Toughin' it out at TX Tough

Finally, there's a BIG race in Dallas, too: The TxTough Crit. Thanks to the Euro trip, I got 16days off the bike, and was well recovered. Not the best preparation for a $25K crit but I survived, thanks to some last-minute training and Adam's "I'll drop you" moto-pacing sessions.

There was some serious sprint horsepower on the start line so we got rolling fast and furious once the 15mph neutral lap was over. My goal was simply to hang in there and see if I can contribute something to teammate Chad who's been on fire over the last few month. I found my spot in the peloton as we circled around the fast city-course at 28mph. It wasn't too bad actually and 45minutes into it I found myself off the front with Matt Seagrave. We worked together well, quickly got a nice lead and they kept throwin' $250 primes at us. I was in the "red zone", especially after Emile A. came up to us and we kept going faster. Chad was chiling at that point, waiting for the end. We got pulled back quickly, though and I needed the rest of the race to recover :-) Chad finished it up for us, though with a strong 3rd behind Blackgrove and Escuela.

Here's a short write-up from the Dallas Morning News.

And that's how much it hurt...