The 35 plus guys managed to make the local news paper with a photo:
http://www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2010/06/27/sports/doc4c26d59b779d7445902079.txt
Here are reports on both races.
45 Plus race report from Jeff O: I missed a lot of the RR,but I can fill ya in on what I was around for. My thoughts were that after his state TT, and Sunshine HC results, that Big Ring Bill was our go to guy for the weekend. When it was all said and done, he proved me right with a 2nd place finish overall.
Stage 1 RR: Lots of sitting in with me sticking close to Bill and keeping him out of the winds and moving him up in the peloton when necessary. Then about a mile or two before Centennial a two-man brake went up the road with a teammate of Louie, from Vegas, present. I bridged up to it and then Derrick Nichol bridged. The 4 of stayed away until after the steep stuff just past Centennial. After that I went back to protecting Bill, and riding some tempo before lifting the pace so he can attack. Unfortunately the winds were just a bit too much and it was soon groupo compacto with the exception of me as I went out the back.
Not sure what was going on in the lead group. They passed me on the way down the descent before I was even at the “half mile to turnaround” sign on my way up. Yet some how me and 2 others managed to rejoin the group with about 4 miles left in the race. Since they had to have been a mile and a half ahead of me at the turnaround, I ’m thinking the lead group stopped for ice cream in Centennial but that hasn’t been confirmed yet. Anyway, I went back to riding on Bill’s windward side for the remaining few miles to the finish before watching the group gallop away in the final 500 meters… with Peter taking 2nd and Matt, Chris, and Bill finishing in the same time.
Stage 2 Crit: GC guys sat in while Peter and I played. This was good and (potentially) bad. Peter got away with 4 others with 5 laps to go. I played the good teammate giving Peter the chance at the stage. Our near goof was that Peter was in with some good TTers including Louie and Michael Williams. In hindsight, I/we, shouldn’t have given the break as much of a leash considering the TTers who were present. At this point Louie was well on his way to winning the GC but 2nd was still very much up for grabs with Williams eyeing the next step on the podium. The break put 15 seconds on the peloton, but had I been thinking right I could have done some chasing in the last lap, or two, to narrow that gap down some. We could have split the difference between giving Peter a chance on the stage and holding the break close to Bill. A near fatal mistake!!
Stage 3 TT: Fortunately Bill was stronger than our fubar. He took 2nd on the stage and put enough time into Williams to grab 2nd in the overall. A very solid ride considering that just the week before Williams grabbed the state TT title. Definitely a lesson learned. Strong ride Bill. Congrats on a good weekend and thanks for saving me from having to slap myself across the head!!! Also good work to Matt V. for taking 7th overall.
The 35 Plus race was one dominated by some extremely bad luck for the guys in the RR and then one rider just getting the better of us. The RR started well with the non-climbers like CJ, Pete and LT getting in some early moves, but with the stiff headwind nothing was going away. None of that matter as by the top of the hill we had 3 guys in the 6 man winning move (Matt G. Matt S, and Marc). The move staid away to the finish, but there was man the boys could not drop, Todd Robertson. They tried hard and got gaps on Todd many times, but he can came to them. Things took a turn for the worse when Matt G. flatted. He got a new wheel and chased back on solo, but it took a lot of energy. Even the competition said they were surprised, and impressed, to see him make it back up. The chase took a lot of his energy, but Matt G. still took 2nd at the line. Matt S. was poised to go for the win and had ridden strong all day, but his lucked went south too, as he dropped his chain with about 1 km to go. That cost him a chance to win and about 30 seconds. Marc stayed with the group and took 5th.
In the crit we had one goal and one goal only, get some time on Todd. Unfortunately Todd's goals were the opposite of ours. CJ covered an early attack from Rio and then Todd countered it. The Matt's went with him, but never got up to his wheel. The situation did not seem too serious at first, with us having 6 guys and Rio having 5, but the situation changed. Todd got 10 seconds and rode solo for the rest of the race. We understood the situation and put 5 of our guys on the front to chase, including all of our leading GC guys. Unfortunately Rio did not do the same and the chase was mainly left to us. We worked hard, and got a lot of compliments, but we never put a dent into Todd. He won solo, got the 30 second time bonus, and took over the lead. We all were impressed and gave him large props after. Matt G. did take 2nd in the crit and maintained his 2nd overall. We had a good plan, but we got out ridden. It was a learning experience for us.
The TT was, what it was. Todd went out and won the TT, with the fastest time for any rider all day (including the pro race). That gave him the win and he won 2 of the 3 stages. Matt S. took 3rd, but was not able to move up, as he ended up in 5th overall. His dropped chain in the RR cost him 2nd overall. Matt G. rode a solid TT, but he was at a technical disadvantage with no TT bike. He rode strong and ended up in 3rd place overall. Marc rode well and took 6th place over all. All in all a good weekend, with a little more luck things could have been different, but the strongest man won and compliments to Todd R from Skins. The boys had a good time and all enjoyed Laramie, WY and the Dead Dog stage race.
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