What a whirlwind trip for me.  And actually, that was just the way I wanted it, except, of course, for the cancelled connector from Dulles to Montreal due to weather! I have been on the road enough the last 9 weeks, and I prefer to sleep at home and be at home as much as possible right now.  So although it was a long back and forth trip in a short time, over Friday, race Saturday, and home Saturday night, it was totally worth it to have the extra nights in my own bed.
 
The race was hard, but hard in a way that was dictated by an aggressive move by Pooley.  She attacked on the first of ELEVEN laps/climbs.  I totally expected this and actually wanted to go with her early, but I we chose to play different cards. 
 
Since I wasn't going with the early move, I was in the back row at the start. I joked with some competitors about the fact that this certain individual had somehow been called to the front. Hmmm.  We all knew what was going to happen, and sure enough, it did.  From the gun, things were strung out as the attack was in progress.  BTW 130 people in a line stretches a long way, and when you are in the back, it appears that the front is half way up the climb before you have started it.  I was with the other riders who needed to wait until later in the race.  We climbed relaxed in the bunch.  Over the top, there was a big group.  But just as expected, Emma was up the road.    
 
The bunch was content to let this go for a few laps.  Unfortunately, it got out there too far before any chasing started.  Half way through, we had picked up the two others who were initially with her, but she still had almost a 4min gap.  Yowsers.  She was not coming back. (And I tip my cap (or helmet) to her as it was a great ride.)
 
Behind, we tried to get a small group together to chase with. I pounded a climb, and we got what we wanted.  However, we didn't have enough help with the chase.  It was a little too dysfunctional to eat up enough ground.
 
Despite that, I worked really hard with Bianca to do what we could. We were confident that Trixie would do well in the small group bunch sprint that was certain to come.  Nothing was going to break off on the climb.  There were a few attempts, but people were quick enough and motivated enough that things weren't going to split.  And actually, the race turned out to be a little bit boring and predictable since there wasn't a lot of racing other than Nurnberger (us) and Columbia's efforts to do stuff, while Cervelo used their strength to control and interfere. 
 
The end result was a small group of 8-11 after the last climb going to the finish.  I knew Trixie had a great chance w/ the sprint, so I asked her if she wanted me to ride hard, so things would stay together.  The answer was yes, so I dragged the group around until about 2k to go.  At that point, she could follow the moves and go for the sprint.  I was toast, and she was just nipped by world cup overall leader Johannson.  We still had a rider on the podium.  I ended up 10th.  Not exactly what we wanted, but another world cup podium is alright.
 
I showered at the lovely dormitory facilities. (I am guessing that because this is a North American world cup, the organizer can get away with some things the UCI normally wouldn't allow.) Anyway, I had time to shower, chat w/ the Colavita girls who were in my hall, and attend the post race debriefing meeting, before I was back to the airport for my 7-8 hour journey back home.
 
And a good sleep in my own bed!  Philly is next weekend.  Same plan.  Fly on Saturday.  Race and fly home on Sunday.