Cat3 Mt Evans Report

Barry and Isaac go fishing for 3s

Today Barry and I made the 6am rendezvous for the annual July rite of passage, the Mt Evans Hill Climb. The race started mellow in an almost reverse criterium ... it was crazy with race positions being given out like it was Christmas. "Oh you'd like to take this wheel I'm on, go ahead." Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves.

About 45 minutes in the race hotted up and Barry and I were forced to make the delicate decision regarding whether to bury some matches to stay with the group or settle into a steady tempo. With only ~20 riders ahead and both of us looking solid, it seemed like we were better off settling down and working together. Time to go fishing!

This is where the fun started. We settled in and waited for riders ahead to blow. As we made a pass we would gauge whether the rider was sticking with the pace; we'd either isolate-and-jump or simply take turns tweaking the pace. We didn't want to drag anyone to the finale and discover they've sprouted wings. It was also convenient to get a gap before the flat portions so the two of us could crank and rest while the chasing rider is left to his own devices.

We hit the final portion and Barry started to feel his oats and took off. I eased off a bit to recover and jumped away from a stubborn dude who had stuck with us through the rudded descent. I got a gap and got in my time-to-finish mode. I was passed in the final couple kilometers -- which sucked, but good thing we hadn't towed the dude all day. Then in the last kilometer I caught a rider, but I couldn't drop him, so I power-looped him in the last 500m and sprinted away in the final 100m. In the end, Barry and I nabbed 15th/17th or 16th/18th or something like that.

We caught a ride down -- totally sweet, I recommend it -- then headed home to regroup for the last big road rendezvous of 2008, the Salida Omnium.