台灣 Team Cinelli Ritchey 車隊

My ride in the north coast series stage one road race was a good example of selection, timing and steadfast commitment. Either that or I got lucky, ha! Mere minutes after the starting gun, two riders attacked off the front. Not long after another rider accelerates to bridge. In the time of two heartbeats I knew this was my opportunity to get out of the pack and into a promising breakaway, so I chased hard… Once the initial accelerations and rotations were over, we had six grouped together with representation from: Giant, Equinox, Columbus, Cherry. With this mix there was less motivation for the main pack to chase, and those that attempted to chase weren’t organized well enough.

yeah yeah, it's another plaque... but the fans were impressed

The break had some strong and committed motors. With hard pulls and good rotations we were zooming along nicely; we must have gained close to 4 minutes on the main pack. On my mind of course was to get on the E40 podium, and I was the only E40 in the break. Once we reached the turn-around and saw the main pack we pretty much knew we would get to the final climb without the pack catching us. 2k up the climb the Giant and Equinox riders were pulling away. I was feeling good about an E40 win. It wasn’t until 3k to go and four of us still together that I was actually in contention for 3rd place overall! What a feeling! However, in my mind I knew I wasn’t good for a 50m-200m sprint, so I attacked my companions at 500m to see who I could shed, but only dropped one. I arrived 5th overall, 1st in E40. In the last final few meters to the finish I heard a familiar little voice screaming “Daddy, Daddy!”… of my sweet little supporter, what a thrill.

This is what bike racing is about, what gives me motivation to train, chills my spine with a rush no drug could duplicate… covering my skin with goosebumps. Thanks to my team mates Tim and Ray who covered the front of the main pack snuffing out any chase potential.

The Cinelli Stratos with Ritchey gear were the best looking bikes in the TTT and RR peloton, and by far the best bike I’ve ever ridden.

In hindsight, I realize that I was probably a better climber than my companions challenging 3rd place, so perhaps I should have thought through that last 3k a little better… hmmm