台灣 Team Cinelli Ritchey 車隊

Well, this was our first race together as a team.

We wanted to be very aggressive from the early part of the race so I attacked as soon as the timing was right.

My son was born only 4 days before the race so I really wanted a good result for the team to celebrate.

I was off the front for a few kms when Chris bridged up to me. It was a little earlier than we wanted but sometimes plans have to change. Eventually we were caught and Chris attacked with the counter attack. This we had talked about before the race so it was good to see that we all understood and could execute these tactics.

Chris stayed away for quite a while. Eventually two riders bridged up to him. Tim and I were in the main group blocking the chase. We wanted two or 3 good riders to bridge up to Chris so they could stay away. Finally the right mix of riders attacked and I followed. Because we had a rider in the break, I did not work until we were VERY close to Chris. Then I went to the front to close the gap so Chris could rest and s that he knew that I was there to help him.

Once we caught Chris, I went to the front and worked to keep this break away. We wanted this one to work. And it did. We stayed away to the finish. Unfortunately, Chris and I did not communicate clearly and we were out of position for the sprint.

For our first race, we were 7th and 10th and spent the entire race with a rider off the front. We did many things well, as a team but it also showed us that we need to communicate better and practise these kinds of tactics more often. A good learning experience and a good sign of things to come.