Critérium Cowansville

I woke up with the roosters (that means at sunrise) to some dodgy skies and headed to Cowansville, Québec with my Kurt Kinetic Trainer and Nuheat cap.  The event: Critérium Cowansville.  Like I do in all crits, I did a few laps of the course to test out:

-where the wind was coming from
-how fast I could and should take each corner
-the wisest places to attack the peloton during the race
-how far out the finish line was from the last corner, in case things came down to a sprint.

My race plan: Attack early and get away in a breakaway because things are just more fun like that.  If anybody wanted to come I'd work with them for a little bit and then play the attacking game.  The rain started coming down gently during my recon laps, and I figured it would be safest to race out of the pack anyways with slick roads!

Laurie Dumas of Powerwatts lead the pack for the beginning moments of the race.  I sat in second or third wheel to get a feeling of how the other riders were going to approach the race.  There were two attacks, but nothing got away.  The rain held off.

Photo: Bruno Poirier (Criterium Cowansville

After being patient, three laps in, I knew it was my time to go.  My Quarq powermeter spit out a few big numbers (well, relatively, I'm not a sprinter afterall) as I cranked the pedals hard, and I got away from the pack.  I remained solo until the end of the race, finishing alone with my arms in the air. 

Photo: Bruno Poirier (Critérium Cowansville)

I'm proud to represent Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefits Strategies while I'm at home in Québec; having Optum Orange on podiums all over North America, it's a good thing.

Thanks to the organizers for putting on a super event with great announcers, hip music with a super DJ, food and drinks for recovery, and excellent marshalling by the volunteers.  See you again next year!