Gila Update, After Stage 3

First I want to apologize to everyone who was looking for updates every day like I promised. I've been really tired after the races, and internet access hasn't been as easy to get as in past years.

Day 1 TT:
I didn't feel like I did my best TT. I don't think I paced myself well, and the wind and heat really got to me. Regardless, I finished 33rd out of 93 starters, and was "only" down 3:38. Eric (teammate) rode a little better than me and finished 26th. My other teammates Joe and Brandon had a tough time, and finished down quite a bit.

Day 2 road race:
A group of nine guys got away right at the start of the race. I saw them go, but I could do nothing because guys in front of me were all the way across the road, and there was no way to get around. Truthfully, had I gone with them, I don't know if I have the fitness to do that sort of ride and still be good for the rest of the stages. As it turned out, I didn't plan for the race with enough water, and found myself getting dehydrated 20 miles before the final feedzone. Luckily, Eric was willing to give me half of a small waterbottle, which got me to the feedzone. A lot of guys didn't plan well, and when we got to the feed, guys were begging for bottles. I actually saw several guys in front of me go for my bottle, but my dad did a good job keeping it from them, and getting it to me. The feed was on a pretty nasty hill, and the group fractured pretty bad. I found myself as the last Colavita rider (there were approx 8 of us in the race--there were guys from other regional teams) left in the main group. As usual, the group blew up on the final climb, and I rode myself through the group to finish 21st. Turns out that the lead guys in our group caught up to the stragglers of the breakaway, so that only 3 guys put significant time on the group. Eric had some bad stomach problems and finished a few minutes down, and Joe and Brandon just didn't have it in them today. I moved from 33rd to 21st in the overall.

Day 3 road race:
Today Brandon went for the first intermediate sprint and won it, but caused a breakaway with some dangerous guys. Turns out that Brandon got spit out the back of that group pretty quick, and actually ended up having to pull out of the race (Eric and I thought he was in the break all day until we found out at the finish). Joe also pulled out of the race after falling off the pace pretty early on. Because of the break up the road, and the fact that the race leader was in our group, the stage was pretty uneventful. I did avoid a crash on the nasty descent of the stage, and dropped my chain once on a small hill so that I had to chase the group for a couple of minutes, but like I said, pretty uneventful otherwise. I once again found myself as the only Colavita rider in the main group other than Eric, and I finished the stage safely within the main group. Due to a couple of the guys in the breakaway, I fell from 21st to 24th in the overall.
Up next are the crit tomorrow, and the monster 102 mile road race on Sun.

Deer Trail

Saturday was the local Deer Trail road race. For once, the weather gave us just about the most perfect day for racing--sub 80 degree temps and a deep blue, cloudless sky. For various reasons, the Pro field was pretty small at this race, though that doesn't guarantee an easy race. Some of the fastest guys in the country live and race in Colorado.
After a half an hour delay, we started racing, with a small group of guys immediately riding off the front. Partially because no one was motivated to chase this early in the race, and partially because those riders' teammates back in the main group were trying to slow us down, the group opened up a gap of a few minutes. Back in the main group, I had an easy ride for at least an hour. A couple times, I went to the front to make my presence known and to up the pace a little. Soon enough, the attacks started, as guys tried to get off the front of the group. In the Pro races, attacks come a lot more frequently than in the lower categories, and those accelerations definitely start to wear on you.
Towards the end of the race, the course got a lot hillier, and the intensity got higher as people were motivated to try to catch the guys who were still off the front. At one point, I got in a breakaway for several miles, but the main group just wasn't going to let us get away, and we were soon back in the fold. For the rest of the race, I stayed near the front of the group, and tried to ride smart. Doing that paid off, as the race in the main group came down to a bunch sprint. I finished 7th in the group finish for a 18th overall placing (due to the small group that finished ahead of us). I raced well, felt good, and got my first top 20 finish. Great day!