Cascade Classic Wrap-Up

Alright sports fans, coverage of the Cascade Classic starts now! Whoops -- I mean coverage of the Cascade Classic ends now!

That's right folks, it's a wrap. 2010 Cascade Classic: in the books. It was a beautiful race, despite the controversy, the incorrect predictions, and the sweltering heat!

Saturday night was the criterium. After my performance here less than one month ago at nationals, I wasn't thrilled at the idea of building another "fan club" at the back. So, I actually raced the thing -- well kind of. I never really mixed it up in the moves, but I never was at risk of getting dropped. I only got heckled once; after the race was over, I heard "go number 38!" Oh really? Thanks numbnuts, nice memory -- by the way, I'm number 91 now bitch!

Sunday's race was on the now-familiar Aubrey Butte Circuit, and the thermometer read 95 degrees. The team came prepared, with roughly 30 pounds of ice stuffed into nylon stockings. We periodically grabbed these ice socks from our angels in the feed zone, and shoved them down our jerseys. It's amazing what a hunk of ice melting on the back of one's neck can do when the mercury rises; it can be the difference between finishing and floundering.

As for yours truly, I made one last bid to get in that "big breakaway." Sadly, that's all it was: a bid. On the start of the third lap, I could tell that United Healthcare was ready to let a break go (after they nearly ended up on the wrong end of a field split). A move went, and I wasn't in quite the right position. Knowing that my chances of bridging across the gap were getting smaller by the second, I worked my way up to the front, and SWAN DIVE.


Sadly, I'm not an Old Spice man, and despite getting really really friggin close, I couldn't get up there. It was a do or die move. Let's just say I didn't "do."


Now it's time to rest. Rest and train and rest and train and get ready for the Tour of Utah. Giddyup.