A major cold front came through today bringing even stronger winds and much colder temperatures. This morning it was still fairly warm, but by the time we headed out to the criterium course at Thanksgiving Point, it was very cold and it looked like it could rain any minute. The course was technical with narrow sections and a couple tight turns. Though the skies looked ominous towards the north, the sun actually broke through for Heather’s race but the wind was the major factor of the race (notice the trees in the pictures). She managed to ride well, but the race leader escaped solo this time and Heather couldn’t bridge. Heather ended winning the pack sprint for second.

There was a good amount of time between our races so we decided that we’d come back to the hotel between races. By the time we got back to the course for my race, the clouds were getting darker. Ted, Jim, and I started and it was fast from the gun. The wind was stronger than yesterday and with the narrow course, it was real sketchy at times. I managed to stay with the lead group for a while until finally, the elastic snapped.

A group of 8 got off and I was in a chase group of about six riders. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it had not been for one particular rider who kept on attacking when he got to the front. It wasn’t an all-out attack, but when he got to the front he would start to hammer, making everyone else have to pick it up. I didn’t understand his strategy because I would have been more than willing to pull through if the pace was steady. If I was able to talk when I am red-lined I would have said something, but basically, I was hanging on for dear life. Even on the tailwind section, it was hard to stay with the group. I managed to hang on until the finish where I managed to pass a couple riders for 13th place. Not bad, but still not big points for me today. So I am probably sitting the same on GC.