This race is really pretty awesome. The course is wonderfully rolling, with some wicked fast descents and some nice, leg-crushing climbs. It attracts nice, large fields of strong women - especially when it is held as a Nature Valley Selection race.
It was a tough day for the Warriors, though. Kacy was sick, Nikki woke up to a dead car, and Mitch and I had both been off the bike for two days before the race. I spent most of it on my BEHIND sitting at Awards Ceremonies, Exams, Graduation, and driving the 6 1/2 hours to Charlottesville. NOT the best way to start a 50 mile hilly road race, eh?!
Anywho...Alaina, BChan, Leah, Mitch and I lined up with about 45-50 other Cat 1/2/3 women for the race. The field included some major team presence with the Virginia Asset Group, Vanderkitten, ABRT, and Synfit with 4 or more riders.
The first few laps were tough but controlled. Very few attacks occurred until the end of lap 2 and into lap 3 (thankfully for me because my legs opened up at the end of the 2nd lap!). Still, most of the attacks seemed to lack conviction. Including the one that ended up going away. Heading into the finish of lap 3, one rider rolled off the front and was essentially never seen again. Not sure what happened, or why no one seemed to organize a chase, but she ended up soloing 20 miles to the win. Don't get me wrong, some girls were chasing, but it didn't seem like there was anything organized going on. It was strange because it was just Alaina and I at that point with no reason to go to the front and work, so we relied on the larger teams to respond. But, they didn't. :/ Alas!
It was a tough race and Alaina had a great finish for 7th. I'm not sure where I ended up (somewhere in the middle)...but I feel like it was a good test run for Washtenaw this upcoming weekend!
Very much looking forward to our road trip home to the mitten and racing with my brother!! :) YAY! Bring on the dirt!!
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