I traveled to Waitsfield, VT over Labor Day weekend to partake in the Pro/1 Green Mountain Stage Race. Friday was a 9K ITT that was Merckx style- meaning that time trial bikes were not allowed (which is good for me, as I don't have a TT frame). It is a pretty fun course, held on super smooth pavement; the first half is uphill and the second half is false flat downhill, so you can really smash it at over 30mph. There was a stiff headwind, so the times were slower than last year. I came in at 15.07, which was good for 35th/130 riders. Not excellent, not bad.
The next day was the rolling 72 mile road race. My plan was to try to get in a break and go for KoM points. Well, I was aggressive enough, but nothing went away, and I didn't succeed in scoring any classification points. The break of the day finally went about 55 miles in, and I wasn't in it. The backside of the course was so fast, though, that it all came back together for the finish. Coming into the last K, I was not in any position to sprint for a good result, so I just focused on crossing the line safely. This wasn't to be, however. A few guys went down right in front of me, and I had nowhere to go. I went down hard on my head and shoulder. I eventually dusted myself off, and rolled across the line, given s.t. and ~90th place on the stage.
My shoulder felt worse and worse that night, and a lingering headache made me fear that I had suffered a concussion. The shoulder was still immobile Sunday morning and led to a D.N.S. by my name in the results. Stage race over. Season over.
Bad way to end the '09 racing campaign, but I'm almost all recovered now, and plan on being in top condition for this fall's Walker Bros. rides!
See you all in one week,
Will
P.S. NU Cycling congratulates Seth Meyer (WCAS '08) on his third place finish in the P/1/2 IL State Championships Road race, making him the new P/1/2 IL State RR champion!
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