The 35 Plus guys knew they would need to be aggressive with the strong Rio team, who had the race lead with crit winner Byron Nix. There were plenty of other strong men to watch like Michael Gibson, Todd Robertson, and ex-pro Michael Carter. The race settled in for most of the first 2 laps, then things got exciting towards the end of lap 2 when Matt S. got away with strong man Todd Robinson from the Skins team. For the first time in a few weeks this move really put the pressure on Rio. It resulted in the field exploding the 3rd time up the Wall, with the winning move of 8 guys going forward, a main back of about 15 guys getting together, and then just a string of bodies all over the rest of the road. Both Matt's made the front group to give us an advantage and Pete and Marc made the main field.
Things staid like this until the end of the race. Up in the break Matt S. attacked with 4 miles to go and went away solo. It was a bold move where Matt laid it all on the line trying to win. Matt hit the bottom of the wall solo and was painfully close, but it was not to be as the break caught and passed him. Matt G. sat on the break to take 4th on the stage and Matt S. holding on for 5th. Back in the ever dwindling pack both Pete and Marc held their own in the sprint to the top for top 15 placings. All of this resulted in the team sealing up the team competition, Matt G. nailing down 3rd overall, Matt S. taking 5th and Pete 7th. The boys scored 3 guys in the top 7, while no other team had more than 1. Although they did not win a stage it was a great race for the guys and they really raced like a team.
As for the 45 Plus guys Jeff O is back with another race report, as the boys rode angry after the poor showing in the crit. After making a call to the bullpen, the squad proudly regrouped for the Morgal Bismark and brought in 3 relief aces (Bill, Kevin, and Peter) to save the weekend. Having passed on the first two days of racing, the 3 aces used their fresh legs to drive the pace through the first trip up the“Wall" before Bill and Kevin took over the pace making for the first lap while Peter reloaded for the rest of the day’s climbs. By the time the group completed the first of three circuits, the 50-60 rider field was down to 20 with 8 Mix 1 riders present.
On the 2nd trip up the Wall, Bill was on the front when he noticed Jeff to his side. "Should I set you up for an attack," Bill asked. Knowing that he was having an off day and that Jimi should be the team’s go-to guy for the day, Jeff glanced back to make sure Jimi was nearby and told Bill to go for it. Bill set a strong tempo, then Jeff took over and then Jimi was away. Peter bridged up to Jimi on the windy false flats above the Wall and Mix 1had 2 riders to zero Great Divides in a 7 rider move and 3 (Jeff, Chris, Matt V.) in a small Great Divide led chase. Mix 1’s riders in the chase tried to discourage the Great Divide team from chasing down the Jimi group by informing them that the break contained no riders who were a threat to their overall lead. However, in the spirit of Bernard “The Badger” Hinault (who was famous for trying to win as many Tour de France stages as possible in route to winning his five overall Tour deFrance victories), Great Divide’s GC leader Derrick Nichol was not content to merely win the weekend prize, he also wanted to win on the legendary Wall of the Morgal Bismark.
Great Divide would eventually catch the lead group but from that point on they were always playing catch up. Several of their riders would get dropped on the climbs and then chase back on the flats (with Mix 1's in tow). By the time they chased back onto the lead group after the final trip up the feed zone hill, the group was minus one as Jimi was up the road...his escape facilitated when Peter purposely left a gap open that the others couldn't close. On the final trip along Marshall Road, Derrick the Badger commented from the chase group that Jimi was gone. To that Jeff looked over, grinned, and said "stone free to ride the breeze." When all was said and done, Mix 1 had placed two riders on the day's podium (Jimi 1st, Peter 3rd), moved Jimi up the 2nd in the overall and Matt V. to 3rd, and reclaimed the team title for the weekend. In addition, Chris L. ended up 5th and Jeff 6th in the overall standings. The tip of the hat for this week goes to the entire team in general and to the bullpen in particular. Today's race was a classic team effort in the spirit of the American Flyers.
All photos again from our friends over at http://www.303cycling.com/
Jimm T. working hard for the team over The Wall.
Matt S. killing his break partners over the wall as the field blows apart on lap 3.
Matt S. still driving the break over the top as ex-pro Michael Carter sits on.
Mix's 1's "Matts" driving the break on The Wall!
Lap 1 of the 35 Plus race, with 3 Mix1 riders on the front going over the wall.
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