台灣 Team Cinelli Ritchey 車隊

Preliminary results from the long climbing race:

E- 11th Place – Inigo
EM- 2nd Place – Rick
EM- 3rd Place – Tim
RM20- 1st Place – Ray

We received 4th in team standings.

Another great Team Cinelli-Ritchey effort on a very difficult day! Congratulations to all…

I was really looking forward to the Ilan races; first day a fast climb; second day a circuit race with fast rolling terrain, with a not-so-long climb. Perfect courses for me! I had high expectations for myself, especially after a so-so result in Huadong. The first race started fast, even in the neutral! As soon as the neutral ended I pushed hard to move towards the front. Much of the climb was exposed, with the sun baking us on the outside, and the hill cooking us on the inside! Inevitably the pack separated and formed smaller groups. I didn’t like the pace of my group and I forged ahead, a few others joined and kept the pace to the top.  I felt strong throughout the race and knew I must have placed top three in my category. It wasn’t until I was called to the podium at the award ceremony that I knew I got first place!

Sprint on 2nd Day... MAD!

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Tim on his way to 2nd place.

Congratulations to Team Cinelli Ritchey ! First day Inigo placed 5th in E30, and Rick placed 5th in E40. Second day Tim broke away from the main pack and placed 2nd in E30! We garnered enough points to place 11th in Elite team standings. Not bad for only 3 riders in Elite class. Kudos to Ray for placing 15th on the first day in RM20! Getting stronger day by day…..

staying near the front

Ah yes.  Another flat race with a climb at the end! This time I reserved some energy for the end. Even though I stayed near the front for much of the race and pulled through a few times I didn’t over exert myself, and maintained a steady pace up the climb. For my efforts I got 2nd place in the E40 category (29th overall). A good sign that I’ll be improving in each race. Keep your eyes open for a new look from Team Cinelli-Ritchey….

2nd place E40

break of seven

During the team pre race meeting I determined to use some energy during the flat and rolling section of the race, before the long final climb. I wanted to test my training progress. There were several attacks in the race and some breakaways, but nothing that stayed away. At the 40k mark I saw an opportunity. A slight incline. Two riders had gone off the front and were looking around for others to join. I accelerated hard out of the saddle and took the lead position with the intention of maintaining this effort for at least 2-3 minutes. More riders joined, and they too were accelerating hard. We made a gap from the main bunch! There were now six rider ahead of me, but I hadn’t accounted for the strength of the group. I dropped off the back about two meters. I was in oxygen debt! I was riding solo in the wind, trying to keep up for about 1km, but I was determined not to give up. I was able to push hard, rejoin, and pull through the paceline of seven strong riders. My quick recovery after this effort is my reward from good training. This breakaway stayed away for 40km, until halfway up the final climb. There are not many opportunities to be in a long breakaway in Taiwan races. I was glad to be with this motivated group.