Bristol Road Race – 5/13/06
A small but potent CAT 3 field rolled out of the Bristol Mtn. parking lot to do battle for 4 laps of the 17-mile circuit. This race is one of attrition and today was no different. I felt really good going into today’s race, especially knowing the JW Dundee’s squad of Dwight Roth, Kevin Mahoney, and Taylor Hogan were there supporting me in this tough race. Dwight, Kevin, and Taylor all worked on the first lap to keep things in check. The second lap selection caught Dwight out of the group & unfortunately Taylor got a flat on the new carbon wheels he debuted today. The pace kept ratcheting up each time we hit the Egypt climb. By now, the Team Holly Loft/Kwik Fill team were starting to really control the race. They brought a very strong squad and were dictating the race by sending riders off the front every time one of theirs was caught. On lap 2, Brian Cardona (Nalgene), William Nicholson (Colavita), and myself made an attempt to bridge up to a Holly Loft guy up the road. Cardona was really ripping it & when I couldn’t come around to take a good pull, I knew my tanks were not full this day & I was in for a tough day to hang in this race. Each time up Egypt, more riders were getting shelled. The Iron man for the day was Kevin Mahoney. Each time up the climb he lost contact and clawed his way back on to the lead group, including the last lap when the pace was brutal. The final time up Egypt, Chris Riley (PC) attacked and forced the group into a frantic pace up the 8-minute climb. The group shattered, with three riders catching Riley, 2 in between chasing, and myself and 2 others clawing our way to get back in contact. It was now or never after we started to head down the Mountain, as all 6 were together at the front and pulling. I attacked after the first downhill section & got back on the lead group. My tanks were nearly empty by now. Soon after we hit Rt. 64, Kevin Mahoney did the seemingly impossible and rejoined the lead group as well, showing what a tenacious rider he is. Chris Riley attacked the group again on Rt. 64. No one responded & he quickly hammered out a 35 sec gap. The chase was not real enthusiastic, since I think most were hurting, including me. I figured we were racing for 2nd, and I couldn’t do anything about it, but in the final stretch before the finish hill, we were closing fast on the leader & all realized we could be racing for the win. Just past the base of the finish hill, Don Sproull (Chris Cookies) punched it and our small group responded, but I had no mojo left & I was out of it. Sproull caught Riley in the closing meters to take the win! I rolled in 7th, with Kevin earning a hard fought 9th.
In the CAT 1-4 Women’s race, JW Dundee’s Yvette LaBombard scored a fine 7th place finish. Cheyne Hoag came home a strong 5th in the Men’s CAT4 race.
Rob Dietrick
