Well, we finished off our Southern road trip the same way we started it, on the podium! This past weekend of racing was the last for Bryson and I before we headed home to get ready for the start of the Ontario season.
We had a nice week leading up to the races at the OCA camp in Rocky Bottom, SC. As we had a relatively lighter week it was impressive to watch the juniors as they tore up the mountains everyday. Some of these riders are still really young but already really strong. Check out the OCA website for some pictures from the camp.
As for the racing, Saturday’s race was in Albemarle, NC. It was a hilly, 100km race. Tactically, we rode well taking turns covering attacks. Finally, with about 25km to go, Bryson opened up a gap for me at the top of the main climb of the course and six of us were able to get away. We worked well to stay away and after some failed last ditch attacks, the group came to the line together for a sprint. I ended up taking 2nd.
Sunday’s race was the City Park Criterium. It was a hard course with a challenging climb. Judging by prior races we figured it’d come down to more of a selection than a breakaway. Bryson rode aggressively to form a group of about 10 halfway through the race. With about 10 laps to go myself and four others were able to bridge across to the break. We were outnumbered as the Mountain Khakis and DLP professional teams had 3 and 4 riders in the move. We tried to make the group a little smaller but like Saturday the race ended in a sprint. I ended up 4th and Bryson was 7th. Thanks to Jon Safka for taking a ton of pictures of us. Check out his website at www.cyclingphotos.ca