Cascade Wrap Up.

I gotta say I'm still pretty bleary eyed.  The trip home kicked me in the ass and I spent the majority of the time doing my best zombie impression.  We left Bend for Boise soon after the final stage finished in which we rolled in at 2am.  4hrs sleep later it was up at 6am for breakfast then hitting the road once more for the last leg to Denver.  I eventually got in the door at 8.30pm making for a long day indeed. Let me just say Wyoming hasn't changed a bit.

So picking up where I left off last post, we still had the criterium and the circuit race to finish off.  The crit was great for me.  Great in the sense that it was a flat, four corner race and with no GC place to worry about I surfed the whole time trying to save as much energy as possible.  I joked with the guys afterward that I was playing Bob Marley in my head the whole time that's how relaxed I was.  There were a few crashes and general sketchy-ness that comes with the gig, but other than that it was an uneventful race for us, knowing that the circuit race the following day would provide us a better chance to shine.

Hmmmmm don't know why I have a grimace going on?

The circuit race stage on paper was pretty darn perfect for us, but by this point we were only down to five riders left - Holt, Gray, Bingham, Collier and myself.  Five 16mile loops with some lumps in there for good measure, the boy's had been gee'ing me up all week that this was my stage.  I sure hoped so, looking to salvage a good result in an otherwise uneventful week.  Race day it was hot...damn hot.  And from the gun I really didn't have great legs at all and sometimes that's just the way it rolls.  Luckily Collier made the break that went on lap three, and by that point I was happy to be bottle boy to look after the two Ian's who were still left in the race.

 This was the first climb up to the feed zone.  I've come to realize this year that it doesn't matter how steep or shallow the road is....you can suffer on anything.

On the last lap the break had been caught and still somehow I was in the mix for the final climbs before the finish.  I made it over the first set despite UHC trying to destroy as many of us as possible but the second climb was not so good, getting tailed off the front group of 20 odd.  Disappointed for sure not to make that group I know I am capable of, but that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.  Standing on a podium at Nature Valley last month has sure now set that internal bar high!  So needless to say I was pretty pissed with myself after the stage not being able to snare another strong ride that will be oh so important for next year.  So right now we are three weeks out from the Tour of Utah, our last big objective for this season.  Knowing fore well this will be pretty much my final chance to strengthen the resume and catch the attention of pro team directors, I plan to focus hard in training over these few weeks and arrive as best prepared as I can be.

You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things – to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.
Edmund Hillary

United did a great job of controlling the race for Rory to take yellow. Worth mentioning that Fly V took out 2nd, 3rd GC, KOM and Sprint Competition.......nice work Aussies!

See what I mean about Bend....stunning!