A nice change of pace, was the finish was moved to the top of the long gradual climb on the south side of the course. Years previous, it finished in front of the Church in the valley.
We had a neutral rollout from Henderson all the way to the top of the hill, where we were released. The crosswinds at the top caused everyone to seek shelter. I was up front, when Doig attacked solo. He was quickly joined by Brabbit, Sedgewick, Niles, and Lavick. A little later, Koeneman and Hollywood went after them, for a total of 7 riders. Muyers was there for a while too, but came back to the field.
With basically every team represented, most with a bankable prospect for the win, it seemed to turn into a group ride. Bjorn Selander was in town, but tired from the Gila, and content to sit in. Patty Cakes and Bergman were certainly chomping at the bit, but waited patiently. By the end of the 1st lap, the gap was around 4 minutes and growing.
The second lap was very animated. Timmer attacked in the crosswind, and the field shredded. There were gaps everywhere, and Patty Cakes, Bergman, Doug Swanson, Bjorn, and a couple others seized the opportunity. I worked hard to help my teammates where I could, including drilling it down the hill to a GPS verified speed of 54mph, where it all basically came back together.
We seemed to settle back into the group ride mode again, and even some of the riders that were dropped regained the group. The 3rd lap was fairly tame, and it was pretty certain we were all racing for 8th.
I worked the front for most of the 3rd lap, and dropped off on the hill prior to the bell lap. I knew the final lap would be very hard, and I was pretty spent.
As expected, the break stuck, with Brabbit taking the victory, followed by Niles, Koeneman, and Doig. Doug Swanson won the field sprint.
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