getting better... transfer day and stage 3

wow.. it's amazing what difference a day can make. my stomach was still feeling a little queazy but 90% better none the less. we had a transfer to hong kong on friday. typical day.. up at 4:45.. check my email.. get jonny cat up (my roommate).. head to breakfast.. pack our things.. then it's off to the airport. we're on the bus by 7am and fly out at 12pm. get to hong kong around 2:30.. unpack.. build our bikes.. eat dinner (much better food in hong kong).. and then it's off to bed to get ready for tomorrow's festivities. SIDE NOTE.. when i mean transfer, i mean transfer. the ENTIRE race caravan moved. it was quite a sight! stage 3 - when in hong kong.. do as the tilford does?? this race is right up our alley... a 2k circuit with one euro style roundabout and a sharp u-turn. knowing that the rest of the field wasn't use to riding such a technical criterium.. it was imperative to start at the front. 10 minutes before the start of the race, the vergesport crew lined up and was able to weasel our way onto the front row. after the starting ceremonies, complete with two dancing dragons, the horn was sounded and we were off. just as we suspected.. it was mayhem as we entered the u-turn for the first time. one of the hong kong national team members came into the turn a little over-zealous and laid it down.. causing a huge bunch in the corner. as the front of the race was going into the next corner, the rear of the race was just coming out of the u-turn. with many of the teams sensing that a split was inevitable.. the attacks were awn. jonny, steve, surge, and i tried to cover as much as possible. jonny, victor and steve were animals.. always up there reacting to everything trying to keep lex in good gc contention. half way through.. a group of 20 splintered off the front including, ever present, lex, surge, and the belgian who was second overall. notably missing the move were 1st and 3rd in gc. as the gap began to grow, the race leaders' team organized and tried to manage the gap but couldn't quite get the "hot-line" on the tight corners. with one lap to go, the gap was over 2 mins moving our gc guy, lex, into second overall. with half a lap to go i attacked the group trying to get some of the 20 seconds (a penalty i received the day before) back over my teammate (and friend) steve tilford. my effort was fruitless.. the group caught me as i crossed the line as the bridesmaid (21st, one place out of the money). surge and lex had a good day finishing 8th and 9th in the front group. all-in-all it was a great day. we moved up to second overall and had a great time doing it. tilford is THE MAN. that dude's not only one of the greatest guys i know.. but also one of the smartest. not only was he killing any attempts of a real chase, the guys were actually thanking him as he would SOMETIMES let them back into the rotation. he's truly an icon.. surfy