Finally, the last stage of this race. We are getting tired yet the body seems to adjust well to the daily racing routine. The last stage promised to be a bit easier as it was flat with a net elevation loss of about 200m. The course would take us through the Valdobiadene region where the yummy Prosecco comes from.
Last night was fun. We hung around Feltre which turned out to be a vibrant city. The streets suddenly got busy right around 9pm and several bands popped up out of nowhere to play for people. Very special. We had two rooms at a small B&B 10 miles outside the city in a quiet small town. It was nice to get away from all the hustle and bustle and get ready for the final day. At 5 am however, several misguided roosters woke me up with their frequent crows. A big pot of chicken soup came to mind. The garden of our little private B&B had some great garden gnoms. All strategically placed by Signorina Claudia herself.
People seemed a bit nervous at the start. The sound of AC/DC's Hell's Bells marked the start of the final stage. Wow....people were gunning it right from the beginning. The first kilometer shook us through the cobbled streets of Feltre.What the followed can only be described as crazy. The whole group of about 250 riders accelerated to over 50 km/h (29 mph). We kept that pace for almost 1 hour. A few crashes forced the group to slow down a bit here and there. But there didn't seem to be any injuries thankfully.
Riding in a big bunch is something that I am not used to. The majority of my rides are solo. While there is a lot of coasting, there are a number of frequent high power boost required to hang on to the group. These type of accelerations can really wear you out. Along with the nervous accelertions one has to be very careful about the other riders. It is very easy to touch another rider's wheel which can cause a crash. Also, some riders tried ridiculous maneuvers to gain a few spots.
One particular guy was extremely dangerous and almost crashed into Adnan. Adnan then followed the guy and asked him to stop this type of behavior. The idiot then started pushing Adnan. Luckily, Adnan has the best bike handling skills and nothing happened. But he did give the idiot a piece of his mind along with the reminder not to mess with him.
It was hot. And there was a strong headwind. These two started wearing me out. The organizers decided to put an additional water stop 30 km from the finish line. We got tangled up in a big mess there as everybody was scrambling to get some cool water. Unfortunately, it took me a while to get out of the mess and I found myself alone on the road. I followed some guys to try and pace back the next back group. It was a serious effort that required a lot of energy. It was the highest 10 minute power output of the entire week. This took out a lot. Luckily, I found another group and Adnan was waiting for me (he is such a great team mate). We ended up arriving at the finish line in Bibione in 98th place for the day. It was an exhausting day - both mentally and physically.
Stats of the day: distance 150km, Avg Speed 39km/h, kcal 2664, normalized power 216, avg heart rate 141, TSS 220, rank 98
We finished the race in the top 200 teams (550 teams started), we ended up in the top 100 of the men's category. Jen and the boys picked me up at the finish line and we are now off to Siena to spend a week in a beautiful villa with a pool. More to follow soon.
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