3 Words: Wet, Soggy, Dirty. This wasn't a difficult stage and the climbers were content to sit in and take it easy in prep for the afternoon's time trial. I did the same and did not contest the intermediate sprints. With three more stages left, I wanted to finish with the tires still on the road.
As the race wound down, I was getting a little more confident in my cornering and power and decided to throw my hat in the ring for the sprint. Just before the last corner, a small group jumped and I went with them. Coming out of that corner, we had a decent gap with Scott Moon (Heroes Foundation) pressing hard. He finally tired and the other rider's uncertainty did us in. Without the certainty of the finish line's proximity, none of the leading riders attacked for the line. As soon as the pace dropped, the pack swooped around us and I was left with no place to go. I wanted to wedge my front wheel between a couple riders who were over exaggerating their sprints, but they were tilting their bikes too much to get in. Instead, I pushed my front tire right up to the back of the guy in front of me and held it there. That got me a 9th place. I really don't like finishing without tanking up on a serving of lactic acid. It gave me an empty feeling.
