Course description: L-shaped 18 mile course: north on a 2 mile leg, right turn east onto the long leg with rollers, turnaround and finish westbound just before the intersection.
Results Summary: placed second in a field of 12 in W Cat 4 with a time of 48:50.
I was looking forward to the Esparto TT and hoping for good results to mark the end of my "abridged" racing season. I was really bummed about missing Dunlap and Sattley TTs (among other races) as a result of my serious head injury crash on the Hellyer track in May and was diligently working on recovery which took a solid 3 months just to get back to pre-crash status. The Cat 4 women started at 9:36 while the temperature was still moderate (mid-seventies) – sunny and dry with winds from the north. I was the first Cat 4 woman out (again, in alphabetical order – I am definitely going to change my last name!) There was a 4 minute gap between the W 1/2/3 group (Andi was the last W 1/2/3 racer), so I had no rabbit. Had a good start. The first leg headed north into the head wind; cross winds on the long legs were not extreme but more than last year, and I got thrown a bit by about three gusts with the tri-spoke and disk; slowed me down a bit. Pushed harder on the rollers on the way back and strong finish, but overall I felt that I didn't pull it all together (power meter doesn't lie) for an optimum TT. I finished second – 6 seconds behind the triathlete winner. Interestingly, my time was exactly the same (to the second)as last year when I won. So all in all, I am pleased and look forward to training during the off season – and next year! RFA finished 20/31 in the Masters 35+ Cat 4/5 males with a time of 49:19. He is pleased with is almost 4 minute time improvement from last year.
