I watched it dead wrote:
At best he had a plan to "go for it" but then felt like shit when he had the lead (hey, we all have off days) so he started looking for an exit strategy.
^^^I'm thinking, and hoping (in the sense that he at least had his objective correct initially) this is what happened. Like someone said earlier, he has had no problem pushing the pace solo time-trialing indoors. Maybe the candle is almost burnt, but can still be salvaged with some more rest.