Sunday was the Tour D'Burg/State Criterium Championships in Miamisburg. The category 4 race was scheduled for 11am so I registered for that one first. Depending on how I felt after, I planned to sign up for the 35-44 race a couple of hours later.
I decided not to ride Saturday, making yet another change in plans. Well, actually I did ride about 3 miles total to the air show party and back home. But no training ride. Over the course of the last week or so, I've been feeling a little more tired every day due to cumulative fatigue.
43 official starters to the cat 4 race. At the line, they shortened it from 40 minutes to 30. The average ended up being 24.5mph over the crappy, semi technical course. We had only a couple of the patented cat 4 slowdowns. The one time it really slowed down, I rolled up to the front and took off. That lasted a lap of hanging out front before getting swallowed up. Things were going great until the last corner where two guys right in front of me locked handle bars. Amazingly, no one went down, but all speed was scrubbed for the back half of the pack, where I sadly was at the time. Rolled to the line with no sprint for 32nd place. Even though the bad placing, I'm still kind of satisfied with the finish.
The races were running late. There was supposed to be an hour break and a couple of other races between the cat 4 and masters race, and I had the suspicion that the hour break would be eliminated or shortened, therefore screwing with my rest and relaxation plans. Yep. I felt good enough after the cat 4 race to immediately register for the 35+. There was about 2 hours of rest time to suck down bottle after bottle of water in the shade (it was 94 degrees according to the local thermometer).
Was told that there were 25 starters to the 35-44 race. One team, that I've never seen before, with three riders attacked and countered early several times. Covering a couple, and trying my own thing, I lost my nut early. The group countered one too many times and I was shot out the back on the head wind back section. Spent the rest of the day in my own personal time trial hell, doing lap after lap on my own. Got passed by the 2 man break with 2 laps left and officially finished in 16th place. Not sure what happened to the 9 guys who were supposed to be behind me...? Maybe only 16 started, because I was dead last unless people dnf'd. I wouldn't blame anyone for dnf'ing on that day.
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