The Return of the Interlandi
The whole crew was back out tonight for a great Sleeping Giant Ride. It was awesome to see John Interlandi back in the mix, looking a little older, a little wiser, but riding just as strong as ever. Hope to see you again soon out there, John.
Early aggressors were George Elias, Sean Maher, and Dan Smith. The pace was solid in the early parts, with a few surges from Dan and George to spice things up. The pack stayed mostly together all the way to Mountain Road, where traffic at the intersection seemed to stymie George’s plans to attack early. From there the pace stayed steady, with no big moves. Jon Fecik was chasing everything down + attacking off the front towards the end of Mountain. Have you every seen a monkey try to hump a coconut? Just watch an elite triathlete get out of the saddle to attack. The entire group got the green light at the end of Mountain, which led to some tense moments at the start of Moss Farms as the proverbial elastic stretched.
George Elias and Hunter P. traded heavy pulls at the front to keep the pressure on. Brent DeLaB rolled through once with Hacker as well. Heading into the chicane, Little T threw down an attack and got off the front with Sean Maher, but they were reeled in on the way to Marion.
Chris Sima was also active tonight throwing in attacks here and there, along with an unknown rider in a long-sleeve jersey who has been out once or twice this year. Getting on Marion, George E attacked on the climb and was allowed to roll clear. He held a gap all the way to the light at 322. He had to pause to get through the intersection, which cut into his 100 meter advantage. The chase behind got the green light and it was all back together just before the ride onto Mount Vernon.
Dan Smith took over at the front, putting in a strong pull that shook off a small group of three or four. But with plenty of fresh legs who hadn’t been involved in the earlier chase, the pace stayed high as others rolled through to keep it moving. From there the ride continued down Mount Vernon in an orderly fashion. No big attacks, no big controversies. Things slowed as everyone queued up for Welch.
On Welch, Sean Maher pushed to the front. Brent DeLaB was also up there, but it was mostly all together at the base of the final climb to the intersection. George E. took off, along with Hunter P., Little T, and the Black brothers. This led to a steady push to the line and a well-organized sprint. Sean Maher launched first, followed by Noah B. and Hunter P. Noah was able to come around to take the win, with Hunter P. second and Sean Maher third. All three finished close together.
On the backside, Little T and one or two others joined up, forming a dangerous-looking group, but a red light at the I-84 interchange brought it all back together. From there, George Elias and Sean Maher kept the gas on. Using the queued-up traffic past the I-84 on-ramps, they pushed off the front while the peloton was still strung out single file. They stayed on it through the final light on Prospect, heading uphill into a headwind. With plenty of Angels up front, the chase never came. The two hit the descent with a 100 meter gap, stretched it to 200 meters at the next intersection, and that was the last they’d be seen for the night.
Behind them, the pace eased as the rest settled in for the final push into Cheshire. Chris Sima attacked on East Johnson, getting over the hill first and rolling out of sight, though apparently not on course after that.
So for the last quarter of the ride, the pack was racing for third up the Greenhouse climb. Stefano P. went early in a bid for a solo run, and he had Hunter P behind soft-pedaling in support. He was eventually reeled in halfway up the climb. From there, Brent DeLaB positioned himself for a launch just after the light on Country Club. Sure enough, he hit right after the light. To his credit, with his not knowing exactly where the line was, he was able to extend his sprint out for a while in front of a charging Noah B., Little T, Hacker, and a couple others going hard for the line.
From there, the ride finished in standard fashion, rolling steady to the end.
