Well, I finally came down off my cloud of winning the TT, and just in time for the road race.  I have to say it isn’t easy putting aside the urge to celebrate, but it was important for me to forget about the success of the TT and refocus for the road race.  The objective was only half done and I was super motivated to step up on the podium once again.  Of course the other riders had different ideas, and here is how it played out.

The course was an out and back on a rolling, windy course with really heavy roads, and it was pretty clear that I was going to be extremely marked the whole day.  With that knowledge, we knew I wasn’t going to slip myself into the early move; it was going to have to be an arm wrestling contest for me to get away.  So the plan was to let a group get up the road a little ways, and then open up the hurt locker over a nasty cross wind section and hopefully bridge with a small group.

Starting out, it seemed like nobody wanted to waste an ounce of energy, as nobody was willing to touch the wind to help propel the pack.  We were spinning along at 20km/h for a good while before anyone would show their cards.  Finally, a group found the motivation to have a go, and off they went.  It looked like a good combination of riders for my ambitions, containing no huge favourites, aside from my good friend and fellow maritime boy Ryan MacDonald.  I was happy that he was in it, and thought the rest of them could be good for my plan.  Also to my liking was that none of the other favourites were jumping for it, which meant their plans involved this race either coming back together, or a bridge attempt:  both of which would suit me just fine, since they would have to work to have those outcomes happen.

That’s about where all the good news stops.  Panic was rushing around the pack when we heard the break had gained over 2 minutes in a mere 10km.  The other favourites were worried, but not so willing to chase.  Everyone knew the job had to get done, but nobody wanted to do it.  I sat patient until the hard crosswind section, and prepared for a very epic battle when it finally came.  It was going really well for a little while, I managed to split the group and was whittling it down to the strongest guys, but nobody would work with me.  The gap was there, but I couldn’t just drag everyone along, and eventually the group reformed.  After a few more attempts, it was clear that I wasn’t strong enough on the day to flat out drop the others, and for sure nobody was going to let me go.   The race was shutting down and the break just gained more and more time.

In the end we rolled in way behind, which although wasn’t the outcome I had hoped for, wasn’t the worst thing that could happen.  I knew it would take a monumental performance for me to win, and in the end it was Nova Scotia’s own Ryan MacDonald who took the title.  If it wasn’t going to be myself taking it, there is nobody else I would rather see with the jersey, and I think after spending a lot of time training together and becoming friends, I might have been happier to see him win than myself.

So, another nationals done, and I’m certainly very pleased with my weekend.  I would have loved two titles, but am pleased with how I raced.  Next up is the Junior Tour of Ireland before some intense Worlds prep back in Europe.  Thanks for reading!

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