Devon Haskell and the Nature Valley Grand Prix-Epilogue

After the St. Paul criterium, the next race up was Canon Falls: a 70 mile road race that ends on a finishing circuit with a little climb on each lap to the finish line.

The first sixty miles went well for me. I did a good job at staying up front in the pack, got in a break attempt (it didn't get very far), and was right up front as we were about to hit the dirt road to the finishing circuit. The rest of the race went a bit downhill... as I turned on to the dirt road, somebody turned wide right into me. I managed to stay upright, but ended up off the road and out of my good position. I still hit the circuit with the main field and not in a terrible position. However, when the pace picked up, I started to struggle... I slowly faded to the back of the pack... and then I learned what BONKing is. All of a sudden my legs were gone and I just couldn't go. I finished the last two laps solo and almost thought I wasn't going to make it up the little finishing hill the last time around. Despite feeling pretty miserable, it was fun to have all the fans to myself. They must have felt pity for the lonely rider out on the course because the cheering was great - and helped me make it to the finish line.

The next day was a double race, and I was not feeling so good. The time trial was in the morning and it was held on a mostly flat course, but then they added a hill at the end (fun!). I didn't have a great ride and Kristin Armstrong rode so fast that I would have been time cut had they not extended the cut off (phew!). Spent the afternoon trying to get some rest and hoping I would feel better by the Minneapolis criterium in the evening.

That evening we arrived to a course surrounded by the bustling crowds of downtown Minneapolis - it was a fun atmosphere. As for the race, it was a tough one, but not as crazy as that in St. Paul. The first laps felt super hard. Coming around the second lap, I didn't think I was going to survive the night, but then I got into a groove and the pace seemed to settle a bit and I managed to survive another day and finish in the main pack.

The next morning we headed out to Mankato for our 90 mile road race ending in a finishing circuit with a killer hill up Main Street. Last year I crashed on the downhill of the finishing circuit and ended up in the hospital so I was hoping for a better result this time - my main goal was to stay rubber side down! (This year, the race issued a warning about the downhill... I could have used that warning last year!) The eighty miles before the circuit were mellow for a good amount of time, but through some of the cross winds, teams sent some attacks that strung out the field into a long line and made for some intense riding into the wind. For the most part things stayed together up to the finishing circuit - then we hit main street hill and the field broke apart. First lap around I stayed in the front group, but was in the rear. Second time up the hill, the pack split and I hung on to the second group and ended up finishing with that pack not too far behind the front field. Our Ryan team all had great performances and we ended up finishing 3rd as a team for the stage! It was an exciting day for us.

Lastly was the Stillwater Crit with the killer Chilkoot hill. I was thankful to have a 27 cog today! The race starts out at the bottom of the hill and is hard from the get go. I avoided getting dropped the first time up, but ended up in the back of the group. Second time up the hill, I was moving up a bit and then there was a crash right in the middle of the hill. I almost avoided it but then got cutoff by someone else trying to avoid the crash. I came to a practical standstill and struggled to get the pedals turning again. Once I did, I found myself off the back. Each time up the hill, I'd work my way up to another group off the back, but I was far from the front. I made it around the 3 laps I needed not to get time cut and then managed to ride for a few more laps before I got pulled. Even though I sort of liked the hill, my tired legs were not too sad to miss out on the last few times up. Overall, a much better experience than last year! I was happy to finish and avoid crashing this time around

:) Devon