Firing off bullets in Boston/Colden

The team as a whole was pretty mentally and physically beat after the tension and excitement from the Tour of the Valley win. A whole week went by between then and Sunday's BBC Boston / Colden Road Race and we hadn't even touched on the subject of a team strategy for the race. We were too burnt out still. So saturday / sunday morning in the parking lot it was just determined we'd attack like mad men and have some fun during the race. There was no real goal in mind, no plan for who goes when, just do it. What fun!

The race started fairly normal I thought, I lined up near the front and followed wheels, we were only doing like 22mph and I look back and I'm in a breakaway of 4 guys. What happened!? Let's get this race started! That wasn't really the time, place, or group of people to make something like that work, so I just settled in and rotated until I set myself up on the front for the first time up Wohlhueter. My goal was to attack up that and be the first over it to draw out some strong men. I did that for the most part, but it failed in the end.

So after I was brought back, Tom fired off an attack on the flats. The group sat for a second wondering what to do, even let us sit on the front and coast along watching it, then a few found some spirit to go chase. Going downhill slightly, the group caught Tom fairly quickly.

As our no-plan plan was to go, we were supposed to send someone else at this point. I was near the front, we were approaching my favorite part of the course (a 4% riser into turn 3 that I ride twice a week on my training loop) so I attacked again off the front, right over Tom. Nobody followed. I was off to the races alone with a large gap before I even hit turn 3.

OK, settle into a rhythm, set a goal. My goal (on the spot) was to get back to Wohlhueter and at least scoop 5 KOM points out of this move. So I played the "solo break" game. Trying not to look back, burying my head, and watching my wattage / heart rate. This is a course of mental toughness, at two points you are faced with hills that make it look like the group is catching you, but they really aren't. I dealt with this EVERY LAP of the race. What torture.

So I made it to the KOM and scooped my 5 points, Ben attacked the group and rode up to me on the KOM climb. We went away with one other person. Finally a paceline, no more solo TT effort! Half a lap later Ben dropped us on the finishing climb going into lap 3, then I was joined by Vince who attacked and bridged with one other person on the flats starting lap 3. We tried to catch the two in front of us and behind Ben, but the gap basically stayed steady.

Adam attacked and bridged to us on lap 4 and we worked together to stay away and hold our 4-6th positions. Rich attacked the group behind us and finished solo for 7th ahead of the group.

This whole race was a new experience for the team, just fire bullets and see what happens. It was also a new experience for me, regardless of being bridged to, I started the first successful break and stayed in various forms of a breakaway off the front for the whole race. I did much more wattage than normal in these races, but had a blast doing it!

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