台灣 Team Cinelli Ritchey 車隊

Today we raced the 7th and last race of the Nacional Cycling Club Series to close the 2009 season, and Team Cinelli Ritchey had another success with podium placements in all categories!

Ray was 1st! in RM20, Inigo was 5th and Tim 8th in Elite30 and Rick was 4th in Elite40.

Team Cinelli Ritchey was 3rd in Team classification!

The day dawned chilly, but thankfully it was not raining as it had the previous days. We used rain jackets and arm/leg warmers during warm-up ride for the first time this season. Anyway, as soon as we started the race there were the usual sprints and attacks that made us forget the chill.

Ray winning M20 race. His first First! This time last year Ray barely started using clipless pedals.

Even at top of Yangmingshan, the mountain in Taipei famed for hot springs. It was nippy 10c at the finish.

Our support crew Lydia.

We rode along the coast for 40km, and because of the wind, it made attacks and break-aways more difficult than usual. When we had headwind it was difficult to ride in front, and easy to follow. With the tailwind it was easy for everybody to ride fast, so all racers kept in the peloton until the start of the climb to Yangmingshan, around 18km to the finish line. The road here was wet but now it didn’t matter much.

The climb is quite steady and not too steep, the speed is quite fast for a climb. I kept a high cadence, planning for a long climb, and if not feeling super strong, at least I felt well rested and able to push myself hard.

5 riders opened a gap and went for the win in the first kilometers where there were some steeper sections, I was leading the second group of 5-6 riders behind them for most of the climb. At the 3km-to finish mark the attacks started, after pulling from the group so much I got dropped each time but came back every time doing the yoyo. In the final kilometer it was a long headwind sprint to the finish and I couldn’t really stand up anymore, because of the cold I felt I would cramp. I was 12th overall and 5th in E30, which I feel happy with considering everything, the feelings were good.

Soon after we were all the the top to confirm a good overall performance of the team, everybody was quite satisfied. Proving that Cinelli-Ritchey members are real riders, we got some windbreakers and took the way down the mountain and back to the hotel. Now it was definitely cold, and the road wet, but the joy of riding a bike in the beautiful green mountains of northern Taiwan is really strong. Thanks to all our sponsors, because we also have the best equipment for all conditions.

For this race I used aluminum wheels, Ritchey Zeta Pro with Ritchey Race Slick WCS tires in 23c size. Light for climbing races and at same time comfortable and reliable for descents no matter if bumpy and wet as today. And they keep true and smooth after a many training kilometers!

Special thanks to Even and Lydia for their support and smiles at this race again!

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