Easterns win and US Air Force Cycling Classic on Sunday!

I'll keep this short because I need to go to bed.  Last weekend went very well--the Princeton team kicked things off with a decisive win by 30 seconds over Dartmouth in the Team Time Trial at their home weekend hosting the Eastern Conference Championships.  Then I went away solo in the crit after about 10 minutes and lapped the field before going off the front again to win it handily.  I was hacking up a storm as I had been sick for the past couple of days, but the legs went well and the team worked things to perfection!  It is a great feeling to finally get towards my racing form, and this win does a lot for my confidence going into my first season as a professional.  I was also psyched to see a new record 1hr normalized power of 390 watts, with 376 average, for a nice FTP of 5.20 watts/kg.  Not bad for a big time-trialist!

On Sunday the road race from Hell began: 102 miles and two 1500 foot climbs each time around the two laps.  Nick Bennette and I pulled out 65 miles in to keep from burying ourselves, while Austin trucked away in the front group before going into the sprint blindly and finishing in the middle of what was left of the field.

I have been taking it super easy this week and am now feeling excellent!  I have been doing a lot with school and Sol Cycles so it has not been a stress-free rest week, but the legs are feeling completely fresh now.  I will do some openers tomorrow, then drive down to Arlington, VA on Saturday afternoon for the US Air Force Cycling Classic.  This is a USA Pro Tour race, UCI 1.2, with all the major teams from Georgia.  It is 150km on a 12.5km circuit with only one 100 foot hill in there at about 5%.  Basically it will be a super-fast circuit race but probably finish in a sprint.  I am excited to do my first BIG race with TIME, including Jon Hamblen, Dan Ramsey, Tom Soladay, Jered Gruber, Erik Barlevav, and Andy Baker.

Here is a map and profile of the course.  It looks pretty sweet, as it travels around the Pentagon and includes the Armed Forces memorial roundabout!

I'll have an update after this Sunday.