Thankfully the windspeeds had decreased to an acceptable 5-8 m/s at the time I was on my own. The last 40 km were more or less in the headwind, so not much help.
After getting my chain back on, the group was already 500 m away, and it would be impossible for me to catch them in the headwind. So I just pushed on until a few kms later, when I saw a group 5-600 meters in front of me. So I sped up to catch them, only to find that they were a group of riders on the short 30 km route and most of them riding on mountainbikes.
So I just blasted past them at around 40kph and continued on my own.
Then another few kms later I first saw the guy I later caught. Having caught him, he told me that the climbs were killing him this time of year, which I of course took advantage of, as said earlier. He had 6 teammates in front (who finished 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 13th and 16th overall), and they didn't wait for him, so why should I?
One km later I noticed a car coming from behind with 4 riders right behind it. It was the fast guys on the 105 km, and they soon caught up and blasted past me, with no chance for me to hang on. They rode the 105km at an average of 40kph (
), and I was down to just short of 34kph when I finished.
So, all in all it was an OK race. Last year I finished 36th, so still a sizeable improvement. But I can't help to think, I MIGHT have had a chance to finish within the top 10, had I not had the chaindrop.
Will be back next year, hopefully stronger, and with a bit more than this years 114 km of outdoor riding beforehand.