honestly, this race was f'ckin aesome. so pumped to be riding w/ guys who can race (present company excluded, of course, its only b/c of you guys i got here). this feels like home. i am positive i can be competitive at this level. if i do this for a coupla more months i swear by zeus, hera, poseidon and heaphastus that my silly putty body will be carved out of wood
v early in the race, 2nd (?) attack is johan burrowes from 2nd corner. he won last week, i know i gotta be attentive. tony settel goes after him and BANG i know its go time. early, but i gotta respond, im the new eager beaver and i came to race and win. decent attack, not crazy crazy, but strong - johan killin it at the front, tony killing to catch him, me killin to catch tony. we're together by turn 3. field comes together mostly again by turn 3 next lap and BANG someone goes, settel goes, johan goes, the other burrowes goes. its like im han solo and someone hit the hyperdrive but in reverse because ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM all the stars are going away from me. i hesitate to grab a wheel b/c im a lil gassed and hope someone tows me and i knows its the wrong thing to do and in the blink of an eye 7 guys have a 1/4 lap on us. the race is over, i know it, just like that.
by turn 2 already its like 8-10 secs. am i going home empty-handed? no. i came to WIN, not sit around. i use corner 1 - which i hate - to launch a full-out assault to bridge - my favorite. i am positive i can do it ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK PEDAL PEDAL PEDAL.
i dust the remainder of the field except for one straggler. i have him at bay. i am making progress. I AM HALFWAY THERE. i will get to the front. i will hang on the back and do jack. i will win this race.
guy latches on. he's WWV. there's a WWV up front - im paying attention today, not f'ckin around. we're halfway there. i think i can do it solo. i signal him to come through though - nothing. i say, "dude, puttin 2 guys in the break is a good advantage." doesnt even acknowledge me, just completely wheelsucks, will not pull through.
choose ur own adventure - diczok's virgin 1/2/3, the home game. what would you do?
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FLASHBACK
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Tour de France 2005
Stage 13: Friday, July 15
Miramas - Montpellier, 173.5km
Conditions: slight NW wind, 80 degrees and sunny
one of my absolute, all-time favorite tdf moments. chris horner. his virin tour. strong rider, but more domestic. a lot of people think he's outmatched in the tdf. funny guy, big mouth though and says what he wants, when he wants. take $hit from nobody, lance, no one. calls it like he sees it.
works himself into a 5 man break following a move from flecha. SICK! horner in a break in his first tdf. GO HORNER!
manages to hang on all the way to the finale - just him and chavanel. HORNER HORNER HORNER! GO HORNER! chavenal cannot drop him.
7kms to go - 25 secs gap
5kms to go - 18 secs gap
2kms to go - 8 secs
GO HORNERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
comes into less than a k. horner winds up in the front somehow. 500m to go, he's still in the front - chavanel will not come through.
WWCHD? what would chris horner do? he's g'teed 2nd place if he continues pulling. 1st tdf. huge for his lackluster (and french) saunier-duval squad. its the f'ckin tdf, right? so, you cant win now, but you'll take 2nd, right?
NO. or should i say, NON! horner SITS UP. tour de france. about to get 2nd in a stage. literally sits up and stops pedaling. crazy. pack catches them w/ 200m to go and he somehow holds on for 10th.
chavanel gets 16th
let me tell you, i was f'ckin psyched. awesome, awesome call. his sponsor was pissed. some people griped, he didnt show respect, you gotta go for 2nd if you can in the tour, the french are SUPER pissed b/c chavanle would have won. blah blah blah
ATTABOY HORNER! F'CK 2ND! 2ND = 1ST LOSER! F'CK CHAVANEL IN ONE EAR, AND THEN F;CK HIM IN THE OTHER EAR! MAKE CHAVANEL TOW YOU TO THE FINISH AND IF NOT, F'CK HIM, DO NOT GIVE HIM 1ST PLACE ON A PLATTER!
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back to the present
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ill be damned if im giving the wwv guy a tow the the front. f'ck him, dude didnt even acknowledge me. i sat up right then and there, let the race go bye bye, and ended both our races. he dropped out shortly thereafter.
i wound up in a 6 man chase which went to 5 then 4 then 3. there was one in b/t us and the front. we got lapped w/ 2 to go.
you might not view getting dropped and lapped ur first race as a positive, but i KNOW it was a positive. i knew who to follow, i did follow, i gapped the field hard, i might have made it, and i did most of the race w/ only 3-4 guys rotating constantly. was on the rivet the whole time. sure, rockleigh's a puny, no account race but if i could hang w/ 3-4 guys at the back i can definitely hang w/ 7+ at the front. no question.
i can only do one more rock. thats too bad, b/c i wouldve placed here, soon.
def psyched i upgraded. my goal is now to get to 2 in the next couple of years so i can race some of the USACrits series and get the living 5hit kicked out of me by pros. i saw loudoun get whupped by freddie rodriguez, rahsaan bahati, and f'ckin tyler hamilton (or his vanishing twin - have trouble telling them apart). 5hit, floyd landis will probably be on rock racing next year. can you imagine me in a f'ckin race with floyd landis? because i sure can.