Misty, a little rainy and just windy enough out there today to make for some tough racing. A large breakaway went early (8 riders) without the yellow jersey so Optum rode the front most of the day. On lap 3 of 4, 5-hour Energy blasted the field on the climb, with only Clay and I making a select 20 man group. Although the field did eventually catch back on, it took a major dent out of the break's advantage. After another similar selection on the final climb, in which Haga (yellow), Hamilton (Jelly Belly) and possibly 1-2 other riders managed to slip away over the final metres of the climb, bridging the now 50 second gap, the responsibility of the peloton's speed moved to Champion System and Cashcall. With 5km remaining the gap dipped to 20 seconds, prompting Mancebo to bridge in the fast rolling terrain. With Uberti, Winsor, Clay and I all attentive near the front, Uberti was able to put in a mean bit of work to maintain the speed of the peloton but ultimately the 15 man group up the rode was determined to stay away. The sprinters team's jockeyed for the remaining places and after we lost Clay to a flat, I surfed the sprint to go 3rd in the bunch.
Labels: Road Report