The MN Memorial Classic kicked off Saturday with a road race in Lester Prarie. This was my first road race as a Cat 3 and I wasn't sure what to expect.
The course was flat and fast. There were literally NO hills in the entire course. Fortunately, we lucked out and the wind wasn't too horrible either. Instead we kept things interesting with lots of surges and attacks.
The first lap was tough with all the surges in speed. I worked hard and was able to react to each attack. On the 2nd lap, there was 1.2 miles of gravel that we had to go through at speed. (On the first lap, this was neutral ground so no one could make any moves.) I knew someone would attack there. Sure enough, Theresa Moriarty from Flanders took off and we were left to chase her. I hit so many potholes in the gravel that I thought my bike was going break in half! Fortunately, that part was over quickly and we were back to our usual race.
With about 5 miles left of the 46 mile course, I made an attack. I really had no game plan, I just felt it and went for it. I hammered for a few seconds and when I looked back, I only had one other girl with me. The pack was just a few seconds back, so the girl I was with (Lee Penn from GP) and I ran a constant, rotating paceline to increase our gap.
"You've got a 20 second lead!" the motorcycle guy exclaimed as he pulled up along side us. We continued to work our asses off. I was finally getting my second wind, but I was beginning to doubt I could hold out at that speed much longer.
"15 seconds and you've got a men's field coming through! Keep racing!" the motorcycle guy yelled out as he pulled up alongside us again a few minutes later. Shit. Our lead was diminishing and I could picture Theresa Moriarty coming at us like a freight train.
The men's 4/5 field came through and created a giant cluster fuck. The motorcycle guy was yelling at the men to stay to the center line which would allow Lee and I to continue our race on the white line. Unfortunately, the men didn't seem to care about our race and once the leaders passed us, they moved to the white line forcing Lee and I to sit up and swing around behind them so we wouldn't be in the draft of their 50 man paceline. (Drafting off other fields can get you disqualified.)
Of course, once you sit up and let 50 jackasses pass you by, your 15 second lead becomes 0 seconds. We were back in the pack.
We were quickly approaching the finish line and got stuck with another pack of those damn Cat 4/5 guys. Our two groups were going about the same speed and we couldn't get around them. Had the guys been thinking, they probably should have realized that their group was fighting for about 30th place in their field. Our group was fighting for 1st place, not to mention that the Women's Open race is the premier field for the women, while the men's 4/5 race is not a premier race.
In the end, all the women were forced to sprint for the finish line while dodging jackass men. It was a mess and definitely not a very safe situation.
My sprint is pretty much worthless in the women's open field, so I was just happy to not finish last. I finished 2nd to last. Overall, I was just pleased that I was able to stay with the group the entire 46 miles, and had the balls to launch some attacks, even if they didn't stick. I still have plenty to learn in this new field. I'm not ready to admit defeat yet!
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