Wow! what an amazing turn-out for the virtual Joe Martin stage race! The line up was stacked with Olympians, Ex-Olympians, National Champions, and generally strong riders.
Stage 1: Individual Time Trial. The time trial was on the much loved and much hated Bologna course :) It's flat for the first few KMs and then straight up for the last two KM. It ends up that you spend 50% of the time on the flat and 50% on the climb. At my weight the strategy was clear: pace the flats and hammer the hill. I would need to really hit the hill hard if i wanted to place well. I had it all planned out with time split goals ... and then it happened. They changed the type of race at the last minute. Instead of the traditional TT setup, it was a mass start, with no splits. So i set up my Garmin head unit to read from the Kickr while i used my Garmin pedals to power my bike on Zwift. I'd have to try to track my own splits. It kinda worked out. haha. I did pace on the flats, and perhaps a touch too much ... I totally ignored everyone around me and just stared at watts, targeting about 221, which is a touch under my FTP. and then i got to the hill, and hammered up at 250+ (about 5.1w/kg). I think i was in 50th at the bottom of the hill .. and about 35th at the top. The top girls pushed 5.9w/kg for about 15 min (the full TT). Holy crap. I was happy with my 4.8 w/kg :)
Stage 2: Road Race. Well, this was interesting. We were supposed to have a moment of silence at the start (for 1 min) and then a neutral rollout for 1km. The moment of silence worked well. the rollout .... not so much. Someone didn't get the memo and there were several riders pushing the pace off the front. I stayed around 2w/kg until the 1km mark and then sprinted to catch the main pack. ouch! After that it was chaos and watt bomb thru the hill Titan's Grove, and then chill in the desert./flats. I stuck with the top group (averaging 4w/kg)! Very fun race! the end was interesting too. it was supposed to end at the top of a hill, but instead we had to sprint down the other side. I hesitated and it cost me. I was 9th.
Stage 3: Crit. Crits always hurt, and this was no exception. The course was relatively flat with the exception of a 1-2-3 punch where there were three short steep hills in a row with no recovery in between. I was happy to hang with the front group to the end and even took a QOM on one of the short hills. in the final 1-2-3 punch i just didn't have it. I gave everything for 12th place.
It was an incredible experience to get to race alongside (even virtually) such a strong field of women!
