Crit Squad: Mia, Daphne, Myself, Jrho.
W123 Results:
Circuit Race: 13th
TT: 11th
Road Race: DFL
Crit: 10th
A Short Report
Tour of Galena never fails to disappoint. The weather generally plays a factor, and I was not looking foward to a repeat of last year's rainy road race. No matter what mother nature throws at us, you still have to complete a 30 mile circuit race, a TT, a nearly 70 mile road race and an hour long crit. My main goal for the weekend was just staying with the pack for as long as I could. I would only hope to survive the first three stages, and then to throw in what I had left in the crit for the team.
The weekend didn't go exactly as planned for me. Heat and steep climbs meant that I was quickly shelled in the 30 mile circuit race. I felt good on the descents, but there was no way I could make it back to the group, which I didn't fully realise was completely shattered itself. I found a companion (Shiqi Fu) to race with and we held it together for 3 laps. I threw in a couple of attempts to get away from Shiqi but to no avail, I would drop her on the descents (she had a hard fall a few months before and was tentative) and she would be right back on my tail after the road flattened out. I attacked her on the hill just before the finish line, hoping she would blow up trying to stay with me, but to no avail again. With nothing left but a sprint, I dug in for a hard one minute effort and held her off.
After a good performance in the TT the next day I struggled to finish a very tough road race. Shelled again after only one lap, I didn't achieve my goal, or even manage to equal my performance last year. I was feeling very demoralised, and really did not think that I was going to finish the race. Thanks to Jess Whiton and Jason, without them I'd still be out there in the Galena hills someplace. I sprinted into town with Jason, instantly glad that I had managed to finish, as the entire rest of the team was there cheering for us. I was happy to hear Daphne had crushed the road race, pacing herself perfectly, and taking the win with room to breath.
As for the final stage, it was awesome to work as a team with the rest of our crit squad. Trading attacks, going for primes and points, and learning to race together. I am lucky to race with such great women to guide and mentor me. Mia was back racing again, and she fits into our crit squad so seamlessly. She seems to know intuitively when to go to the front, to control or attack. Jrho was on fire, attack after attack, she really slayed that crit. It feels so good to race with such strong women.
All in all a very sucessful weekend with Daphne taking home the Omnium win, with some crazy strong performances all weekend.
Thanks to xXx racing for putting on such a great event, one of the best races in the region.