NVGP Stage 1 & 2

Colt and I arrived to Minneapolis on Tuesday afternoon after the 6 hour drive from Chicago.  We first stopped by the TT course for a recon pre-race ride.  The TT route was an out an back flat course, finishing with a .4 mile uphill to the finish line.  The only technical sections was the 180 turn-around and a pot-hole filled S-turn.  After the ride we drove to our host house for showers and some dinner.  The packet pickup was at a nearby hotel, with a managers meeting afterward.  And since we didn't have a manager, all of us were forced to stay the entire hour listening to some pretty bad questions.  We eventually made it home and got to sleep for the early wake up call the next morning.

Stage 1, TT
We awoke to mild temperatures with overcast and rainy skies.  Colt was the first to go off at 10:22 followed by myself and then Jason 10 and 20 minutes after.  I got a good warm-up in on the trainer, but looking back I probably could have gotten an even better one in.  I rolled to the start line 6 minutes before my time to get my bike checked for UCI compliance.  I am riding a borrowed TT bike from Robbie, and it has been working out great, I hardly had to adjust the position.  But of course when the official asked to see me on the bike he first said that the angle of my elbows was not legal (I was too stretched out).  But after a quick adjustment (consisting of me moving forward on the saddle, thus changing my elbow angle), he said I was OK to go.  I need to do some more research on this, but it seems like being tall has it's disadvantages for legal TT positions.  I mean aren't we at a disadvantage already since we need to push more wind than a shorter rider?  Anyway, the TT went OK, and I would say most of time was lost in the turnaround, the technical S-turn and the final uphill.  I haven't put in a ton of time on the TT bike, but as I do I'll get used to going fast on it.  Colt Jason and I all finished within 5 seconds of eachother, in 77th, 78th and 84th place.   This was also my first ever TT on an actual TT bike! 

Stage 2, Lowertown St.Paul Criterium
The course was a 4 corner circuit in Uptown St. Paul with a gradual downhill through the start finish and uphill on the opposite side.  The roads were in no great shape with several strategically placed potholes and manhole covers in the line of several corners.  I had terrible starting position, and so my main focus was moving up.  This was much easier said than done since I was basically offseting the people passing me as I was trying to move up in the field.  Finally with about 13 laps to go I was close to last wheel and hurting.  I started to become complacent around the corners and soon found myself flicking people through.  The problem was there was no one left to come around me and grab a wheel, and I was chasing the gap I just opened for myself.  This only lasted 3 laps and i got pulled by the officials.  This has got to be one of the fastest crits I have done, and I quickly learned that losing concentration just for a second can prove costly.  I got a prorated time 1:41 back, and dropped out of the top 100 in the GC.