Race Report: SRAM Tour of the Gila - Stage 3: Tyrone Individual Time Trial

Well. That one hurt. The winds were exactly as brutal as they were predicting. I borrowed a 606 wheel setup and an aero helmet from a teammate which was pretty sweet. I was definitely hesitant to use it as there were pretty strong crosswinds but am glad I did as it still wasn't super impossible to fight the gusts.

The course today was 16 miles long and began immediately with a 5 mile climb up Little Burrow Pass. It was a pretty gradual climb and I had a hard time finding my tempo. Close to the top I was passed by the rider who started after I did and I thought to myself, "this is going to be a long 16 miles". After a quick descent there were 2 miles of rollers before the turnaround. It was there where I was passed by another rider.

Thankfully I had a much stronger second half and would not be passed again. The climb back over the pass was much steeper in the other direction and I made up some time there. The 5 mile descent to the finish was the hairy part. There was a strong tail/cross wind with some huge swirling gusts. Due to the tailwind and going downhill I was spinning out in my 53-11 doing about 55mph. The hairy part is when a huge gust would come and almost rip the bike out from underneath you.

I made it in safely but lost a lot of time. I finished 38th at +6:08. Ouch! This took me quite a ways down in the GC from 6th at +1:28 to 12th at +8:20. Ouch! I need to keep in mind why I am doing this race and what my intentions were when I entered. I came for the experience. I came to find out what sort of rider I am and to learn about my strengths, and weaknesses. I knew starting today that time trailing is a big limiter for me but now I see just how much improving I need to do and I now have an objective for the coming months.

While the leader's jersey may be beyond reach for me now, doing well in the GC is still a possibility and my chance will most definitely come on Sunday in the Gila Monster road race. Tomorrow is the downtown crit which I plan to sit in and relax on. It will be on Sunday on the CAT 2 climb in the final 50k where the final selection will be made.

Good night.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8