Saturday was Copperopolis, a race that is known for having really bumpy roads. I decided to race with the category 3's instead of the juniors 15-16. On the first lap, the field was riding at a decent pace but riders were getting popped off the back on the first climb. After the second climb, my seat post started to slip. I didn't have any tools with me, so I had to pull it back up as far as I could hoping it wouldn't slip again. There were no attacks on the second lap, but a group of three riders got away on the flat section of the course. They had a minute gap from the field because no one wanted to chase them. On the first climb of the third lap, we hammered it up again and most of the field got dropped leaving about fifteen riders. The field wasn't getting any closer to the break until the last lap. One of the riders from the break dropped the other two riders and we were able to catch one of them on the flat section. We were coming up on the last climb, when the field split again. The group that I was in was able to catch back up on the descent. I was getting ready for the field sprint when we caught the other rider from the break. I finished 5th in the field sprint and 6th overall. In the end, there were only about 10 riders left in the group and we started with 50.
Today was the Easter Sunday Classic, a very windy and tricky course with two hairpin turns. A Mike's Bike rider went off the front on the third lap and gap the field. I waited for someone to make the move. One rider jumped and I followed and we caught the Mike's Bike rider. I was then in a break of three and we were all working well together. Our gap was growing and I saw riders were trying to bridge to us but were unsuccessful. Coming into the finish I could not go around the other two riders because of the strong head wind. I ended up finishing 3rd.
Overall, I had a great weekend of racing and I am looking forward to Wente Road Race and Auburn Crit next week.
Matt Valencia
No comments:
Post a Comment