Cat 4&5-45+ Well for the last race of the season I thought I would try to ride smart and see what happens.
The weather could not have been better. Low 60's starting off and high 70' to low 80's at the end of the second lap for a total of 47 miles.
The first lap was uneventful as I concentrated on eating and drinking while staying in the middle to the back of the tightly bunch field of 50 riders. At the start of the second lap I went up front to see if I could help pick up the pace a little and thin things out and to my surprise it worked.
The field split with around 18 riders dropping the rest behind. Nobody else was really willing to work very hard so I went back to the rear to eat, drink and rest some more.
With about 10 miles to go I thought I would try again to break things up some more but had no luck. Everybody was willing to sit in and wait for a sprint finish. Not being much of a sprinter I was hoping for anything else.
As we approached the last 1/2mile things really bunched up. I was in the back looking for a place to slide up the outside on the left.. So were a lot of others. So I looked at going up the inside on the right but that looked pretty crowded as well which left me bumping elbows and shoulders up the middle.
As I quickly squirted through I realized there was only one more set of wheels in front of me. I hung on tight and as we rounded the final tight turn the guy in front took a bad line and I shot into the lead. Probably earlier than I wanted but I was in front so I got out of the saddle and hammered for that white line across the asphalt.
Well my legs were about to explode so I had to sit back down. I continued to give it all I had including a lot of grunting and then it happened. I crossed that beautiful white line in first place. I won!. What a great feeling.
A special thanks goes out to all of you that have been training me this past year by letting me suck off your faster wheels. Its been a lot of fun and looking forward to much more.
Eric Knight
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