The Stache Costs Him 5w, You Stare and Lose 8w
The crowd was out tonight! Let's roll. Right from the get-go, Turner French was going. He hung out at the front for a while. No one was going to let him go very far though. Steve B then took a big dig off the front on Mountain Rd and held a solid gap all the way to the light.
On the other side, Brian O pushed off the front. The rest of CW was there to keep the pace high. Former National Champion Cristian Velasquez pushed in pursuit and kept the rest of the pack close. CV would do a lot of mending the flock tonight.
Little T hit the front going up to Marion, and that kept everyone motoring along. Hunter P had a dig off the front heading towards the light on 322, but it was red, leading to everyone being together for the start of Mount Vernon. Mike Hons and Turner F pushed off the front and stayed off the front for a couple minutes. The ride turned on to Prospect St, where Ben Bruce and Dan Smith hit the front. The tailwind was for real though, and no one was getting away. Turner and Steve B surged once onto Atwater, and that kept the pace high all the way back to the light.
On the other side of the light, Steve B and Dan Smith attacked off the front, but traffic at the four-way intersection interrupted their action. All together over route 10.
SGR rookie Evan Woodford took advantage of the downhill on East Johnson and hammered it off the front, getting the strava KOM in the process. It was all back together on Meriden Road, despite Ben Bruce, Sean Maher, and Tom K hitting the front hard. At the base of the Greenhouse Climb, Brian O jumped off the front and Turner F patrolled the rest. Big Red came to the front and brought the pace up, followed by a dig from Turner as the gap to Brian O was erased. The pace slowed a bit ahead of the sprint, which gave Little T a chance to jump on everyone and clear a gap quickly. Behind him, Hunter P was next over, followed by Sean Maher.
Into the back roads, Dan Smith pushed the pace on the front along with Ben Bruce, but that didn't last too long. Sean Maher was next, and he kept a gap starting a kilo from the Boulder Rd climb and then up it. Fast forward to the descent on Tuttle, where Turner F and Brian O juiced it once more, but not enough to have a chance in the final stretch. Turner had one last dig off the front, but Little T covered that with his sprint up over the final rise. Hunter P once again behind, and then Ben Bruce coming over the line next.
Great ride everyone! Next week the triumphant return of the long loop!
