MT HOOD CLASSIC O7

My token road stage race for the year. Still racing CAT 3 and looking for an upgrade, so I was super motivated to do well. Day one was a circuit race up/down the northeast side of Mt Hood. A fair amount of climbing, but not very steep so it stayed together until 1k to go. I countered and finished 2nd. The next stage was a ITT along the Columbia river from The Dalles to Hood River. Super tough with a lot of wind, climbing and technical corners. I didn’t feel great, but managed to place 3rd. The queen stage was on Saturday with many miles and a long finishing grind to Mt Hood Meadows ski resort. My legs felt great all day, but I was having trouble digesting anything I ate. So with about 4k to go, the pace went up and I finally blew. Blood sugar so low I could barely stay upright, I lost several minutes in the last couple miles. Too bad for the GC, but it was my first long race in hot weather so the body just didn’t seem ready. The event concluded with a downtown crit in Hood River. It was a fun course and I took a flier several laps in. Unfortunately, my breakaway companion only seemed to care about primes and attacked me after sucking my wheel for several laps. Uninspired, I drifted back to finish in the field and 14th on GC. I did get my CAT 2 upgrade, though!