Many more crits, one more cat and another crash.

I just returned from a good road trip and many successful races. I headed out mid-last month to Boise for a big NRC race called Boise Twilight Criterium. Its a downtown, late night kind of thing that thousands of people come to watch. Its a lot of fun to race in front of that many people... It was a hot weekend in Boise and when I hit the pavement for the start of my race, it was a balmy 108 degrees.

As with any crit, we went in circles a bunch of times. A lot of attacks went off but there was a strong team from Salt Lake in the mix that pulled everything back. I was keying off them, hoping to get in a move with one of their guys but they wanted to bring it down to a field sprint... and so we did... I lined it up as well as I could, fighting my way up to 4th wheel into the second to last corner. Into the last corner the guy right in front of my slowed up and I missed the jump ahead of him and lost the chance to win. I went fast down the finish and held on for 4th, which wasn't stellar but it was a deep field and it did get me a few more upgrade points.

The next day was the ID State Criterium Championship. It was in a far off neighborhood that looked like the set from The Truman Show, about 20 miles from Boise. It was another super flat course but this one didn't have squared off corners like the downtown crit. It was back and forth the whole way and somehow it made a circle. It was a nice change. There were a few pros in the field left over from the day before and when we started I was trying to time attacks to get into a move with a couple of them. Bingo. It worked. We split the field down to 7 off the front and lapped the rest of the field. From there it was a bit of a drag race. No one could get away until a crash near the end of the race and one rider split off the front to eventually win. I had another good sprint but ran out of real estate before I could pass 2nd place, I finished 3rd... More upgrade points, mission semi accomplished.

From Boise I headed back to Bellevue, ID, to hang with my special ladyfriend's parents for a few days. I did some training in the Sun Valley area and caught up with my coach who lives there as well. It was a nice couple of days. Crystal joined me mid-week and we drove out to Bend, Oregon for the Cascade Classic Stage Race.

It was nice to go back to Bend in the summer. I used to go to a ski camp there every June but have not for several years. Its a fun town.

The first race was a road race with a tough uphill finish. I liked my odds and wanted to get to the bottom of the climb at the front. Mid way through the race there were a lot of attacks going off and I was doing my best to cover everything I could. Unfortunately, one move I didn't make it into went away. That was that. The pack was lethargic and no one wanted to chase hard. I made a few efforts to bridge up to them solo but couldn't get away. I sat in near the front, out of the wind until the bottom of the hill and hit it hard. I got away from all but one guy right away and he and I pushed it up and over the top and I out sprinted him for 8th. First guy out of the pack, but 2:45 down to 1st place. Not an ideal start to a stage race.

The next day was a Time Trial. Not having my own bike I am always having to get used to different positions on different peoples bikes. The one I borrowed for Cascade was not my favorite. I didn't feel like I was pulling up with my legs very well and I'm not sure why. But that's why one should have his one TT bike. I rode pretty well on the way up but coming down I didn't feel like I was moving the way I should. It was really fast coming back down and I could have pushed a bigger front chainring. I chose a 55x11 but a 56x11 would have been ideal. I landed in 6th, 20 seconds out of 1st. That marked my first ever defeat in a TT. I wanted to keep that streak going.

That evening was a crit, another downtown one, lots of people, 4 corners and one really weird sketchy corner. I rode at the front of the 120 man field, staying out of trouble and monitoring what was going on. I didn't want to miss another break. Right away there were some attacks that were slow to be brought back and when a group of 7 went up the road, I sensed that it was a good move to be part of. I hit the field hard and bridged up with one rider on my wheel. When we got to the break, the guy who I brought up with me slipped in in front of me and proceeded to take the next two corners as hard as possible for no apparent reason. I couldn't believe he made it out of the first corner and then he went down on the second. I was 2 inches off of his wheel at 35 mph, bad place to be. I locked up my rear wheel and skidded out. I landed hard on my hip and hand, same side I crashed on a month ago. OUCH. But my bike was fine and I was mostly fine, just bleeding, and hardly clothed as my skin suit had a huge hole in the side.

I took my free lap in the pit and jumped back into the break. We held on to a 26 second lead an I just got nipped at the line for the win, 2nd was ok - all things considered.

The last day was a circuit race. 4 laps of the Elite Nationals Road Course. It was really tough and lots of up and down but nothing very sustained. I just rode at the front, staying out of trouble and making the split anytime the field fell apart. The finish was very fast and I just kept myself around 8th. Out of the wind and close enough to attack. As we rounded the last corner i moved a few places up and launched my sprint, passing another handful of riders and made it on the last step of the podium in 3rd. Two days in a row on the podium in a 120 man field, I was pretty happy about that. I picked up another spot on GC to finish 7th - the race was more or less over after the breakaway succeeded that first day.

I did some math on my upgrade points and I had my 30 upgrade points, +/-2. It was up to how they decided to score the circuit race (long story). So I submitted and a few hours later I got word that I was a CAT 1! 4 months and 4 upgrades. And now I am clear to race the Tour of Utah later this month.

So now I am back in Utah, via a few more days in Bellevue, ID on our return from Oregon. I took the majority of the last week off and today is the first day of my last cycling training block. Lots of uphills to be ridden in the next 10 days and not a lot of eating. I need to cut back a couple more lbs and get ready to fly. The Tour of Utah is a Pro/1 only NRC race, and the first of its kind for me. I'm not planning on being unprepared.

More to come soon.