Arizona is great. I love going there this time of the year because it is much warmer than where I live in Colorado. Our racing doesn't start until sometime in March so this is always one of my first races. The first race of the year is always the hardest, mentally and physically. You aren't used to the speed, the intensity and you kind of forget how to race.
I had been training a lot before Valley of the Sun since October as I didn't race cyclocross this year. I was feeling great up until the week before the race where I got hit with an ear and sinus infection. So I was off the bike for 7 days. I was on antibiotics so it was the real deal. I still wanted to race and I got on a pretty painful ride of the TT course the day before the TT with lots of coughing and stale legs. I raced the time trial and actually improved my time from the year before by a minute. That was my best feeling day of the race.
The road race was a tough day mentally because I got dropped on two laps to go. The course mostly flat with the only climb being the place where I got dropped. I wasn't going to drop out and that meant another 30 miles alone to finish. I finished.
I made it through the hardest day and the last day was the crit in downtown Phoenix. Downtown crits are the best hands down. I was 55 minutes away from finishing the stage race. Marcus had a good day but I came in towards the back.
This being my first stage race of the year doing this awful it is easy to get unmotivated. But it's back to training to do well at my next race with Team Specialized, San Dimas!
--Dean Haas
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