Rund um den Finanzplatz - Report

Wow. It is over. Just out of the shower here at home and sitting with the notebook in bed. Anything to keep my legs elevated at the moment seems like a good idea. I think I got all the grime out of my ears and other places it had crept into and actually feel pretty good right now. Guessing that heading down the stairs tomorrow morning may be another issue.It all worked out really well. I am pleased with the effort I was able to put against the challenge and am satisfied with the results too. I still have one nagging issue which I need to figure out or just give in any accept the facts. Every time the road heads upward I head back. Race today had about 1300 meters of climbing (over 4000 ft) and 103km (63 miles). There was one long haul up which is over 10K and climbs just short of 600 meters. Takes me about 38 minutes to climb and the others probably 30, or less. Then there are 2 other climbs and each probably had me lose about 5 minutes. That is not all that bad and I am not the only one either. I am hanging around other guys, some well over 6 feet tall and others beyond 200lbs. But it is that I am usually cruising along really well with a good group before these climbs and then I never see them again. Leaving me scraping together others to get a group rolling. This is not a club ride or a tour, it is a race and it is about (at least for me) to test myself against others and see how far I can push myself.Just watching the guys who are my size but 15+ lbs lighter cruise by me on the hills just rubs it in.But to the race. It was rainy and dangerous. Saw plenty of folks hit the deck or heads over in the corners. The beginning of the race tours through the city of Frankfurt before heading out into the (already mentioned) hills. Guess the idea of the city is to allow the crowds to "see" the riders. But at 9am there is no one on the streets. But it was rainy, the zebra stripes were doing their usual. A set of tram tracks we had to cross took dow 2 guys just ahead of me making me swerve out of the way but got my rear wheel caught in the track. For a moment I thought I was the next to go down but was able to manhandle the bike to get it out and back on course. Lots of 90° corners and with the groups still really big it was just not fun. Once we got out of the city and began heading to the hills I was really relieved. It was there, at about KM 27 I saw the lead group with the police escorts for the last time. I was a long stretch of road and they were about maybe 100 strong and 1 km ahead. That was cool to see and know.The rest was lots of fun as already mentioned. No crashes or cramps like last year. Had a group off the last big climb which I think was about 50 people. Not too sure as you can't just look around and take count. But there were at times 20 in the train in front of me and plenty of others behind. We cruised the last 40K really well and worked well together. It is always interesting when you get into the last 10K. The group begins to get nervous and the front is no longer just one or 2 wide; more like 6 or 7. I stayed in the front of the group in the 2nd row heading into the final kilometer and at 300 meters we were really cruising. Computer tells me now we were over 50kmh into the sprint. I got 3rd in that group as 2 others got away while I sat on the wrong wheel. Need to work on reading the group better in order to know who is the best lead out.Got my medal. Ate a bit and now here. Plan worked out really well. Even the sun is coming out now too. Guess I will be back again next year. 15lbs lighter? We'll see.