Race: De Vlees Huis Ronde Road Race
Where: Bakersfield, CA
Racers: Jocelyn Pogue, Anne Cuizon
Category: Womens 3/4
Results: 6th, 18th
After a pre-ride the day before, Jocelyn and I knew we were in for a doozy: lots of climbs, technical descents, a long flat stretch with crosswinds and the occasional dead rattlesnake. Determined to at least get some exercise, we started out with the pack. Once on the hills, I decided to drive up the pace a little with the intention of stringing out the group a little. (In retrospect, this was a mistake, but at least it brought Jocelyn up in the pack)
Most of the girls ended up in clusters of 2 or 3 girls working together. Jocelyn was working with a MetalMTN girl just seconds behind the leaders. She was able to put about 1-2 minutes in front of the rest of the group. At one point, sweat had blinded her for a few seconds and found herself biking off the road and through some tall grasses. Once she got back on the road, Jocelyn bridged back up the climb to Metal MTN girl, even with some new grass to decorate her handlebars.
It came down to a sprint up a 7-9% climb to the finish for J. The rest of us ladies trickled in behind. Overall, Jocelyn and I felt really good afterwards but were pretty glad we didn't have to do 2 laps.
