So far I have learned that, within the context of Pro1-2 stage races, I am a poor road racer, atrocious crit rider, and mediocre time trialist. On the last point, it would probably be more accurate to downgrade that level since half the Pro1-2 field rides time trials with hands on their top bar. Based on this fact, I am probably finishing time trials in last place of the people that are trying.
In the Waitsburg race last weekend, I fell off the pace in the exact same spots and chased with a similar grupetto with some of the exact same people I was with last year. Despite this I managed to leap up the GC only because half the people DNFed. Alas, my move up made things worse because everyone below me disappeared from the list. This resulted in me making a serious run at last place, but I ended up failing at that too. This is not a pity party; rather, I am encouraged that I am slightly stronger than last year. I’m at least a couple seconds faster and this is very important to me.
Right now I am in transfer days of my first grand tour. Unfortunately, the tour has been shortened with the cancelling of Willamette which is being replaced by a shorter Emmett to Roubaix stage. This will be followed by a long transfer down to New Mexico to finish off the tour. I am left hoping that form is coming in, rather than leaving.
As I said though, I’m a bit faster and that is an important point no matter how minor the improvement is. I’ve always held that I would quit racing when I stopped getting better. As long as my strength keeps improving I’ll keep at it. It is fairly safe to say that masters racing isn’t in my future. Although, given the standard set by people like the Zim Master and Every-Weekend Warrior, perhaps I have a long run of improvement ahead of me. A definite highlight of Walla Walla this year was another opportunity to hang out at the back with the Master and observe his technique of tail-gunning genius.
I’ll close with a statement of definitive truth within the context of me: riding a bike is awesome!
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