25 Brasstown

the big day.
honestly, i was bit more worried about the CAT 1 and 2 climbs
before brasstown .. not knowing what sort of smackdown would happen,
riders like Botero lurking in the peleton. .
but thing about riding for GC,
unless you're going to take a leap of faith
and go for the score out the breakaway,
you only have to go as fast as the race leader's teammates
riding at the front, setting a tempo, controling time gaps ..
but,
i guess the worry was that the big names were going to throw down, and all go
at it, and there would only be a small selection going into Brasstown. .

with a break already up the road,
Danielson and (maybe?) Hamilton attacked,
which definitely stirred the pot,
but things settled down about half way up the climb,
and then prob 50 guys rolled over the top together,
then Botero hit it on the descent,
and Chechu and some others tagged on,
so that meant there was now 10 dudes up the road..
and slipStream chasing,
Garcia was there to help Lill and i get bottles and
stay in position,
then Brasstown came,
and as about 8 dudes took off right away,
as we passed the remnants of the breakaway,
i settled into my own sustainable pace . ..
not knowing what would happen to me, my legs, later on the climb
Lill and i paced each other, and did what we could. .
he having some stomach problems, me having no excuse
other than power limitations.

overall, i think it was a good effort, for me, personally.
but for the team, and what it takes to get notoriety and press
for the BMC label, it was alittle disappointing.
that's the thing, you see:
anything other than a "stand out" performance
is considered a "failure"
or "disappointment" in the world of cycling.
so, form a team tactic standpoint,
from a how-things-look-on-paper standpoint,
being outside the magic top 10
was a buzz kill.
mostly because there was nothing for management to get
excited about,
and there was also nothing to get excited about for the non GC teammates,
the ones who slaved away all week
following attacks/getting into breaks/running support.
almost as if all of our efforts flew just beneath the radar of the press.
Nathan Oneil (i heard) said we did next to nothing all week on the live coverage.
(well, we did more than him!)
but, nevertheless,
subjectively,
speaking for myself,
it was a huge improvement.
it was a huge result.
noticably different than a year ago,
not just in strength,
but in riding better in the peleton,
making splits that's i'd normally miss. . .
fighting the big fight,
not just the little battles with the breakaways..
something that i feel good about,
but i guess individualistically.
because it did little for anyone else,
in the end.
it felt like i had a week's worth of
racing, one where my teammates bled through
their eyes, riding on the front, going with attacks,
getting bottles, moving me up through the wind,
stopping when i got a flat,
giving me a wheel (jackson)
helping me chase on thru the caravan...
why?
so that i could have a personal result.
so i could get the chance to see where things have gone since
one year ago.
i feel indebted to the guys,
to the management,
mechanics,
the sponsors.
i feel ambivalent about my happiness,
b/c this time
there's really no one to share it with.