Merced was a great weekend of racing. The races were well organized and had big fields. (For swagbags, you got to pick out fresh FRUIT! That was the first sign it'd be a good weekend.) The crit on Saturday had over 60 riders. There were mostly NorCal teams; Tibco, Proman, Vanderkitten and Rock from socal and then High Road. For the first half of the race, the field stayed together and brought back anything that took off but then the perfect mix go in a break. High Road and Proman had riders who got away. They were in sight but there weren't any successful bridges until Mara Abbott got away and up to them. The break stayed away so the field sprint was for 6th place. I knew I wanted to take the inside line after the last turn to avoid the headwind. I was able to stay inside, worked around some traffic down the straight away and finished 13th overall.
I stuck around and watched the pro men's field. Chris Horner and another rider lapped the field. Ha! That was cool.
Sunday morning was cold so I layered up but of course as we got going, I was warm. Vanderkitten, Tibco, Proman and High Road all seemed to have more riders! The first lap was pretty smooth and snappy up the little climbs. There was a crosswind that seemed to be a bit of a headwind in the first stretch so after we made the first left turn the pace picked up. Going into lap 2 the field was still together. Proman was riding the front and High Road was staying active. In the second lap High Road riders attacked and attacked. It was awesome and classic execution. Finally, Mara Abbott was able to stay away from the field. Proman worked the front and she was eventually brought back. The hills on the course kept it exciting. The final 1.5k was a windy climb into the finish. I was about mid-pack on the climb and decided not to wait it out so I went along the outside and had a clear path. Once I got going, I just kept it up to get through the finish. I finished 9th.
It was a super fun weekend but the girls on the team were missed by this lone ranger...
-Morgan
