Race headed out of Breckenridge leading the 4th of July parade. 710 racers toed the line in this National Championship event. In my race....the Pro Open field.....consisted of some big names. Nat Ross, Ryan Trebon, Jay Henry, David Weins, and a host of other high altitude freaks. Our race started tame. Then Ross did a quick burst off the front. The Pro field stayed together while heading up hill. Then after about 4 miles of going up the Pro field began to split. Instead of a pack of 30 riders it was now every rider for himself. For me I was sitting about mid pack doing my thing. I knew how hard I could go at 11,000 feet....and just rode my own race. Surprisingly I felt really good. I was light and snappy on the pedals and was climbing and catching people. People were really suffering and riding hard the first lap. For me I decided to chill out and set a good pace to go for a faster 2nd lap.
At the end of my 1st lap I was feeling good. I grabbed another bottle and headed off on the 2nd and final lap. My nutrition intake was good. I grabbed a bottle and each aid station....plus used my own 2 bottles. I was also able to snag some Clif Shots at each station. Over the race, I would take down 8 bottles and 10 Clif Shots. this seems to work well, as a lot of folks were cramping on course. During the 2nd lap i felt good. I caught more riders in front of me that were racing "age-group." Towards the end of my final lap I was caught by Shonny of the Luna Chix. Then 15 seconds later came Pua. They would pull away on one of the final climbs leaving me and 90% of the field in the dust. I kept on pushing to the end.
I ended up 25th in the Pro Open race....not to shabby for a flat lander. My time was 4 hours and 37 minutes. It was 7 minutes off my goal, but I can't complain....I felt good the entire race. Worst part of the entire race....the dust. Time to recover a bit. I am racing on Saturday at the 12 Hours of Blue Mound in WI.
Many more photos here.