lapping the field is fun, but it's no cake walk

The 7th Day criterium yesterday was ran in the wettest conditions I’ve ever raced in in the Treasure Valley! Since this race was put on by our team, we all got to volunteer (pronounced voluntold) for all of the events but our own – the pro/1/2’s. Over the day, it poured down 8 tenths of an inch! Only the hardcore locals showed up, but they got the experience of racing on a great criterium course. By the time our race came around, I was only half-heartedly getting ready and less than 100% motivated when I first put my leg over the bike. Once I got rolling though, it was game on as usual, no matter the weather. It’s amazing what the competitive juices can do for ya! There were jumps from the gun and the pace was up and down until my teammate Chris Stuart made a real move, going up the road by 10-ish seconds. A few attempts were made to pull him back in by the other teams, but when local criterium specialist Tim Root hit the front, it was lights out for that move. Pulling Stuart back put enough strain on the field that it made a perfect opportunity for me to counter. I stayed away on my own for the next 30 or so minutes when I heard that Stuart was coming across solo. I was super glad to hear that as I was getting tired setting pace on my own the whole way! I sat up and waited for him to get on my wheel and we were gone. With two laps to go, we had the opportunity to fully lap the field, but sat up a little and let them play out their sprint for third. At the line, I gave the “W” to Chris. It was like déjà vu from Friday night other than it was raining and the crowd was way smaller. Either way, it was pretty kick@$$ to have two Bob’s guys lap the field two times in one weekend!