Masters 2, 3 and U19 racing together, but with separate classifications. 9x Points for grabs, every 5th lap. This was absolutely mental, with maximum effort for the first 15 Minutes, until half the Peloton got dropped and lap by lap our 18-strong front group collected lapped riders, only very few riders managed to get points at all. Most got hoovered up by the reigning German Road Champion...Totally chuffed after the race, at no moment I had any breath left for contesting the race.
Beautiful course, perfect weather, and great grassroots vibes, just loving this. And my dearest wife was attending, too. Getting into the final curve in 2nd place looked promising to claim victory until 2 meters to the line, when I got pipped by Bernhard Dietl, who sat on my back wheel throughout the sprint. More than happy with the result, considering how I felt in the morning and happy for Bernhard to take the win in his home race.
Got out of bed with heavy legs and splitting headaches and was seriously considering a DNS today. Once at the racecourse the late summer lunchtime heat was really getting at me, was feeling absolutely not ready for racing. That didn't change all race, basically my HR stayed above FTP HR all race long. Additionally, racing together with the 40+ year-olds and the U19 made the race rather chaotic and sketchy at times. In the end, it was in 8th place overall, but a bronze medal in my age group 50-60.
