Leon, Ron and I were racing with Sean's Columbus Team, while Bill and Bill were racing for Howard's Spinning Team. For some reason, Howard signed the Bills up in the Elite category, so they ended up wearing #1 and #2 (out of 1165 preregistered racers). Undaunted, they led the group of under-35's and professional riders in the first wave to up the mountain. Five minutes later, Ron, Leon and I and the rest of the 35-and-overs and women joined them on the climb.
We couldn't have asked for a more perfect race day, weatherwise. It was warm at the start line, sunny on the climb, and cooler as we ascended. The views (when you could enjoy them) were spectacular.
The Bills and Ron and I were content to race up the 65 km hill at our own pace. We enjoyed overtaking riders from our respective age categories, but we weren't out for a victory. Leon, on the other hand lined up behind Morris, the e-Ma Team rider whom he had beaten once at the start of the season but who had got the better of him since. At 56 kg of sinewy muscle, Morris was a fearsome opponent. He surged ahead of Leon numerous times on the first half of the climb, but Leon always managed to ride his way back onto his wheel. During the second half of the climb, Leon took over the pace making and led Morris and a small group of under-35's up to the finish. In the final sprint, Leon held off Morris to take the victory in the M40 category.
Leon and Morris sprint to the lineLeon's time up the hill put him in 22nd overall, 10th fastest non-Elite rider. A very impressive performance!
I managed a podium placing with 5th in M35, some consolation to finishing almost eight minutes back of Leon. Results are available here:
Age Group
Overall
Leon takes the M40 podium
Bill, happy to finish on the M35 podiumThe Alishan race will be held at the end of August next year- I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a challenging ride in some beautiful mountains.
Bill
Bill
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