Race Report: Stage 1 Tour of Northland

Stage 1 of the Tour of Northland travelled 92km from Whangarei, on the east coast, to Dargaville, on the west coast. There were about 70 entrants in my group, Group 1, comprising of pros and wanna-be's. (In total, the Tour has approx 400 entrants in self-selected groups). 

About 10km into the race, our group split into three groups. I was surprised the attack happened so early and I expected us to re-group. We didn't. Ten or fifteen in my group tried to close a 20 second gap, but after about 10km it seemed we gave up. And then 20km later, we were caught by a group of another 15 or so. 

We remained together until the finish in Dargaville. I am in 58th place and already 10.30 down on GC. I was shocked to hear the winner finished so far ahead. 

The winner finished in a group of 4, followed a couple of minutes later by a group of 36, and then my group.

Overall, I felt ok today considering I haven't been training for almost two weeks since my crash. I also pulled something in my right leg last weekend, so I don't have full power. The pace was hard today; almost the same as a 1-day race. 

Looking forward to tomorrow. Hoping to make up time on GC.