Tuesday, April 28, 2009

2009 Wente Road Race


Wente Road Race features great scenery, smooth pavement, lots of climbing (close to 6,000 feet), and some nice, twisty descents, so I wanted to check it out. So refreshing after some of the flatter, nasty pavement races we've been doing.

Four fifteen mile laps comprised the race plus 1 extra time up the big climb for the uphill finish. Good course for me with the climbs and technical descending. First time up the climb the group of 75 was whittled to about 35-40. Then a hairball descent with a nasty corner stacked with hay bales to catch riders. It's one of those corners you can take with no brakes at 40 mph, but it's pretty ballsy! Second time up the climb things really began to shatter. I was about 15th over the climb and looked back to some big gaps.

After that smaller groups formed, and it was fun chasing and working with a few other racers. Toward the end there were two groups of 5 or 6 ahead, then our third group of 5 or 6.

Last time up the climb to the finish I decided my best bet was to attack, figuring I wouldn't do as well in a 200 meter sprint, so I attacked at the bottom of the climb to finish in the top 10 out of 75, I'd have to say this was my best race so far this season, and somewhat of a confidence builder.

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