Course: Watopia Flat Route Reverse
Distance: 2 Laps/20 km
I’m going away for a couple of days today so I had to squeeze quick ride in this morning. I can’t remember the last time I rode two races the day after each other yet alone on the night and the following morning.
It was so hot after last nights MAAP Tour Stage I couldn’t eat for a couple of hours after. I managed a bit of salmon before bed but thats it so I was a bit depleted and dehydrated this morning.
I was joined by another CRYO-GEN rider V. Roy in the pen who took a flyer off the start and quickly opened a gap in the first kilometre. I thought he’d blow but fair play he was joined by two others and they stayed away for the whole race. I was in the wheels behind in a group of about four which had formed on the first decent ramp before the bridge and villas. He messaged me to sit in (which I was) and a bit later when he had about 30 secs to try and bridge. I politely declined. The legs said no.
As we exited the tunnel and back to Downtown for the end of the first lap the leaders were still hovering around 30-40secs. One of ours had tried a couple of escapes but it was reeled in. Its hard to ride at 5w/kg+ for any length of time to get a big enough gap.
I put in an effort to stretch my group at the start of the last lap up the drag. I tried again a little later which shed one of us but he got back on through the esses and then the pace went out of the group completely into the tunnel. It felt like they were sitting on me now. We rolled along at 2’s and 3’s and I could see a rider coming up behind at 10w/kg! I put in another effort but that was reeled in and again on the ramp out so I settled in for the sprint. One went with 400m to go, another followed and they opened the gap. I wound it up and got to within 0.1sec but ran out of road. Another 50m and I would have had them.
6th over the line. Legs blown to bits.
