So here we are, the Keller Rohrback team, in the grand old city of Walla Walla, Washington. The 3-day, 4-stage race began yesterday with a late afternoon/early evening, 37-mile road race out of Waitsburg. This race is notorious for severe winds that explode the pack to pieces. Well, yesterday was certainly windy, but no one really seemed up for anything big, so the few attacks that went off (from our team, and maybe 1 or 2 others) didn't last, and the pace was relatively calm. Things split up over the QOM climb, and I ended up having to chase back on (as did quite a few other people), but there were 37 pack finishers out of a field of 49 starters. I was pleased to finish with the peloton, but even MORE pleased that Cheryl pulled off the sprint and took FIRST! Go, Cheryl! TB and Kele lined it up for her, but it started to get pretty crowded at the front, and Cheryl knew just how to maneuver to cross the line ahead. Fantastic!
This morning we raced the 9.3-mile time trial. Slight winds, a climb in the middle, and a lot of descending afterwards keep this an interesting course, with a fast finish. I worked as hard as I felt I could, and bettered my time from last year. My teammates managed to all nab spots within the top 10 (TB 2nd, Cheryl 4th, and Kele 10th?) to potentially take the lead for Team GC. We'll find out for sure when we head downtown for the crit in a few short hours.
In the meantime, our amazing hosts Shannon and Doug (Cheryl's sister and brother-in-law) have cooked up some amazing barbecue fare - grilled chicken, homemade rolls with homemade raspberry and strawberry jam, caesar salad, pasta salad, potato salad, strawberry lemonade and of course dessert. Can you say YUM?
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