35 Plus race report: 35 plus has gotten more serious this year. There are 5 different team that start with 4 to 8 riders each weekend, they all race as teams, and all have guys who can win races. We actually are excited about this, it may mean we have not done as well, but it is leading to great racing and we will get our day. It appeared the 35 plus race was harder than the pro/1/2 this weekend, but in the big picture that is not really good for the sport in CO.
We lined up Pete (who had already won the 45 plus race) ,CJ, Jim, Marcel, Dan, LT, Matt G, Matt S and Josh today, which is a strong team. Other strong riders were Michael Carter, Michael Gibson, Paul Espoiti, Eddy Gragus, Jeff Hartman and the like. Our race was super aggressive, with non stop attacks, but nothing got close to getting away. We had guys in every single move, or we bridged up, we had team mates bridging up to move to cover and we rode solid as a team, at the front.
But has been theme this year, we were close, but it has not worked out yet. With about 4 to go Josh, our 2nd best sprint option, got ridden into the cones on the hill. It appeared to be no big deal and he did not go down, but a cone shot into his drive train/wheel, ripped off his rear der off, so his day was over. Major blow for Josh who has had a horrible spring (he flatted 1 mile into Kopp) and to the team.
Matt Gates and CJ rode with Dan in the top 8 as we crested the hill for the last time and we were in good position. We just needed one more guy like Josh to help in the the lead out. Dan rode the finishing straight solo, got pinned against the right curb, and stuck as the final sprint went. He got restarted and came in 5th, but it was not what we were looking for. Nice win for Bob Dahl who is such a strong overall rider and deserves all the good results he gets. With the way we are riding things are going to happen, we are not worried, but it would be nice to see a solid result.
45 plus race report from Peter Ismert: Mix1's Pete Lucke and Peter Ismert lined up with 44 other guys for the 45+ race at the Wheels of Thunder race in Centennial, Colorado. With only two of them today and lots of strong riders, they had to play their cards carefully during the race. There were plenty of attacks during the first half of the race. Finally, about halfway through, a couple of attacks led to a breakaway group of 6-8 guys. The breakaway was made up of a variety of teams with strong riders like Farrel, Yoder, Hofer and Paulson, and it included both of our Pete's. The breakaway group focused on keeping the break from getting caught by the main pack. With 2 laps to go, the breakaway still was 24 seconds ahead of the main pack. However, with 3/4 of a lap to go, the pack came to within 100 feet of the breakaway. At this point, Ismert rode hard a couple of times to help keep the main pack at bay on the last lap. With help from a couple others, they held off the pack. Meanwhile, Lucke worked hard to get into a good position. With 500 meters to go, he took over from there, coming around a couple guys, accelerating all the way to the finish line, winning the race. Great teamwork today and it paid off for the win.
Matt Segur in the 35 Plus race at the bottom of the hill.
Pete Lucke in the 35 plus race, his second race of the day.
CJ Gauss riding at the front in the 35 plus race.
Matt Gates, Jim Thies, Matt Segur, and Josh Barnett getting ready to race.
And the best photo of all, Pete Lucke standing on the top step of the podium from 45 plus. It was great team work to get 2 guys in the break, and then they rode well together to take advantage, and deliver the win.
Lastly here is a video from the 45 plus race: http://bit.ly/muVBOt
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