Once we surrendered to the weather and headed down to the start/finish area we found a great guy, Carl who is showing his line KINETIC of trainers. He had a tent set up right at the start and let us warm up and was so supportive.
The race got off to a fast start. It was hard to see the front of the race and the corners were tight and tricky because of the speed, manhole covers and the rain. It was really hard to move through the field, but patiently I could just move up a rider or two. Then, the crashes started. I could hear them mostly and just kept going forward. Then after about 10 laps a rider rode across a manhole cover and slid out sideways. I saw it so clearly and tired to clear her but I hit her bike and then slid across the pavement [slip 'n slide]. Our bikes were tangled together so once we pulled them apart and made our way to the pit, we were back in.
The field was completely strung out chasing down Kristin Armstrong who was off the front and was trying to take the corners quickly and safely. The rain was a huge factor today. There were so many crashes. K Armstrong took the win today. Neva said her ride was impressive. I finished 21st and Christen is in a main field with the majority of riders.
