Fox River Grove 5/20

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Known for the Norge Ski Jump the town also plays host for the Psimet Fox River Omnium.  Its a multiple day points road race for the bikes.  The first day was in Elgin and I attended the second day in Fox River Grove.  The race was a Criterium, with a monster climb right out of the gate.  There isn't much elevation to train on within city limits so I didn't really know what I was getting myself into.  I woke up early and packed up the Go Fast bike and was about an hour early for my 10 am race time.   Perfect for pre riding the course.  In my smallest chainring and largest cog I crawled up the incline at 9 mph.  It was probably a good 2-3 min climb.  Once at the top the winding suburban subdivision street, complete with hay bales padding mailboxes, there was a wide and smooth down hill allowing me to easily reach speeds north of 30 mph.  If you were confident you could really lean into the corners taking them at speed without hitting the brakes and slingshot yourself into the next climb.  I rode the course a few times planning where and when to shift to higher and lower gearing.  I felt my confidence building.  I lined up at the start/finish and eaves dropped on racers' plans to kill themselves to grab points and fall back.  I was collecting all this race intelligence to make my own plan.  The whistle blew and the climb started.  I let the points racers go figuring I would pass them late.  At the summit I geared down to gain any lost position, banked in the corners and then shifted to my small chainring on a false flat of the course only to drop my chain.  My legs spun like a silent movie sped up for comedic effect.  I didn't know what happened right away, was I just in too high a gear?  Nope.  I had to stop.  I pulled off to the side forcing another rider into the grass.  Sorry bud.  The intangible happened.  All that strategy now meant nothing.  With the adrenaline pumping, and not wanting to unclip entirely from my pedals, it took me 3 tries to get my chain back on.  I went from the front of the peloton to the back in the longest 15 seconds ever.  I got back in the action passing one or two riders and then came the climb again.  There would be no passing on this beast.  There is a cheering section on the left.  I'm being yelled at to go faster, stand up on those pedals, pass that guy.  Equal parts encouragement/annoyance.  I'm at the top, I take a deep breath and down shift.  My legs are shaking but I'm determined to pass everyone in sight on the way down.  I take every corner on the inside and sprint on the straightaways.  I will regain my position.  Now more climbing and no passing.  My manhood is now being challenged by hecklers/cheerleaders.  At the summit I go for my water bottle.  The sugary sports drink makes my lips sticky and its an extra effort just to open my mouth, I wish it was water.  I'm passed and I can't even be bothered to use his draft I so I over take him on the down hill along with a hand full of other riders.  Finally I see some teammates.  The top 20 must be right around the corner.  More climbing.  The cheering section.  I don't even know how many times I've done this now.  With a glance, my bike computer read the ride time at 22 min.  This is either the finial lap or I have one more to go.  I'll give it all I got just in case.  I sprint to the finish.  Its the last lap.  The run out is strait ahead and I'm so happy I don't have to climb that hill again.  I finally see the riders ahead of me.  I was kidding myself, there are a lot of riders in front of me.  If I cracked the top 20 Ill be happy...wait, no scratch that, I'm happy now.  I don't have to climb that hill any more.  Where is the water?