Big Split on first lap in the wind
Back to the Donaldson Center Road Course for Sunday Feb 28th, our race saw a big field (90-100), a fairly stiff wind, and sunny warm temps. The first photo shows a pretty good size split in the field, 20 or so off the front. Globalbike safe with 2 in that group.
The winning 10man break formed 10miles into the race
I was near the front of the main group as we closed that split. Just as we caught them, I used my momentum, rolled past the group and attacked hard. My gamble was correct, we had been chasing pretty hard to catch that group and the front group had been working pretty hard to stay away. All of that meant everyone was ready for a rest. I pulled 9 other guys with me (including Globalbike’s Noah Metzler). A gap opened and we were gone. 47 miles to the finish.
Globalbike Patrolling the front
So, what do you do if you have teammates up the road in a break? Sit in, patrol near the front, be ready to follow attacks, and even set a “false tempo” at the front - fast enough to discourage attacks but slow enough for the gap to keep growing.
with 10 miles to go, Chris Harkey of Subaru-Gary Fisher ended the blissful union of the breakaway by staring the attacks. After 3 miles of counter attacks, it was me who was dropped - bummer. Knowing that the group was still a ways back, I went into TT mode to see if I could make it the final 7 miles on my own without getting caught. I also knew that some of the 9 guys in front of me were likely to crack - I might catch them.
The plan worked, I caught and passed a blown Oneil Samuels of Ion-united healthcare, stayed ahead of the main group and finsihed 9th. Noah had a great ride and finished 7th.
Photos by Eddie Helton (http://picasaweb.google.com/Eddie.Helton)
Josh Whitmore Globalbike Elite Team
