#11: Soto - stage 2, circuit race
Day 2. This year the circuit race was move up to the 2nd stage and we got a bonus lap to make 3 laps for a total of 33 miles. The course is nearly never flat and the 100+ that started made that very interesting. Crash 1 occured about 20 feet after the start…I was able to get around it without too much trouble, but had to chase up the initial hill. There were a couple small crashes, a guy going off the road, etc on the first lap, but they didn’t bother me too much. By the time I got over the hill with the group the 2nd time around the field was definitely smaller, probably around 50 or so.
At about 20 miles (2 miles to the end of the 2nd lap), some riders crossed up or something and there was a mini-pileup at 30+ mph. I had to unclip, but was able to get around it pretty quickly. My teammate Bryan was driven off the road but he got up and going to rejoin me as I picked me way around fallen riders. Another teammate Aaron joined us for the chase. The front of the field was probably 1/4 mile up the road as we started the chase. We weren’t able to nail back the field, but caught some smaller groups through the start/finish line. The hill after the finish line but me in difficultly but fortunately Aaron and Bryan were able to hang. Bryan later dropped back to my group, which he stayed with over the big hill. I was off the group at this point and never rejoined. Anyway, the final scorecard for Memphis Velo looked like this:
- Aaron, 26th in the race @ 2:17 (32nd GC @ 4:16)
- Bryan, 39th in the race @ 3:27 (39th GC @ 5:20)
- Ryan (me), 45th in the race @ 4:06 (49th GC @ 6:28)
- Mark, 95th in the race @ 17:13 (95th GC @ 20:00)
- Todd, 96th in the race @ 17:34 (94th GC @ 19:55)
Aaron, Bryan, and I all advanced in the G.C. from yesterday. I am getting close to my goal of 1st page G.C. (43rd or better). I was so close to hanging on a few times. I am really happy about how I managed to get my 178# over the hills with the lighter guys for the most part. If I can stay on my training, I hope to have a good 2nd half of the season.
Here is my Polar dump:
