My first attempt at the Nature Valley Grandprix has come to an end. I have been sucking it up all week and I am not sure why? The legs just don't feel good at all and my head has not been into it. Stage 3 was the downtown criterium on Friday night. The crit didn't last long due to gail force winds, lightning and a couple inches of standing water on the course. The race got called after 19 minutes of racing and no one really lost anytime of got any bonuses on the day. The stage was called off.
Yesterday was the fourth stage and the second road race of the week. I wasn't feeling good again and the Health Net guys soon had it in the gutter. I covered an early Jelly Belly attack and that let me know that my legs were feeling like crap. It was all I could do to hang on as we were going full throttle into the cross wind. After it mellowed out again I was moving up along the right side of the group when some dipshit from the Mercy team got in the grass and tried to ride back onto the shoulder of the road. He caught the edge of the pavement and went down in front of me. There was nothing I could do and I went down along with about five other guys. Ended up with a few more scrapes and bruises on my left side which is the same side I went down on last week. It wasn't a bad crash but it took a while to get my bike going again as I had to stop a second time to straighten out my bars and shifters. Ken tried to pace me back up behind the car but an official was sitting there on us the whole time. The pack was flying and I had a hard time getting back up there and finally made it after 10k of motor pacing. It was epic. I made it onto a group of blown riders at the back of the field. I should have gone right through them but was hurting from motor pacing. The group just fell apart in the wind and soon we were way off the back. I rode it into the first feedzone and pulled out of the race. I need to recharge and get ready for Fitchburg in two weeks as it will be twice as hard.
My teammates Andy, Josh, and Frank continue to do well in the race. Frank has single handedly earned himself the sprinters jersey and finished 6th yesterday in the race. At one point I thought he was going to win because he was off the front with just 4 miles to go. Health Net ended up bringing it back together for a sprint finish. Frank ended up finishing 6th on the day.
This afternoon is the final stage of the race. It is a criterium again downtown with a big climb in it. Tomorrow we head back to Wesport for a couple of weeks. I am looking forward to a little less racing, some training, and some rest. Happy Fathers Day!
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