Teammates: Just about everyone in a whole slew of categories.
Teammates in M45+4,5: None (Gonzalo had to work and could not make it)
Results: maybe in the 40s of a field of 73
Hey, it was perfect weather. Gary had the tent and support kit out. Keith was in the feed zone supporting the morning races. Thanks guys!
Our group had 74 registered riders minus Gonzalo who had to work and could not make the start. Taleo had about 10 riders in the field, the most of any team. I was talking with one of my Alto Velo friends and discussing the possibility of Taleo doing some team blocking if they got a group out in front. But as soon as the race started we saw that the Taleo guys could not keep more than four guys together in the top 20 as they ended up spreading out due to differing fitness levels.
The first time up the hill was hard, shades of last year, the pack spread out but I held on in the last third of the group and maintained contact. We bunched up on the Greenville leg and I decided I needed more buffer room for the 2nd climb so I moved up to the front of the group so that I could be in the front of the group when we started the climb the 2nd time. It was probably the best strategy for me, but everyone seemed to be going full tilt the whole climb and I started to loose ground and by the time we crossed the StartFinish line, there were probably 40 riders moving away from me in two groups and I was now in the lead the “stragglers chase group”. As we approached Flynn Rd, we started picking up people falling out of the lead and chase1 groups.
That’s about it, as there was no chance of catching the lead or chase1 groups, the gap was getting larger and they were out of sight. I was now riding with about 6 or 7 guys and we worked together most of the time, but this was now a training race for all of us. I tried to do as much work on Greenville to keep our pace up and encourage a rotation. On the final climb, I sprinted hard in the final 75m and was able to drop everyone in my group and about 10 other M55+ riders also sprinting for the finish.
Actually this was a good training race for me, being the first race of the season for me. In comparing my strava results vs last year, I was definitely going faster this year on the climbs. Just not quite fast enough to keep up with the leaders. This indicates that my conditioning is slightly better this year when compared to last year at this time so that’s encouraging. Next race, Berkeley Hills RR