I saved enough for the crit, which I'm happy about. I initiated the winning move and I'm happy about that too. I suffered a catastrophic mental failure in the last lap, picked a horrible line from the wrong position and missed out on what would have been one of the best wins of my life. That's bike racing. (CNews, VNews) I've kicked myself about that finish for about 24 hours now, and I think I'm done. Instead I'm going to focus on Mt Hood as a whole, and looking at it in the broad view I'm pretty pleased. I finished in the top 5 on 3 stages, TTed well, climbed waaaaay better than I thought possible on the Mt. Adams stage, and I've still got my crit legs. I'm riding about as well as I ever have in my life, and I feel like I'm getting fitter and smarter with every race.
Photo by Pat Malach of Oregon Cycling ActionI saw a lot of positive things from my teammates, the YCT management, and myself this week and I'm damn excited to see where this momentum takes us. Elite Nationals are right around the corner and nothing would make me happier than having one of us pull on the stars and stripes. The way people are riding and the team is gelling it would not surprise me in the least if that came to pass.
Hopefully I'll find the inspiration to jot down memories of some of the finer moments from the week, but until then I'll have to just say a huge thank you to our incredible hosts Beth, Geoff and Megan. Its no small task to take in a whole herd of smelly bike racers, but to make them feel right at home, regale them with fresh eggs and tasty BBQ and manage to look interested as they ramble endlessly about esoteric cycling crap is above and beyond. The quality of the hosts at these races can make or break the whole trip, and I can safely say you all made my week. Thanks a ton! I hope we all see you again next year.
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