The last two stages have been riddled with wind. In stage 5, it brought out some unexpected excitement. With about 60km to go, our whole team was riding in the front part of the peleton to be safe and protected. We could feel and see that the wind was blowing hard, so in a spur of the moment decision, we decided to try and split the peleton. The chaos that ensued was nothing less than crazy, and when the dust settled, there were 18 of us off the front. For our team, Jens, Markel, and I were there, along with GC threats Tejay, Michael Rogers, and Cameron Meyer, who each had several teammates as well. Our group worked well together and managed to take a minute out of the chasing peleton before the day was done. It was an awesome stage to be a part of because we had created a split that worked out greatly to our advantage by moving me up on the GC, plus Jens made a crazy Jens-esque move in the last 5km to take the stage win. It made the long transfer to San Jose much more enjoyable!
Stage 6 was the individual time trial. The course was a challenging 32km with two really good climbs, and two other sections of false flat that really tested the legs. The finishing climb was a gnarly 2.5km at 10%. I think most people were dreading that part, but for me, it was the "easy" part. There was no secret at that point, either you had it or you didn't. You had to find your own rhythm and suffer to the finish. For me, the hardest part was the long, flat, headwind section before the climb. I know I lost a lot of time there. I was constantly fighting to find a good rhythm, always between two gears, and never able to find the good cadence. When it was all said and done, I had finished 15th on the stage, but had lost two gc spots, falling to 6th. It's an obvious disappointment to lose a couple spots when I was really hoping to move up one, but I rode the best I could and felt strong, so I have to hope that I will still have good legs on Mount Diablo and have a chance to try for something there. Thanks for the continued support!
Stage 6 was the individual time trial. The course was a challenging 32km with two really good climbs, and two other sections of false flat that really tested the legs. The finishing climb was a gnarly 2.5km at 10%. I think most people were dreading that part, but for me, it was the "easy" part. There was no secret at that point, either you had it or you didn't. You had to find your own rhythm and suffer to the finish. For me, the hardest part was the long, flat, headwind section before the climb. I know I lost a lot of time there. I was constantly fighting to find a good rhythm, always between two gears, and never able to find the good cadence. When it was all said and done, I had finished 15th on the stage, but had lost two gc spots, falling to 6th. It's an obvious disappointment to lose a couple spots when I was really hoping to move up one, but I rode the best I could and felt strong, so I have to hope that I will still have good legs on Mount Diablo and have a chance to try for something there. Thanks for the continued support!
1 comment:
You did great! You made many of us so proud to see you racing so smart out there. Season is barely starting. Keep up the good work.
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