A bit late....

I didn't quite manage the win (cat 4) at Hillsboro that I really wanted, but second to a really strong rider ain't bad (and she's from Belgium so naturally she's gotta be fast!).

The beginning of the race was a bit chaotic with a few riders going down the first time we turned into the ever present Illinois crosswind. The rest of the race was fairly uneventful. There were a couple "attacks" but I was able to grab a wheel both times. I was told the final hill would be the place to throw an attack if I had it in my legs. I think the nerves were getting to me because I kind of forgot on my way up the hill, but when I got to the top I heard everyone breathing really hard (funny how 2 months in Bloomington gives me an entirely different perspective on what a "climb" is) and realized if I didn't go then I'd have to go over the bricks and crappy stretch in a crowd. It seemed like as good a time as any. I can't claim to have any real snap yet (I'm working on it) but I put my head down and went and initially no one could come with. From the start line I had been watching for a certain strong female rider I know from Champaign ;) but hadn't been able to find her because I didn't know what colors she'd be wearing. Everything looked clear behind me through the crap stretch and up until right before the last corner. I saw some bright orange coming up fast and of course I took the last corner too slow (another thing on the list of things to work on) and Sevrine rolled on past me. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite able to grab her wheel as I had been pushing since the top of the hill at about full speed. A few hundred feet out from the line I got a second wind but it wasn't quite enough to catch her. She raced an excellent race and I was happy with second.

Not too bad for the first race of the season. It was a pretty good weekend for the ladies of Get A Grip. I got the number 2 position for the 4's and of course the machine that is Devon Haskell could not pass up a podium slot in the pro/1/2/3 race (3rd place after what I hear was a loooong time spent in the break). Congrats Devon!

That's all.