By Brandon Trafton The Davis Fourth of July Criterium is truly one of Nor-Cal’s classic races. Despite the blistering heat, year after year, it is always sure to draw a competitive field. Because of the heat, we expected the race to be won from a break. We had planned to follow the attacks, and decided to reserve Dana for the sprint just in case it came down to a pack finish.
The attacks started early, never truly dying off. However, nothing got too far up the road. The moves that were going either did not contain enough riders, or the right mix of guys. We made sure we were represented through out the race, but with only 15 min remaining, a few of us predicted that a field sprint was likely. Sure enough, this is when the field began to split.
A dangerous move containing Ben Jacques-Maynes, Chuck Hutcheson and Nate English among others rolled off the front, leaving a splintering peloton behind. Within a few short laps however, it was all coming back together. As the break was caught, Nate English laid in a perfect attack taking a Folsom Bike rider with him. With only 3 laps to go, the gap was significant and we knew the race was now for 3rd place.
At 2 laps to go, Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase took control of the peloton and started the lead out for Dana Williams. Adam Switters took Dana around the final corner to a 3rd place finish (1st in the field sprint) and Adam managed to hang on for 5th (3rd in the sprint).
All in all it was a great race, hot, but very fun.
