The race took place in very cold conditions. The venue is 1600m above sea level.
After missing out on the initial break of six riders Christiaan and two others bridge the gap to the front riders. The lead group of nine included three from the Cashcall team. "On the last lap we were only six riders left and Cashcall used its numbers to make life difficult for us."
The finish was on top of a 4km climb. The last 400m had a gradient of 10% and it suited Christiaan perfectly.
"With 1km to go I took my last turn in front. I then locked both my breaks to go from right at the front to right at the back." The idea was to be able to keep an eye on all the riders. "Not very efficient but positioning myself was more important than efficiency."
With 400m to go the sprint was started and one by one they dropped off until only Christiaan was left on the instigator's wheel. "I started my sprint with 100m to go. It was on the steepest part of the climb and I really felt strong during the race. It was good to end it with a victory."
Next up is the coming weekend's three day stage race in Arizona. It will be Christiaan's first tour in the US. The three stages are a time trail, road race and criterium.
