TANDEM STAGE RACE - WIN!

We won!! Our category at least. We came within 20 seconds of beating the male-male team that has won the race for the passed couple of years. We won 3 out of 5 stages, the prologue and the 2 stage races. We came in 4th in the crit. It was really sketchy. Rob didn't feel comfortable on the front wheel we were running. It was the FSA wheel and it wasn't good for tight cornering on the tandem. If it weren't for the 30 minute time trial, we would have easily won. The male team got 48 second on us in the TT. We outsprinted all the teams in the first road race that ended in a field sprint, earning us a 15 second time bonus. In the last road race stage yesterday, there were 2 small hills before the big hill. We attacked before the first small climb and got a gap of about 30 seconds. We held them off for the whole rest of the 62 mile race (which was another 30 miles). Our gap was up to about 45 seconds at one point with 3 teams chasing. The course was sooo hard and it was so hot. You would be on a stretch of road that went on for miles (that you could see in front of you). It was all rolling hills and we could see them chasing us the whole race. In the end, they closed the gap to within 8 seconds at the finish line. We needed 30 seconds to beat the male male team. It was some of the best training I have ever done. The time trial was incredibly painful. But we came home with $175 cash and a Rolf Tandem Wheel set. It was so much fun. I'm tired today. Thank God I have the day off of work. Shelley