Hoodwinked

Does total elevation gain really matter when the final toll is roughly 1000ft too much? If the elevation gained is 10,000 and you can only climb 9,000 of it fast, you lose. If the elevation is 7,800 and you manage 6,800 fast, you still lose. And if it suggested as a sprinters stage, and you get dropped, you still lose!

According to Lang, it actually was a sprinters stage. Because there WAS a sprint for the stage win. There also was a sprint for 48th in the first grupetto, a sprint in my group for 60th, and also a HUGE sprint for 76th. Actually. People sprinting in grupettos is pretty funny to me. Because if you are in the grupetto, that means that you got dropped. But if there is a future wife-type in the area, maybe you should sprint. But I didn't sprint.

However, I did get dropped pretty H-Core. Once for good, but also about 7 other times for good measure. Turns out my rough estimate of three climbs actually was incorrect and for 85 miles we were either going up or down. I came off for good at roughly mile 63. I also came off at mile 35 or so, but luckily I was able to hop on the Dan Harm train and then we caught up.

Even though I done went and got dropped, I still managed to help Parrish and Spencer a bit at the base of the climb on the last lap, and covered some moves early in the race when I thought there was only a total of three climbs, not 6. So all things considered, my personal objectives aside we had a pretty good race as a team today. Chris, Lang, and Dan all finished safely in the front group of ~30, with the real fireworks to come Sunday when we ride up into the snow. And do roughly 15 climbs instead of 6. Nice!

But first, a crit to crush.

On the non-bike race side of things, here is what happened today-

• Barbeque- "Would you rather be attacked by: 150 Kittens who have a desire to kill you? or a medium sized alligator?"
• My answer was kittens. Because even though it would be pretty painful to be clawed to death, how could you possibly be angry when you see an adorable kitten staring at you? But actually now that I typed that out, I think I would way rather it be the alligator, because I really hate cats. Especially Tommy the Cat.
• 3 episodes of Parks and Recreation
• Zero studying for my final on Monday
• 3 apples eaten
• Only ONE shot of espresso all day!?!?!?! I think I just figured out the answer to almost everything above that I just wrote.

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