We took it early with seven to go. I tried my best to stay out of the wind until the end.

Tim made a nice attack on the run up, held a heavy pace, and kept it at the top, ... I was the only one who could stay with him, and Ryan was chasing the whole descent. He didn't catch us until the barriers coming into the start/finish. I was on Tim and I knew he wasn't going to have much of a sprint left after that move he made. I was hoping to get behind Ryan at some point before the final turn. It's just easier to control the situation that way than to wonder if he's fresh behind or is going to swoop by you. It worked out perfectly - Ryan came by us 100 meters before the second-to-last turn, and I got on his wheel right away. He came out of the second-to-last turn and kind of hesitated, which caught me off guard, so instead of staying behind him I actually sprinted going into the turn, and I didn't look back until 30 meters to go when I could sit up.

All things being equal, people will do business with a friend; all things being unequal, people will still do business with a friend.

I made a note to myself not to let that happen again this time. This is not a good course to let someone open up a small gap, so I made sure I was always sitting second wheel. Stay with whoever was attacking, and be ready to close down a gap if need be. I didn't care if that meant the whole group stayed together.

At the end Kirk Albers (Jelly Belly-Pool Gel) put in a huge effort that helped bring it back.

The course takes its toll. These climbs are the hardest. They're not very long, but there aren't any other races I do where my forearms are cramping and my fingers are locking on me by the end. We're using muscles in our bodies that we normally only use when we're doing a field sprint.