Weather report was 50/50 for rain this morning. It was actively raining on the way to the race, but stopped by the time I got there. I think we had about 11 women in our race. Here are the highlights: I tried to stay well positioned and not do too much work chasing every attack. Then the call for a $50 prime! Thats pretty good money! I jumped REALLY early and got a large gap on the field and took the prime! I was caught less than a lap later though. Then, I got in a 2 person break with Cindy Reese when she attacked. We held off the group for almost a whole lap. Came down to a group sprint where I took 4th...some strong sprinters in this group! Good race overall, and still in the money! :)
Arrive at the time trial and the clouds and wind are plentiful. Its approx 4/4:30pm when I go out for the TT. I hear there is a brutal head wind on the way out, but an awesome tail wind most of the way back! Cindy is kind enough to lend me her TT helmet and shoe covers. It was the first time I even put a TT helmet on my head! Slick! Man, I gotta get a TT helmet, that thing was cool! (total bike nerd, I know) So Im feeling fast as I head out into the head wind. I try to focus on not breaking my form and staying set in my aero bars. The last thing Cindy tells me is "dont wipe your snot, just let it drip!" HA! Really! Well, it makes sense, the more you break form, the more you loose time. I take her advice, but its pretty gross! I push hard, and the 30+ mph wind gusts are demoralizing as I slow to 16 mph at one point. My cadence is slowing and Im forced to break form so I can shift gears at various points. I turn around and get to the tail wind section! Woo Hoo! WOW! I get in the biggest gear I have and just crank it! I look down at my computer at one point and Im going 30 mph! As Kate said...you will feel like a rockstar! She was right! Until...I get to the last 500 meters or so when I have a direct cross wind from my left side. Im leading 45 degrees into the wind just to avoid getting blown over, my wheels are trying to wash out beneath me, I have a death grip on my aero bars as I hold on for dear life, and I push the biggest gear I can! OUCH! I end up in 5th place and only 30 sec behind someone I was 2.5 mins behind just last weekend! Very happy w/ these results! I think I did the best I could in the weather conditions given.
As I was finishing the last mile or so, I hear a noise, but think its just the wind. After finishing I realize its the tornado sirens!! I get back to the car and Aubree points out the funnel clouds. Scary! We load up asap and I rearrange my whole car so I can get my bike inside. SO glad I did that. We try to rush out but should have stayed where we were. All hell breaks loose. It dumping so much rain I cant see and the is instantly a ton of standing water on the road. We drive through some small hail and I call Aubree and Adam who are following me to tell them Ill be stopping at the gas station up the road to wait this out. Even more scary, there are still folks out on the course! A woman I know gets hailed on, a guy runs into the concrete bathroom structure to seek shelter, the Big Shark van drives out the pick up people who are out there! Im SOOOOO glad to have finished when I did. What a great bunch of volunteers and what an unforgettable race!
Weather report later that day!
KMOV.com
Posted on April 24, 2010 at 10:24 PM
Updated today at 11:57 AM
Related:
KMOV -- Clean-up crews have a lot of work ahead around the St. Louis region.
Strong storms pounded the area on Saturday with hail, damaging winds and heavy rains, leaving many homes and businesses damaged.
Des Peres was one of the more heaviliy hit areas, where many reports say a tornado touched down. Ballas Road stayed blocked off into Saturday night. Three houses on that road suffered extensive damage from the storm.
Next up the Sunday crit. Again, more rain on the way to the race, but it stopped for the race! Highlights: My teammate Allison attacked and got in a 3 person break w/ Mesa and Dogfish. Me and the other Mesa teammate (Chris) held off the group to give our women the advantage and try to help the break stay away. They did stay away and Allison ended up 3rd and me 6th with Aubree getting me at the line for a 2nd day in a row! Great tactical race!
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