Firestone: This was a new race this year and the guys arrived with 4 riders (CJ, Jim, Chad and Josh), to find an interesting course, with lots of corners and some wind. After the warm up, the plan was to get Jim into a break as this was the kind of race he could win. Chad attacked right from the gun, dropped the one guy he was with, and really set the tone for the whole race. We had the largest team and we used it to our advantage.
Once Chad came back Jim attacked, got a good gap and eventually 2 other guys bridged up. It was a bit too early and that move also came back. There was a lot of attacking and counter attacking, but eventually the rubber band snapped with Josh and Jim making a 4 man split. CJ and Chad controlled the field, eventually letting one guy get across, which sealed the fate of the break, as they rode away.
The break rode steady as a group until 2 to go. We were the only team with 2 guys in the 5 man break, so we had an advantage. After two to go Jim attacked solo, no one responded, and Josh sat on the other guys in the break away, to remove any incentive for them to chase. The plan worked perfectly, Jim rode solo to a great win, and Josh just got pipped at the line from the rest of the break, but took 3rd. CJ cleaned up the rest of the field winning the field sprint for 6th.
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| Chad on front Photo by Dejan Smaic |
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| Jim take the win! Photo by Dejan Smaic |
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| Jim and Josh on Podium Photo by Dejan Smaic |
Next Day Longmont criterium.
The field for Longmont was much larger and stronger than the day before. The 35 plus guys had won this race the last 2 years, both in a field sprint, so they came ready to race, but again with a small team of 4 guys (CJ, Jim, Josh and Matt Segur). The plan was for Jim to be aggressive, but to save Josh for the expected field sprint. Boulder Ortho and Groove had large teams and rode aggressive.
About 25 minutes in a small move formed with Jim and Matt in it, eventually the field tired and a break emerged for the second day in a row, with our team again the only team with 2 guys in the break. Also up there was past national champion Byron Nix from Grove, time trial rider Todd Robertson, and all around strong man Keith Harper from BoulderOrtho, another past national champion.
Just like the day before the break did not mess around, they all rode well together and with the 3 main teams well represented, the field did not have a lot of reason to chase. Matt Segur attacked later in a bid to draw out the other break riders, but at one to go they were all together. The race was decided on the uphill into the last corner, where Harper jumped first and held on for a clean win by a few bike lengths, Jim took second, and Matt 4th. Josh took 7th overall and CJ 9th. Against a good field it was a good day, with 4 guys in the top 9. It was also a great weekend for Jim, who is a tireless worker for others on the team, and we were all happy with his 1st and 2nd places for the weekend.
