After the success earlier in the day in the Masters crit at Grant Park the full LITESPEED-BMW squad was amped to get to going in the Pro1/2 race. The field was stacked with talent from Realcyclist.com, Team Type 1, Team Mountain Kakis, Team Kenda/5 Hour energy and others.
Knowing the race would be fast from the gun Wes and Hank stayed at the front early to get in the early moves, and right away attacks were flying and the pace was very fast. Our Jamaican National Champion teammate O Neil Samuels was also going with early moves. About 15 minutes into the race a breakaway was being brought back by the field and Chris Brown saw an opportunity to attack and flew past the lead riders and was away solo. The goal was not to have Chris out solo but to be in a small breakaway group with two LITESPEED-BMW riders in the move. So on Chris went…and went…getting his lead up to over 35 seconds at one point! This allowed Wes, Hank, O’Neil, Doug and Colby to jump in with secondary moves but any move that tried to go across to Chris would quickly not get anywhere and the move would get brought back in by the field. With a little over 20 minutes left in the race (Chris had been off the front solo for twenty minutes) and Chris’s lead was still over 30 seconds, Cesar Grajales of Realcyclist.com got on the front of the field and ripped the race apart. Cesar was chasing for one of his sprinters so they could win the race. Only 16 riders were able to stay on Cesar’s wheel while he chased, bringing Chris back in two laps. So the lead group was established and O’Neil Samuels had also made the key move so now Chris was to work for O’Neil so that O Neal could win the sprint but O Neal got a flat rear tire shortly thereafter! Bummer as O’Neil has been flying and recently won the Road Atlanta stage of the GA Cycling Grand Prix. Next time O’Neil! So Chris did all he could with the energy he had left to go with secondary moves but ultimately he just did not have enough left in the tank and sprinted in for 11th. Still a solid ride and great race for the team as Doug Ollerenshaw, Colby Millen and O’Neil (after getting a new wheel) finished the race strong.
Next up, the 10th anniversary of the River Gorge Omnium in Chattanooga TN. Epic race featuring a time trial, night time super-fast downtown criterium and a grueling road race with tons of climbing and a mountain top finish, look for full report soon