The Race: Fulton Road Race in Peach Bottom, PA
The Course: 3 laps, 30 miles total, rolling hills, uphill finish
The Field: 1/2/3/4 women
The Finish: 3rd, in a field sprint
The start was slow rolling, which worked out well since it took half a mile to get my left foot clipped in. Monika (my teammate and ‘twin sister’ according to a spectator this weekend) and I were near the front and stayed there throughout the race. The field had some strong riders and none of the attacks stuck; the girls would immediately speed up and reel in the attackers. We spent the entire race in a tight, silent pack and I was reticent to make any moves that would (a) burn up my energy and get reeled in anyway and (b) tire me out before Battenkill the next day.
We rolled into the final stretch in a group, one girl attacked with less than 1km to go, others moved, I moved, and then I was riding just off the front. I hadn’t decided when to start sprinting, so I just started turning the pedals over harder and – this is the part where I deserve to be smacked – waiting to see if other girls were starting yet. WHAT THE HELL. It wasn’t intentional; I just didn’t want to work any harder than I needed to. Sarah Fader shot by on my left, followed by Kacey Manderfield, and my efforts were only strong enough to hang onto third.
I was fine with that. Sarah and Kacey were stronger and smarter in that final sprint and if I’d wanted the win, I should have been willing to put it out there. Hesitation is never a winning strategy. Monika, who loves field sprints as much as I do, finished in fifth.