Recently I raced in Callville Bay right by Lake Mead in Nevada. There were 20 riders in our category and 8 of my teammates in the same category. The first stage was the time trial. It was a 4 mile climbing time trial. My time was 10 minutes and 7 seconds which put me in 3rd place overall 7 seconds behind the leader and 4 seconds behind second place. The next stage was the 27 mile road race. Our team went into stage 2 managing 3rd place (me) all the way to 10th place with all of us being in order. Since I was closest to the General Classification, I would be the captain out on the road. We started off with the 15-16 year olds which made it a harder race. The first 4 miles were neutral miles; which meant the time being to go easy and wait until we are out on open roads to start racing. When we were out onto open roads, the attacks started to come. We were averaging about 25 mph on the flats and about 18 mph on the hills. By the time we made it to the turn around, it was me, my teammate in 4th overall, the leader from San Diego, and the rest of the 15-16 year olds. As we started climbing again, my teammate fell back a little bit. The next climb, I started to get dropped; but luckily, m teammate caught me in time to give a little more effort for me and pull me all the way back to the group. He did an AMAZING job to pull me back to an elite group of riders. When we turned right on to the finish straight, everyone started sprinting and I couldn't hang on anymore. The race leader was able to stay a little longer and gain 10 seconds on me. By the end of the day I gained 2 minutes on second place; which moved me up to second place overall 17 seconds behind the leader. The last stage landed on my birthday. It was stage 3- the criterium. The inevitable plan was for me to try and gain my time back to get into first and for my teammate, closest to me on the overall, to try and win.
But the plan didn't work when we found out that we were racing with the 15-16 year olds again. So my whole object was to just sit in behind the leader and suck his wheel all day and let him use his energy. I was then also planning on leading out my teammate for the win. But on the last turn he clipped his wheel on the ground and lost his position for the sprint. As soon as I heard him say "ah dang it!!," I knew I had to go. I came around the leader and sprinted all the way to victory. As I crossed the line I rose my hands in the air and screamed for joy. At the end of the stage race, I was second overall 13 seconds behind the leader. I got on the podium with my teammate in 3rd, me in second, and the kid from San Diego in first. After that, the announcer found out it was my birthday and gave me something extra special for my win; hugs and kisses on the cheek from the Mandalay Bay Showgirls or as us cyclists call them; Podium girls. This was a great weekend at the Callville Bay Classic Stage Race.
But the plan didn't work when we found out that we were racing with the 15-16 year olds again. So my whole object was to just sit in behind the leader and suck his wheel all day and let him use his energy. I was then also planning on leading out my teammate for the win. But on the last turn he clipped his wheel on the ground and lost his position for the sprint. As soon as I heard him say "ah dang it!!," I knew I had to go. I came around the leader and sprinted all the way to victory. As I crossed the line I rose my hands in the air and screamed for joy. At the end of the stage race, I was second overall 13 seconds behind the leader. I got on the podium with my teammate in 3rd, me in second, and the kid from San Diego in first. After that, the announcer found out it was my birthday and gave me something extra special for my win; hugs and kisses on the cheek from the Mandalay Bay Showgirls or as us cyclists call them; Podium girls. This was a great weekend at the Callville Bay Classic Stage Race.
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