to race in Hermann. It's just freakin' fantastic. It's a gut-check climb followed by a bomber downhill with a couple of short flats dividing the two. My start was terrible- I ended up at the very back of a 50-some rider field and cat 3's are just too fast to try to make all that ground up. The race started fast and I was hanging on for dear life- gasping and wheezing- for the first few laps. Eventually, I found my legs and started to go around riders on the climb and on the downhill. It was my first crit of the year and I could feel I was too tentative around corners, but I tried to make up any lost time there on the downhill. Nobody was matching my speed going down and I was able to jump positions there and then shed riders for good on the climb. I didn't care what position I was in. I was having a blast pulling myself back up through the field. I was feeling better and better as the race went on and I was sorry to see it end at lap 12. I finished in 22nd over a minute behind the winner, but I think I lost at least that much time or more on the first couple of laps. Just gotta start way stronger next time.
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Stage 3: 60 mile RR, Sunday morning.
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I felt good on Sunday morning. I'd put in a hard effort in the crit but so did a lot of others so I liked my chances for finishing in the field. I didn't have aspirations of winning but I figured I could stay with the pack and see what happened at the end. The first climb was humbling but I felt good at the top and on successive climbs. Unfortunately, I was on the back and was yo-yoing like crazy. It was such a huge field and there was nowhere to move up. After one lap I was nearly vertigo with mental exhaustion from trying to fight for the wheel in front of me, then hit the brakes, then accelerate once again, only to hit the brakes, etc etc etc... so on and so on... I know, it's the name of the game at the back. That's why I hate it back there. I'd rather pull! But I just could NOT move up. Maybe I was more tired than I thought. We hit the big monster climb on the start of the second lap and I shot out the back with about 15 others. Not looking forward to trying to catch back on to the back of a fast-moving packed field, I turned off course and wound back done through the holler and rolled into the Tin Mill Brewery. I wasn't disappointed in my decision- I knew I was in poor shape. Next year I'll finally finish the road race. Baby steps.
