Sibley County Road Race Report

Jens picked me up and we enjoyed the short drive from Gustavus to Sibley County.  It’s a nice change to be able to sleep in a bit and get to a race in less than a half an hour. It was pretty cold on the rollout and more than a few riders were shivering, myself included. Half the group stopped to pee on the first climb but things evenutally got rolling.  A mile or two later I joined an attack with Jens Brabbit (Grandstay), Chris Doig (Flanders), Dale Sedgewick (GP), Lance Niles (Brones), Greg Lavick & Matt Muyers (Synergy) and Jay Henderson (Hollywood). With every major team represented (save Texas Roadhouse) I figured this was a good break.  Bridging up almost didn’t happen. I got halfway and Jens looked back and started driving. He later told me that he mistook me for a LeMieux or Bergman. Luckily, Hollywood came with me and he took just enough of a pull for me to recover and we both were able to bridge. Muyers quickly disappeared and the 7 of us got organized and built over 6 minutes at one point. I love long breakaways like this, especially when everyone’s contributing and pulling for one another.  We all suffered and I’m happy to say that I didn’t miss a single pull the whole day (other than to eat). This was the type of break where the cross winds, distance and climb keep everyone honest: The best kind of racing. Initially, Hollywood sat on but, as we would later appreciate, his fresh legs were key to keeping our gap preserved. Dale was rolling great and never missed a turn; Niles & Doig started to miss a few, but for the most part everyone was giving it.  Jens tried one attack after we got a false report that GrandStay was chasing (this didn’t make sense but we weren’t sure). We quickly reorganized and the gap reports were 4:20, 3:20 and in the final nervous K’s, just 1:20 or so. We knew there was some serious talent in the bunch and we feared that a group with Bjorn, Adam or Pattycakes would bring us back in short order. Dale knew exactly how much we could afford to loose from the bottom of the descent to finish and this helped up all keep motivated and organized. Hollywood took some monster pulls which really, really hurt.  It is super cool to see him rockin’ it again.  At the base of the climb Jens attacked & Hollywood pegged it, surprising Jens (and me) at how easily he brought him back. Hollywood turned the screws a little harder and took the front over the final 2K. I was glued to his wheel hoping his tempo was doing some damage. I knew the uphill sprint would play to the lighter riders but I gave it a go anyway. Jens jumped way left and got the winning gap. Lance got close but it was too late. Jens, best suited for an uphill sprint, took a stellar win. I stuck on Lance’s wheel and hung on for 3rd. Doig was 4th, Greg just nipped Hollywood for 5th. Dale must have been 7th.

Jens and I had a great lunch at Bittersweet Cafe’ in downtown Henderson with the Brone’s boys and rolled back to St. Peter. He joked that the St. Peter boys did well today. Time for a smoothie and a nap. Awesome day.