Spanish Lake - St. Louis, Mo

Hotter than hell!! Probably 100 and full sun. 9 expert open, abt 8 expert 35 plus. Had good position on the hole shot, lost a few positions half way through first lap, but stabilized by end of first lap and held steady after for the subsequent 4 laps. Annika was a great swanier, hooking me up with waters and accelerade and 2 cokes.

After 1st lap I had the legs to lay down big ring everywhere, after coke on 3rd lap I was on fire, and my laps actually got faster after the 2nd lap. Stuck the HR at 185 to 196 for 138mins. I threw down a 10 minute Vo2 interval at the end of the race and the photo shows my fatigue. Day was so hot, that on the 4th and 5th laps i was putting more water ON my body than IN my body. It was Hot!!

Nailed a 6th place, best placing so far this season. Only 20 seconds away from 4th place!! Basically, i cracked into the middle Expert Open tier. I beat all the sport riders, and all but 2 exper 35 plus by times. Met a couple riders from the Bikesource / SKC team, i think i will travel with them in 2 weeks to the next point series.