EVENT: Snelling Road Race
CATEGORY: 35+ 1/2/3
AUTHOR - Scott Bromstead
COURSE DESCRIPTION - An 11.7 mile loop of narrow country roads northwest of Snelling, CA. After a short promenade, several small hills, several sharp turns, excellent to fair pavement. Full Road Closure.
WEATHER - Sunny & Warm. High around 68F. No clouds. No wind. :(
TEAMMATES - Oli, Scott C., Dave, Hobbs, Matt, Foley, BBQ (& Jared)
GOALS - Podium
PLAN - Matt, Me & Oli cover early attacks. Everyone help line up for leadout on Figmond.
RACE SUMMARY
First of all, I had a great time riding my bike with the full TMBM team today! Was a great day for riding bikes and hanging with bros. Sometimes I forget just how much I love bike riding in general (my wife disagrees, she thinks I never forget). Thanks everyone for making today a special & fun day for me. I'm amazed by how much outpouring of cheer & support everyone has shown to me as a new guy in such a short time getting to know you all. Special thanks to Dave for the beers & Matt for the ProBars. Also, thanks to OSMO for hooking me up with the Active Hydration to keep me going for this grueling race.
Start:
Nuetral rollout was not very neutral. I was getting passed as soon as the whistle blew. Nutty. After the official start, Oli, Matt & I, as well as Foley traded off covering attacks on first lap until a break was established. Great Job getting in the break by Matt & Foley! Drilling it and keeping things easy for the rest of us in the back. I was able to sit in and let Folsom & Lange Twins work to chase the break. Thanks again for doing that. After the break was established, I was still trying to cover any attacks to make sure nobody bridged without pulling a TMBM rider along. Probably not too smart on my part, since we already had 2, but not a critical mistake at this juncture.
Foley and Adams in the 8 man break that stayed away until the last lap.
Middle: Everyone rode near the front. Cycling around the sides as needed to hold spots. BBQ & Dave were chasing down attacks. Hobbs looked after me and sheltered me around the neutralized groups. Dave kept track of the break and helped to keep things on track. Scott & Dave checked in with me a few times, to make sure I was good. I hitched a ride up to the front a couple times on different TMBM riders wheels. Everyone was letting each other back in near the front group as well, so nobody had to go all the way into the wind. Awesome team racing, including communication to this point. Everything was flowing.
Bromstead sitting pretty in the pack
End: At the end of lap 4, we caught the break right at the start/finish line. After I sprinted past the break, I thought a new break might establish on the feed zone hill, but the riders in the front sort of soft pedaled at the top for a bit. I think Oli had the same thoughts as he was aggressive here, but nothing panned out. I went up front through the rollers and stayed top 5 wheels for the turn onto Figmond. I ended up losing a few spots on Figmond and couldn't get any back during the sprint on Fields.
I ended up 9th and in that field of ex-pro's, national champions, collegiate champions & ex-triathlete professionals, that's pretty sweet. I really enjoyed riding and hanging with everyone in the California Sunshine. I know we can and will do better very soon.
RESULTS - 97 racers
9th - Me
17th - Allen
20th - Cox
24th - Foley
25th - Barbicas
41st - Ryan
48th - Adams
57th - Hobbs
