Today's course was 8.9 miles with a couple little climbs, and one that required the use of my 39 x 21 and 39 x 23. The finish had a small hill with the finish about 200 meters from the top. The roads were very narrow at times, and the yellow line rule was strictly enforced. There have been 2 deaths within a year up here, so they take the riders safety seriously.
Curtis and I were in 4th and 5th overall in points, so we had to try and make something happen. Today was the last road race, which have double points, until we start doing criteriums again tomorrow.
The race was 5 laps, and on lap 2 three riders attacked up the road. About two miles later, Jeff went off the front with 2 other guys. One dropped and came back to the pack quickly, which left him with one other helper. About a mile or two later I attacked with 3 other guys. We caught Jeff and started bridging up to the first 3 riders. We caught Jeff, and he immediately went to the front and began chasing back the front group. After we made it, Jeff dropped back to the pack to recover after his massive efforts. Without his help, we probably wouldn't have made it.
We now had a total of 8 riders in the break. At one point we had about 1 1/2 minutes on the pack, which dwindled to about 40 seconds going into the last lap. In the last 5 miles there were several attacks, and going up the hill there was 1 rider with a small gap. I was able to sprint up the hill and past the last rider to take the win.
Vance James from Team 19 and a slightly rested Jeff Kopp strung the field out for the last couple miles to lead into the last hill. Curtis made an early bid going up the final hill and was just caught by a few riders over the top. Curtis finished 14th on he day to gain a few points to add to his total.
Two wins in five days for ABRT. I haven't seen the overall after today, but I think I'm in second place, with first place 9-12 points ahead. We have 4 days of criteriums, and will try and make up the points over the next few days. It will be tough, but at least we now have a chance.
Vance and Adam from Team 19 hanging out after the race today...
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