Specialized/Sierra Nevada Criterium

It was so hot today! You know the kind of hot Im talking about, the really oppressive heat where you feel like you can hardly breathe. The forecasted high for Folsom that day was 98 degrees, but it could very well have been higher. I nearly went through my entire bottle of water during the course of the 50-minute race, which I rarely ever do in crits. Despite the weather, my legs felt pretty strong and I tried to stay active in the race. It was a small field, 19 riders, and a lot of the heavy hitters we normally see were MIA. (Both PABW and McGuire sent teams to the Nature Valley Grand Prix stage race this week in Minnesota, and I think some others were perhaps resting up for Tour of Nevada City the next day.) However there were still a few strong girls present, including Tracey (winner today) and Jen from PABW, and Nicola and Lori from PROMAN. It was kind of a strange race. There were times when we were going so slow... maybe girls were afraid of overheating. But when there were surges in the pace, I definitely did my best to avoid drifting to the back. Like I said, I tried to stay active where possible -- Lori attacked at one point, and I immediately jumped on her wheel. I hoped she might want to work together to perhaps build a gap over the pack, but sadly she sat up and and eventually the group all came back together. Going into the last lap, I had good position. I think I was maybe fourth wheel behind Nicola through turn one. I felt good and thought, maybe, just maybe, I might actually get a good result today. Not to be. I lost her wheel on the back side of the course as everyones adrenalin kicked in and things got a little tight. Not a bad finish, but not a great finish either. -rita

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