Webster Roubaix

Webster Roubaix was a 100 mile road race in Webster, Florida. It is 12 laps on a 9 mile course that has 2.5 miles of dirt every lap. It is probably the toughest race of the year in Florida. My plan for the day was eat, conserve energy, and wait for the last few laps to attack. Shawn Coleman and a Floridavelo rider got away near the end of the first lap. I was a little worried because Shawn Coleman is very strong and thought maybe he might stay away to the end of the race. They got a gap of 2 minutes and it stayed that way for a while. Many riders in the field were anxious and attacking again and again. I covered moves but never really tried anything myself. The race was tough and long. By the halfway point I was feeling tired and Shawn and the Floridavelo rider's gap was coming down. With five laps to go I decided to go fast onto the dirt section and make myself crash. I just jumped back up and got on the back of the field and adjusted my brake on the fly. At this point the Floridavelo rider abandonned the race from cramps and Shawn was soldiering on by himself. Shawn was just dangling off the front and another Floridavelo rider jumped to him. By this point I was getting cramps on and off and it was very tough. We finally caught Shawn just after three laps to go and the attacks began again. Near the end of this lap I was in a group of 5 or 6 that had just got caught and I jumped again. I was dead but just decided to go. I got a 1 minute gap pretty quick and thought I was definitely going to hold on for the win. Shortly after that thought cramps started coming back again and again at random. Over the last lap I was dead but just kept soldiering on. I was praying to God the whole time to just keep me going long enough to hold on for the win. I had cramps and was getting dizzy. I really wanted to stop but I wanted to win even more. Going onto the dirt with about 1 k to go I had a 20'' gap and thought I would win. I pushed with everything I had and held on to the line with a 5'' gap over Derek Bennett. This race is the hardest I have ever pushed myself and it felt really great to win. Thanks to God for giving me the strength on that last lap.