Doylestown Crit

The Thompson Bucks County Doylestown Crit is one of the toughest crits out there on the calendar. It was 100km or 44 laps today on a 1.3 mile circuit in downtown Doylestown, PA. The plan for the day was to deliver Evan to the line for the field sprint. I have seen many breaks try in the race in the past but have only seen late attacks stick. It usually comes down to a field sprint. With that in mind I knew I would need to conserve at the beginning of the race. At the start I stayed near the front and stayed around Evan. My legs felt good and I was ready to help him in the end of the race. There were many attacks like usual, but the pace would increase and the breaks would be brought back. The biggest attack was a long attack by Chris Horner, Tom Zirbel, and an Elbowz rider. With 27 laps to go my legs left me and I got dropped. I did not expect this at all, but I feel my legs are feeling the long season.
In the race Evan, Oliver, and Matthieu were sitting well in the field getting ready for the finale. At some point Evan dropped his chain and Oliver helped push him back in. In the closing laps Optum lined up the field for Eric Young and Matthieu and Evan were right behind them. Evan was 6th wheel going into the last turn and came in 9th. Matthieu was right behind him in 10th. It was another solid day for the Lupus Racing Team. I really had a fun weekend even though my legs were not there. I always enjoy going to the Doylestown area this time of year for these races. They are fun and challenging. Also the host families at this race are always incredible. This year our hosts were awesome. They cooked us super dinners and breakfasts, and two of the hosts showed me home from the Reading race yesterday in the rain on their bikes. The host housing really helps out the teams. I will rest up this week in order to have good legs for the worlds TTT in Richmond next weekend and for the Tobago International Cycling Classic and Tour of Tobago at the start of October.