Recycled News

With the heat index still over 100 degrees at 7:30PM, surely I've an excuse for feeling lethargic. My lethargy is forcing me to recycle my account of a fun and entertaining weekend of racing at the International Tour de 'Toona. At the urging of my 'mates who weren't around to witness my results, I posted the following on the team's Google groups board:

Friday

The circuit race was fun. I heard there was little chance at breaks sticking, but I didn't let that stop me from bridging to the only break of the day. Turned out to be a bust, but at least I opened up the legs a bit with that one.

The finish was in town and quite technical. I wasn't forward enough coming into the first turn into town. There were requisite crashes and I held on for a not-so-impressive 23rd. No points.

Saturday

The 4s did a short race. We went up and down one hill and came ripping into 'Toona. I crested the climb with a lead group of about 15. The descent was incredible! Looking at the cyclometer, and I assume my max speed for the stage wasn't during the sprint, we maxed out at 54 mph. That was made possible by the very cool rolling enclosure. Those speeds are only do-able when you can take the whole road for turns.

Coming into town, I heeded Evan's excellent advice and kept my eyes open for the 1 km sign. I guess our lead group turned into about 27 guys by that point. I tend to have a problem getting good positioning coming into a sprint, so this time I made a decision that coulda bit me in the tush. At about 750 meters, I clawed my way to the front, right side of the group. I hung out in the wind for a good 500 meters. It was my only chance to stay up front. At about 250 meters, I saw the 200 meter sign and figured my best chance was to go from that distance. I ramped up and laid down as much sprint as my 131 pound body could muster. Turned out to be enough. Good times. 25 points.

Sunday

So...after stage two, I was sitting pretty in third on the GC. The guy in fourth was one point back. The goals for Sunday were to finish the crit and try to keep rider 603 in my crosshairs so I could finish near him. I thought I had it wrapped up. With five laps to go, I stopped seeing his number in the 20 or so guys who were ahead of me on course. Seemed like good news. Like Friday, I never took the risk enough to get into the top ten for the finish sprint. I rolled in for 21st, but was content to finish a crit that clocked in faster than the cat. 3s. Not seeing 603 ahead of me, I thought I was gonna hold on to my GC spot. No such luck. During the podium presentation, mister 603 was standing tall on the top step. Doh!

In the end, my weakness in the crit bumped me three spots to 6th on the GC. Not the best. Not the worst.

All in all, 'Toona was a blast. TnT's support was excellent and appreciated. Of course, Evan needs to get better soon.