Victory is mine!

(photo courtesy of Andy Shen @ NYVelocity.com)

I won.

I won?

I totally did!

I've never won a bike race before. I keep repeating the final seconds in my head. Pure awesome.

I had a good feeling yesterday before the race started. we had over 11 people in the C field, and we had two different strategies for the win.

Our first strategy was to try and get a break off with three of our guys. if that failed, I was going to try and take it in a field sprint.

The latter happened. :)

The race was supposed to be a 5 lap race of central park (at 6 miles per lap). the strategy my coach gave me was simple- stay in the middle of the pack, do NO work, and then get a lead out and sprint for the finish (should the break away fail)

The first three laps of this race were the most relaxing race laps I've ever done- I was in my endurance and tempo zones for most of the race- It was much smarter racing, and it left me with a ton of juice for the finish.

on the second to last lap, we heard the bell. There was some confusion at first, but then we realized they were cutting the race down by a lap - it had become the final lap. Our Guys, Rob, Ted, and Steve- made a break at the base of harlem hill. it stuck for a little while, but a few problems arose and cause the break to fall apart: rob got a flat, Steve cramped, and they weren't able to regroup very well in enough time to organize the break. The peloton was also freaking out since the race had been cut by a lap, so they were in a hurry.

i stayed near the front for the rest of the final lap- last time i was hard pressed to position myself well for the sprint. I also didnt have a good lead out, and had to sprint up cat's paw before the actual sprint, leaving me spent. This time, I made sure to be in the top 5 or 6 coming through horse-shit alley, and stuck onto my teammates Clay, and then Ultimately Nate, before i started to sprint. Nate made for a great lead-out- i started my sprint after the crest, and was able to fire on all cylinders- i came right up the front, and it was between me and two other guys. right before i hit the finish, i threw my bike towards the line, and instantly heard cheers from some of the female teammates that were spectating.


(photo courtesy of Andy Shen @ NYVelocity.com)

Did I just win?

oh man. I did.


(photo courtesy of Andy Shen @ NYVelocity.com)

I've never felt that before. going against a slew of people like that in physical competition and coming out as numero uno.

I keep replaying it in my head. I love it. That's what its about.

I'm going to keep working on my sprinting- my legs are definitely more built for sprinting than for climbing, so we'll see how well i can develop it.

I can't wait to do it again. This gives me all the more incentive to keep pushing myself.


This is Evan and I. Evan's a junior rider- 17 yrs old- he came in third today. fast SOB.

After the race, we had ANOTHER post-race training ride to Nyack. it was a fun ride, but i was definitely hurting by the end. We were all riding really well as a team, though, and that was great to see. Had a celebratory muffin at the 'spoon. hoo-ha. 90 miles total yesterday. I was beat. I went home andpassed out for 4 hrs.

Today is a hill repeat day. oye vei. Looking forward to tomorrow's rest day.

Here's the obligatory victory pose (post-humously)