Shame on us for missing the Easton Crit all these years! Easton, PA is such a beautiful town, and the six-corner course is one of the most fun Max and I have ever raced.
Max competed in an 80-rider Cat 4 race, and I raced in the Cat 2/3 with 119 riders. Neither of us had ever competed with so many others before!
Max was up first, hanging on for dear life, racing against some of the strongest Cat 4s in the country. Holding a position near the front was tough for Max, and things definitely didn’t get easier when he dropped to the back. He had to deal with constant surges and close gaps as riders dropped out. Ultimately, he got pulled too, but was among the last of the 38 riders who met the same fate.
I was up a few races later. I had a decent row 12 starting position and immediately maneuvered to the front as soon as the whistle blew. The speed of the race hurt me, and I slowly fell to the back. With three laps to go, I hit a bump in a corner, which sent me to dead last. I hung on until 500 meters from the finish and rolled in 50th out of 119 riders. Not the most glorious finish, but I’m still happy with my performance. For one, I didn’t get pulled (unlike 62 others), and also, I raced while not feeling my best—the mild cold I had that day turned into a more severe one, with a 38.7°C fever the next day. Can’t think of any mistakes I made, at least no majors ones, so that is good too.
