Colts Neck RR. I somehow earned the NJ Women's Cat 4 cup leader's jersey with decent placings in the first two races, so I got to wear it today. This is my fourth year racing, and the first year I didn't make the cup my goal, and sure enough, I get the lead. I was excited, to say the least. My goal was to keep the jersey and consolidate my lead. There were a couple of women within a few points of me, so I wanted to keep my eye on them.
Nervous start. I was out warming up with my team when we got a call from a husband that they were already staging the women. They held up the start for us, thankfully. I got to the line after almost time-trialing to get there on time. Phew! The women 123 went first, then the 4s. I ended up leading the first half of the first lap. Tried to keep my effort reasonable and knew someone would get impatient and come around me. I had two teammates in the race, and they were really at or near the front the entire time, trying to keep control.
Second lap (of 4), I watched a woman ride away from the field. I expected it, and know she's close to her upgrade. I didn't want to burn any matches chasing someone who didn't matter for my series. I saw a couple of women try to chase but eventually they got reeled back in. I tried to stay safe and smart, and was positioning myself better than usual (I'm a at-the-front or at-the-back kind of racer, usually).
Third lap I had a scary moment. I was about 1/3 back in the pack, to the far right. The woman next to me got hit. I heard bikes collide and saw her start to wobble. I knew if she crashed she was taking me with her. There was nowhere for me to go except into the trees. Luckily, everyone stayed upright. This helped split the field, and I ended up in a group of about 10. My teammates were there. One of my cup competitors was not. So that meant I really had to mark just one rider.
There is a small but steep hill, and on the third lap I found myself off the front of the pack. I decided it would be foolish to try to stay away so I sat up. I'm not a time trialer, and didn't want to burn myself out.
One of my teammates is a time trial specialist, and she worked her heart out. Especially on that final lap. She was putting the hurt on everyone left with our group, which was exactly what she needed to do.
Coming into the finish, there's a downhill, left bend, an uphill, then a long flat run to the line. I was trying to get momentum to get me over that last climb but had to ease up because we caught a lapped rider. I still started the hill in decent position, found my teammate and let her lead me out. I crested the hill in 4th place, passed another rider and then my teammate. And then I realized just how far off the line was. Ouch. I knew I wasn't catching the one in front of me so I actually sat back down because my legs were screaming. I finished 2nd in the field sprint, third overall. I consolidated my lead in the cup, which was exactly what I wanted to do. And I got some nice points towards my upgrade.