I really like this course, Garret Lynch describes it better then I ever could, he's spot on. The fog really added to the experience, we climbed straight into a cloud, and it was so dense, you could barely see more then a few feet ahead at a time.
I had wanted to do well at this race, climbing usually suits my relative strengths, but it still had to be seen how I would stack up against the strong A field. I knew that it was going to be a hard race, this is really tough course. It didn't take long on the first time up the climb before I was sliding backwards off the group. After reaching the top, there are a few miles of rollers, and here a relatively large chase group formed, we were all motivated to get back with the leaders. I helped a little through the rotations, and eventually on lap 2 we merged. The field was once again, mostly intact. No one was away, so we just rolled around the course for trip 2 up the main climb.
Once again, I couldn't match the pace of the leaders, and had to settle in my own rhythm. Low clouds had been rolling around all morning, and on this lap we climbed straight into the base of one. The fog was so dense that I could barely see the other side of the road. It felt very isolating, I couldn't see anyone else, and all that I could hear was my own labored breathing. A very surreal (and even peaceful) experience. After I crested the summit, the air cleared slightly, and I could see a few other riders straggled ahead and behind me. We formed a small group of about 7, initially we tried chasing, and rotated pretty well, but the gap was 2+ minutes, and there was just no way we were catching anyone.
We also realized that most likely, all the points were gone as well, it looked like at least 20-25 ahead of me on the climb, but it was hard to tell for sure. We rolled around lap 3, pretty chill, just taking it easy. There had been some light sprinkles, and I was pretty sweaty from 2 trips up the mountain, so combined with some descending and slow riding, I was really getting chilled and starting to shiver. I happened to be on the front through a sharp left hand turn, and when I looked back and pulled off, the group was pretty far back. I didn't really want to finish out the route riding solo, so initially I just sat up and waited. However, the group was really taking its time, and I was really starting to shiver. At this point, I just wanted to finish so I decided to keep rolling at a "warming" pace, and let the group just do what it would do. If I'm caught, great, I've got a group to roll with, otherwise, I just wanted to keep moving.
Up the climb for the third time, and then the rollers again. I caught up with a Dartmouth rider, and we worked together, keeping a good pace going through to the finish. I led through the corner, and let him take the finish. Turns out we finished 21/22nd, so I was only 2 spots out of the points, but it might have well been 20, that group was long gone.
I love this course, and I'll definitely be back next year.
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