Hillsboro Roubaix delivered yet again, with drop-dead gorgeous weather, great racing and a banner day for my team.

As for my race; it seems as though I was one of the only ones in the field that had raced, possibly at all, this season already. There was almost a crash not 2 miles in and on a straight. The pack could keep no semblance of steady pace, so i attacked at just about mile 5 (of 22). I felt good. Too good. As I kept looking back I really started to believe my break could stick, so I stopped looking and put my chin on my stem.

After a while the wind got the best of me (they should call it Windsboro Roubaix). 2 other racers had chased me down and we began to work together. After we all took a few pulls, I was unable to hold their wheels up one of the climbs. It wasn’t such a bad ascent, but I was cooked and it was beginning to show. I decided to let them go.

Apparently I did a good job of breaking up the pack. Another chase group of about 6 picked me up and in in was my teammate, Stan. Again, we all tried to work together and I tried to keep Stan out of the wind. After getting stuck behind the women’s PRO field on a descent — rendering us unable to pass legally — the climb back up “broke” me (according to the wheel-truck driver’s assessment of my facial expression). The rest of the group got away and I was alone.

Recovery being a strength of mine, I was at least able to catch up with Stan again. He was having a hard time getting his heart-rate down so I kept him in the gutter (see photo) as best I could until the final climb into town. Having just ridden Georgia’s mountains, Hillsboro’s “toughest” climb seemed like a cakewalk compared to last year. So, i just spun up it as fast as I could. I did not realize that I was dropping Stan.

The 40+mph descent into town is always one of my favorite parts, so I laid it all down. I had slight concerns regarding the remaining pack and I wanted to ensure a spot for both Stan and I in the top 10. Unfortunately Stan got nipped at the line in a sprint with a xXx rider, but he still got 10th. I got 8th. Our teammate, Mia, in her first race ever got 9th in the women’s Cat4.

I wish all road races could be like this… but it’s back to “reality” now. Can’t wait ’til next year.