Pine Flat RR
M45+ 1/2/3
Field size: 22
Result: 6th
Teammates: None in my race. Chris Gaitos in the E5’s.
Chris and I drove up on Saturday and pre-rode the entire course loop without the out and back section. I felt like crap with a terrible stomach ache but it was worthwhile to see the course, especially the last several miles. We stayed at the cheapest hotel you can imagine with a broken electric wall heater, but it was only about 1/2 mile from the start and they had comfortable beds, so it served it’s purpose.
We started at a good pace and after the turn around, or maybe before, there were many many attacks. All of them were covered so it was a constant surge. Finally after turning on Riverbend Chris from San Jose was ahead then the first and second place winners bridged up and they were gone. Then came the main climb. There were eight of us so about half the pack had dropped back on the climb even though the pace was moderate. After the climb there is a short descent which we were taking pretty slow. Hunter decided to attack and no one seemed to care. After a few minutes I took the lead and picked up the pace to catch Hunter. I didn’t jump but went hard enough that there was a gap between myself and the others. We caught Hunter then I slipped back to rest for the final couple of miles. It would have been a good time to attack and it might have worked because everyone seem pretty tired. But I played it safe and saved my energy for the last little climb which would come after the fifth cattle guard. This is a hilltop finish so with 200 m to go someone took off. I was second but could not close the gap on him then about half way up I got passed by a Berkeley guy. So I finished 3rd in our pack and 6th overall.
This was my first race of the season. My second race was to be Snelling the following week. After Pine Flat I figured I was starting to feel better and had high expectations but that’s not how it worked out. Wednesday I got my first clue that something was amiss when my time up Sierra was 90 seconds off from the a week earlier. I didn’t ride on Thursday and went for a short hour ride on Friday. Saturday rolled around and at 4:45 am I was on the road to Snelling. Garry had full support setup with the team tent. I started about mid-pack. After Olsen Rd I had gravitated to the back of the pack. Not a good sign. On the second half of lap 1 with a strong tailwind the pack was strung out long so you can imagine the pace was fast. Before completing lap one my race was done so I turned left and headed for the parking lot.
Bill