Because of the new format of the races running in succession with no warmup period before the races, I decided that it was best to ride into the race. Blak Lite Karbon was sponsoring the wheel pit so I didn't need to bring anything else with me and I just put a spare tube and minor tools in my saddle bag (which I did remember to leave in the wheel pit during the race!). It worked out really well as my ride in took about 25 minutes and I pushed hard into the wind for a while. I actually felt nice and warmed up for the race and wasn't rushing to get there like usual. And, best of all, the weather was actually decent with only moderate winds.
It was very nice to see a lot of the people that I normally ride with and race with especially as I've stayed indoors for the most part over the winter. The turnout was very good for the first night and the Tower International team seemed to get awfully big over the last year. A whole lot of people that I know were now wearing the familiar colours and it was like a black out....The Ciclo Sport team was also there wearing new kits but they didn't seem to have too many people. Unfortunately, I was the only rider sporting a Courtesy Bicycles jersey although another Courtesy Bicycles rider won the race. Of course, this means I don't know him and didn't know he was racing for Courtesy Bicycles so I didn't help him one bit!!!!
We moved to lineup at the start and the field seemed a little smaller than I thought it would be. A lot of guys decided to race in the A race tonight leaving us B's a little smaller than usual (although I think some will race in the B's next time). The race started without any difficulty although the first turn has been patched on the corner and a little rough to ride over. We rode fairly steady with a few breaks in the first part--just the TI team pushing a little to test out the field or thin out the herd....I think it finally got exciting for me on the prime lap. Dave Pluck, of course a Tower International rider, pulled out early on the lap and pushed really hard. I was about 2/3's of the way back in the group, just sucking wheels so that I could finish the race. We went over the mini hill on the back of the course and the group wasn't doing anything to catch up with Dave....I couldn't tell from my vantage point but I figured that some TI riders were holding the group back, I would do the same if one of my teammates were out by themselves.
So, I pulled out right and jumped hard on the downward side of the hill, I moved away from the main group and tried to catch Dave with a major effort. I don't know why I did this because I wasn't even sure I could finish the race and my goal was to just finish!!!! I started to bridge the gap and made it over 1/2 the way when my brain would not let me go any harder (well, maybe my legs too). I backed off and dropped back into the group.It was at this point when I was huffing and puffing that I remembered my original goal to just finish the race. I floated backward in the group but didn't drop off the back. I managed to do some more
wheel sucking at the back because I couldn't work my way up for quite a while. In fact, after a few laps, I found myself falling off into the A's that were riding with us. I'm falling back into the group and didn't feel like I could get back up into contention at the front. On the last lap before the final 3 warning, I got some encouraging words from a couple of A's behind me 
just telling me to go....Well, I was just stupid because that's what I did. I thought I could make a break of it but the riders (easily) caught my wheel. I did manage to pull for nearly a full lap but that was it for me.... There was almost nothing left in the tank although I did realize that I wasn't doing all that bad. I managed to get some good pulls in and there was a little more than half of the starting group left in the B race. And, I was one of them!
Well, needless to say, I didn't win the race. I didn't even place in the top ten but I wanted to finish strong and went really hard to the line. I figured if I could give one more push on my legs that I would be happy with my effort. I was although it is always disappointing not to finish in a better position. Considering I just wanted to finish with the group, I would say that the race was successful from that perspective. And, I found that uncertainty that I had after the O-Cup crash last year is now completely gone from at least road racing. Maybe next time will bring in some better results. Now to go to the gym and beat myself up for 2 weeks.....
more images by Sonya Vani
Full results at: Ciociaro Thursday Series