Tour of the Dragons
/Andrew, Gerald, and I went down to Bennington, Vermont on the weekend for Tour of the Dragons senior 3 race. Joining us on the adventure was Brandon Spencer, an up and coming under-23 rider from the Kawartha's, who rode in the Pro/1/2. It was pretty cool race; nice courses and nice weather were in store for us.
Although the courses weren't without their surprises, including several dirt sections in both the circuit race and the road race. We probably shouldn't have been surprised given that the same organizer puts on the infamous Tour of the Battenkill.
I surprised myself with the group sprint win in the circuit race. It was a downhill run-in to the sprint, which suits my spin. Tried to breakaway but the group wasn't having any of it, so I figured I may as well give the sprint a go. For my win I got a blueberry pie, which served as good dessert that evening and breakfast the next morning.
The Saturday afternoon time trial wasn't all that straightforward, rolling with lots of turns. A reconnoissance would've been prudent, but I made do with the course as it came at me, and pulled off a 6th place on the stage to move into 5th overall.
The road race was pretty and brutal. Pretty because that area is lush with green mountains and awesome descents. But brutal with several climbs, some of them entirely dirt, and most of them with really steep pitches to make the race hard. Those steep parts had me come unglued several times, but thanks to Andrew's domestique work I managed to make contact with the group each time to maintain the 5th overall. Always nice racing in that area, and even better coming home with a result.
After the road race was all wrapped up, the GPS had us take the scenic way home, and with the customary stop at McDonald's, another race weekend road trip was officially deemed a success!
