Tour de Bloom Stage 1 cat 1/2

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DuncanBryson
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Tour de Bloom Stage 1 cat 1/2

Post by DuncanBryson » Mon May 08, 2017 12:54 pm

Stage one of TdB started near the quaint, Bavarian themed, Leavenworth Wa. The sun was out for what was, despite some of the locals complaints about the cold, the warmest race we've attended this year. The course was a single 84km loop with a rolling start, a long and gradual (1-2%) descent, a long mostly flat section with a significant headwind, and a hilltop finish. The pace was high from the gun in the early rolling part of the course. Nick and I were slowly making our way through the pack when a large crash happened several wheels in front of us. Ducking out to the ditch on the far side of the road, Nick avoided the collision and I followed suit right behind him. Using the ensuing chaos, Nick and I made our way to the front of the pack. Some minor attacks were launched, but nothing was sticking. Four riders managed to build a gap before the descent, but were brought back midway down. The descent was fairly uneventful, as we cruised down at a relatively casual pace. Nick and I hung out at the back of the bunch to stay out of trouble and freshen up for the upcoming efforts. We bombed past our accommodations at the tail end of the descent and made a quick left hander to the flatter part of the course. I managed to make up quite a few positions to find myself back at the front, but not in time to catch a solo move by Smart-Savvy's Connor Toppings. A lacklustre chase by some of the Audi riders gave me the perfect opportunity to keep the legs fresh and stay safe in the front 4-5 wheels, avoiding a crash across one of the bridges (which Nick narrowly avoided). As we moved into the headwinds some of the Langlois riders tried to pick up the chase with Audi, but the damage was already done. Connor had a one minute advantage that wasn't reeled back very much. The pace was reasonable as we began the long and gradual ascent to the finish. I found myself near the front of the bunch again, but my lungs were still a little fried from my cold at race the ridge. We were told the course was 88km, so with ~83 down I let myself drift back a little to recuperate for the sprint only to hear a marshal yelling 'one K to go!' A big acceleration across the yellow line quickly spat me out the back for a slow solo finish. Nick managed to get 15th place despite the confusion. In a strange turn of events the commissaires had decided mid race that the final km, previously with no yellow line rule, now had the yellow line rule in effect. As a result, everyone in the bunch at 1km to go received the same time to make up for the large attack across the yellow line in the last km. This left Connor a 35 second gap (+12 bonus seconds) and the next 60 odd riders with the same time. The commissaires unfortunately (with no warnings during the race) penalized Nick 30 seconds for crossing the yellow line, giving him a bit of a deficit to make up. An interesting end to the stage, but a fun race nonetheless.

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