Poolsville

Not much to write about. My third time taking part in the event and IMHO, it was pretty tamed. Two crashes (looked minor) and one order to stop by the refs were the main attractions.

Personally, my usual McD's pancake and sausage, a meal that I have consumed prior to many a race, failed me for the first time in my cycling history. Dumfounded as to why I was feeling so crappy, I could only pin point my diet as the main perpetrator for the lack of power I was experiencing. During the first lap, right out of the dirt and on the short steep hill, I almost lost the plot (and my breakfast). Thinking positive and hoping things would turn around as the race went on kept me from looking down at my gears and wondering, why I couldn't turn the pedals with ease.

On the S turn hill/false flat part, during the last lap, the elastic finally broke. My brain made a frantic call to my legs to go for maximum power, but nobody in the leg's department actually answered the phone. Knowing that the line was just a few minutes away, I was trying, in vain, to close gaps. Riders in twos and threes were trying to fight the side wind and just end the suffering. I finally found Nick's wheel and drafted him for a bit before jumping across to a lone Coppi guy. He quickly got on my wheel and drafted me until about 200m before the finish where he jumped away. A sprint was non existent for me since I didn't have one and I was not going to do it for 20 whatever place. Shifted to the 39, crossed the line, Nick came by and I thanked him for the pull, made a right by the school and saw a DC Velo guy collapsed on the grass with what looked like two huge cramps. OUCH!!.

That's it for me, no more racing until July 29th in Panama.