This past weekend I raced in my last road racing event of the season. Boy, its been a long season. However it has made the summer just fly by. I can't believe that fall is almost here and college football has already started. In a sense its a good feeling, I can finally kick back and enjoy life. It will not be till the end of March next year that I will race on the road again. However this doesn't mean I am done racing. This coming weekend I will be racing my very first mountain bike race. It will be a warm up for the Iceman Cometh race in November. Those will be a story for another day.
So the Debaets-Devos Criterium took place on Monday. I was pumped up for this race, it was local and I was feeling like I was on great form after the suffering I endured in Traverse City. The circuit was just over a mile and was shaped like an "L", with two tight 180° turns. The weather was mild and windy...yep, its seems fall just showed up out of the blue. The race was scheduled to run for 45 minutes. The race started off with a flurry of attacks. I joined in on attacking, everything in this race felt effortless. I was defiantly on a good day. I rode off the front a couple times really hoping to make a breakaway that would stick.
As a team we were racing great, we continually attacked as a team and worked very hard to protect the gaps by placing ourselves at the front. This race was a blast, by far the most fun I have had in a criterium this year. With three laps to go there was a small breakaway off the front. I guess in a sense the team effort had really inspired me, so with two to go I went to the front of the pack to absolutely hammer the pace and bring the field back together. I killed myself for for the last two laps finally letting up before the second to last corner, I had brought the field back together and worn some of the field out. The race was now in the hands of my teammates, who I had positioned with my pace setting. I sat up to coast the last little bit, I was tired. However I was rewarded with one of my teammates taking fourth in the sprint. All and all it was a great day and a great way to end the season. We had won the team championship in Michigan for Cat 3. I can't wait for next season. However next up begins my mountain bike saga, with an encore climb to the top of Mt. Hood.
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