It was a beautiful day on Sunday for the annual Sylvania Cycling Classic in Ohio. Temperatures were in the mid 70′s with a slight breeze from the north which made the short technical course all the harder. About 25 racers lined up for the Masters 35+ race which was spirited from the beginning. Being the only OAM NOW masters racer in attendance and with plans to race the Masters 45+ race immediately following, my race plan was to ride near the front, but try to save as much energy as I could. Well that plan went right out the window about 15 minutes into the 45 minute race as I found myself making a solo attack off the front and hoping that I would get some company for a breakaway. No one followed so I stayed by myself off the front for a couple of laps and then eventually got caught by the field. I continued to ride aggressively and tried to stay near the front as there were some crashes on one of the tight technical corners. As the laps wound down, I realized that being in the top 5-6 going into the last lap was the only way to have a chance at the win. With about 2 laps to go, another rider took off and managed to stay away for the win, albeit by only a couple of bike lengths. I had a good position coming into the final corner and came across the line in 5th place.
