Day five of the Redlands Bicycle Classic was the infamous Sunset loop Road Race. After four solid days of racing there were some tired legs in the peleton, but for me I felt pretty fresh and ready go.
The race started off with three laps of the criterium course and then up a false flat section towards the sunset loops, which were basically a roller coaster downhill then a twisty climb which was always hard. I remember every lap in the group looking down at the power thinking "yep that's a whole lotta watts". I looked down at my Garmin when the pace eased off a bit one lap and I thought it was going easier... it still was showing 380 watts.... I changed the screen on my Garmin soon after.
The race was basically a race of attrition. I remember going over the top of the climb on the first lap in what I thought was mid-pack, but no I was at the back... a lot of dudes just got dropped. It continued on like this for the rest of the race, every lap a few guys getting shelled. At one point, at three laps to go, I got gapped with two Rally riders and one Jamis rider, but we caught back up over the top of the climb. It wasn't until 1.5 laps to go when my body decided to pack it in, crack, pull the plug, and ride like you're dragging a household appliance. But I rode it in to the finish with a Jelly Belly rider and a few other guys who looked like they had a hard day too.
So all in all, it was a pretty good day on the bike; the legs felt good and with the caliber of riders that were there I held my own very well. I'm looking forward to the rest of the racing season with Trek Red Truck.