Doublecross Weekend Day 2!

Wow, what a weekend. I have to say I am rather pleased and excited for the rest of the season. And the strength of the Masters 35+ field this year is amazing. Should make for some great racing to not only be apart, but to watch as well.

As for day 2, I was still riding high from my win the day before. I had a much better start to the race as well, and went into the grass 2nd wheel behind David Johnson. However, this did not last long as Rob Selle, Andy Fedwa, and Simon Baily pulled around me. As soon as we got to the Orange Crush, Ron Stack passed me. I was still haging on to the group but was slipping back 1 spot at a time. Meanwhile, David was putting in a huge lead over the field, but it was still very early. On the 2nd loop, Rob Selle went ahead to bridge the gap to David, and didn't look back. David slipped back into the pack, and I lost another position on the Orange Crush. By the time the 4th lap rolled around I was in a large group, and sitting 8th! Selle had a sizable lead, and Jarod Makowski was able to bridge back to Selle shortly after. I knew this was the train I needed to catch. I was starting to recover better and not making the simple mistakes as in the first few laps. Toward the end of the 4th lap, I made my move burying myself on a long straight section into a false flat. Only a few of the guys tired to grab my wheel. I knew everyone was starting to feel the effects of the race by now, but I also knew that this one move would not stick alone or bridge me back to the lead group. I continued to dig deep up the hill, and into the headwind on the pavement section. The group behind me was thinning out, and I was slowly getting closer to the lead group. At the start of the last lap, I finally caught Jarod and Selle. Into the grass, Jarod sat up a bit and said go ahead. I was rather surprised, but continued to go after Selle. By this time, I was also starting to ride Andy and Simon off my wheel. I came within a few hundred feet of Selle, and just like the day before, if I could have been into the single track section first, I would give myself a chance to pull away in the flats. Selle hit it first and continued to grow his lead. Finally into the last flatter sections, I was pulling time back again, but I was running out of it just as fast. I tired hard, and tried hard to make sure no one would latch on to my wheel and pull around me for a final sprint. I pulled closer but it was too late. Selle took an awesome win, and I finished 3 seconds behind for a hard earned 2nd place. I am super stoked about this weekend!

My hats off to David, Jarod, Selle, Andy, and Simon, Dan, Ron, and the rest of the Masters 35+ class. What a great group of guys to be racing with, and you all had great races!

And congrats to Andrea Tucker. She put down the camera this year to try some cyclocross racing! And rocked it out for 1st place both days. Awesome!