Sandra, Sarah and myself started at the front, and Sandra did an epic turn early on for a couple of laps to try and break the field up, but ended blowing herself up in the process. The first half of the race, I kept attacking every so often, trying to get both Sarah and myself up the road, but we were never allowed too much of a gap.
The first time the men's race lapped us they flew past fairly quickly and soon disappeared up the road. By half distance, we had stopped attacking too much, no one else was trying to break things up, and felt like we were the only ones trying. Plus the men then caught us again, but this time they passed us and then just sat there and slowed up! I found myself yelling at them to move and get on with the race! They eventually got out of the way, but by now, our race had slowed, and no one was prepared to do any work to get way. And so I was confident with our chances in the bunch sprint.
By full time the men caught us for the final and 3rd time. Thinking that they would simply add a few laps on to give the men chance to move out of the way, they did no such thing! The lap board was held up, 4 laps to go, and we were mixed up with the men's race. This was going to be a real mess!
1 lap to go, and I saw a few of the girls moving up the men's group. Sandra had managed to get back in the bunch, and I yelled at her to let her know I was there. Also trying to find Sarah in the bunch at the same time. I knew then that is was going to be a mass sprint with the men and knew I couldn't let the other girls get ahead in the bunch. I moved up. the men were all over the road in the finishing straight. I followed one girl through on the inside, it was dangerous, with the chance of any of the men moving over at any time. I was just waiting for a gap, and a chance to get around her. By the finish we had got to the front of the men's bunch, I glanced back looking for Sarah, but no sight of her, she must have got stuck behind the men. I had just about enough time to finally open up a sprint and get around the only girl ahead of me for the win.
Not at all the way I wanted to win! It was a shambles, not a fair sprint! We hadn't a chance of leading Sarah out with the men across the road, I just had to salvage what I could, and win for the team. I was first to start complaining, as we got back to the finish line, what a mess of a finish! Why they couldn't have seen what a mess it would be, and not just have added a few more laps on to the end of our race, to enable the men's field to get out of the way. All plans for leading Sarah out in the sprint, went out the window, and she didn't get a chance to try sprint, having to slam on her brakes as she crossed the line!
We managed to convince Sarah to race in the morning. Not all is lost, after one disappointing race and we hope for better in tomorrow's race. All is not over yet!
