SDSR Hillclimb

I planned this race to be one of my biggest goal races of the year. All my preparations were the same. Huge expectations, lots of pressure. I thought I was going fast, maybe too fast at the start, but the last five minutes of the race I felt I was going slow and couldn't go any faster. My eyes were cross-eyed and blurred, half-squinting through the rain, eagerly looking for the finish line. It just didn't feel like usual, where I climb with confidence and I pound out a rhythm. My time wasn't as fast as I was looking for. Lots of disappointment.

Sam ROLLED the course, setting one of the fastest times of the day at 14:48. He won our category, earning him the yellow jersey to wear in the road race. I got 8th place (still good), but almost 50 seconds back, which is substantial on such a short course.

However, Sam's good performance left Claremont Cycling in an awesome position. We would have to defend the yellow at all costs: marking attacks, pushing the pace, bringing back breaks. And, as we discussed earlier, we had plans to go get the King of the Mountain jersey while we were at it. Our plan: control and dominate. I would be the domestique.