I was expecing a tough race as there were several sandbaggers entered, myself included. An early wreck took one of them out. The other wringers never could establish breaks that would stick.
I put in two attempts, the first one strung out the field entering the hill and my companions would not pull through to make it stick. The second attempt was orchestrated a bit with other riders; however, we couldn't spring from the pack on the hill and the slow pace through the corner at the top of the hill allowed the gap to close.
The end of the race is tricky with the descent and the very fast sweeping corner near the finish. I was waiting for the right moment to spring, but it came a bit too soon. I was forced into jumping and despite making a good gap, I was eventually caught and finished third. Not a bad start to a short stage race.
