Alexandria Road Race 4/5 36 miles

Just a 36 mile road race. There was a front coming thru in the afternoon so I went for the earlier race which happened to be a bit shorter. We started with an 8 mile neutral rollout. Not sure why they kept it neutral so long. When they cut us loose, we turned on a crosswind section. About 35 riders in the race, 7-8 were bound and determined to lead. This caused several accelerations in the main field. No escapes were allowed to get away in the first 5 miles. We then turned with the wind. A strong rider from Loon State made a bit of a break. I went with him and figured we'd have some company. We got 50 meters off the front and no one responded. We decided to roll the dice and go for it. When we turned onto another crosswind section, we could see the back of the Jr. race. We figured if we could pass that group, we'd have that magical visual barrier that would allow us to survive to the finish. However, I realized I was beyond my limit, wished the other rider luck, and slowly dropped back to the pack. I figured my race was over after spending that much energy on the break. I tucked into the pack and caught a second wind. As we turned into the final stretch, the wind was in our faces. About 20 riders came into the final sprint. With 300 meters to go, some riders on the right accelerated and slowed as the peloton closed in. Just as the catch was made, I jumped out of the saddle into a full sprint. I got a nice gap and kept the hammer down. The sprinters then found their way past the pretenders and started to close. The gap shrank as the line got closer. I won by .05 seconds. Last year in the same race, I followed a couple flyers with 1k to go. I ended up watching the sprinters fly by before the line. This year, I stayed in the pack for the bunch sprint. Much better result!