So it was sunny, warm and I got a tan. The end! Seriously, it was a seven hour drive from Fort Collins to our race destination in New Mexico. We were lucky enough to have host housing for the weekend and really good weather (till we had to leave).
Saturday, the ITT and TTT were officially my first races ever on a road bike. I pre-drove the course and thought it was tougher then it actually was. I did the ITT first placing 12th (wasn't how I wanted it to go). I had and still am fighting a cold that has me coughing up a lung (literally) which made it hard to go hard. I started out by not being able to clip in and then just not pushing myself due to the fact that I thought the course was harder then it actually was.
The TTT! So, we started out fast and didn't slow down till we hit the climbs(basically majority of the race was climbing) which lead to our 2nd place finish. I was the strongest of the three in climbing so I went at their pace and then pulled them while they recovered (it was a really long pull). Overall it was better the second time around and if I had done the ITT second I think I easily could have been top 5.
Sunday, the Crit. I started out just riding mid pack till a break went which I was given the signal to bridge the gap and try to keep it to the finish. We quickly got a half a lap lead and then the guys suddenly sat up (I was in shock and slightly annoyed) so the group caught us. As soon as we were caught another attack went (at this point I had to go with every single attack because my only other teammate popped off the back) and I had to instantly bridge another gap. This was the story of the race. Being the only CSU rider in the race I had a tuff race. After about 8 attacks and me being in every single one of them things seemed to mellow out so I sat about the 10th guy back and suddenly two CU riders sit up and I am boxed in (not very happy). a group of 5 riders instantly get half a lap on the field. I am face with the choice of waiting for another team to come and try to pull them back (wasn't going to happen) or try and solo to them. I choose to go solo and basically rode the rest of the race solo finishing in 8th (I was shot at the finish or else I would have beaten the three guys that I left go by.
Overall, It was a really good weekend for me never racing road before. I learned a lot and plan on doing better this weekend which will be in Denver, Colorado.
