So there I was, trying to warm up for 50 minutes my legs/lungs/heart hadn't experienced since September. I'm on some road behind the course going hard and I see one of the Lange Twins riders ahead of me; I'm going pretty hard but this guy isn't getting any closer to me. Who the heck is it I ask myself? Then it clicks, must be Jason Grefrath - he's beaten me in more than one TT over the years. Someone to keep in mind for the race.
But isn't it ski season? What the heck am I doing in Folsom in February? I must have had 10 people ask me the same question (admittedly, all Reno dudes). Well, there's no snow and my new teammates are in pretty good shape and that whole Merco Stage race thingy is coming up...
Back at another start line. Dean and Bubba are wearing their well-deserved national championship jerseys and I peer around the group thinking about how the race will play out. Dean, Bubba and I had gone through some scenarios before the start but we knew we might be at the mercy of a few teams today. I told myself the same thing I tell myself before every race. It's boring, really.
Whistle blows and I make it into my pedal w/o issue - early season success! This seems to be a good "it's February and I can't concentrate and go hard at the same time" type of course - basically room everywhere, good pavement and not technical. You get the occasional goose on the course but the old guys are all pretty good about pointing stuff out.
Things start heating up and attacks are flying - Lange Twins, then Mercedes, then Specialized, then Sierra Nevada. Rinse, repeat. But nothing is sticking. There were a couple times breaks had good representation but they came back and we seem destined for a pack finish.
Bubba and I found Dean (actually I think he found us - he's always where he needs to be, eh?). 5 to go, 4 to go, 3 to go. I'm thinking about filing my taxes, post-race beers, what $50 of Stuzio clothing really means, etc and in an instant someone was off the front. Huh? This is going to sound horrible but I honestly have no idea how it happened. Now at 2 to with Bubba on the front, Dean behind him and I'm moving up from 8th to figure out how worried I need to be. Then I hear the announcer, "Jason Grefrath not waiting around for the field sprint...has 15 seconds." Oh no. Arguably the best TT'er in the field is off the front poking wholes in our leadout strategy.
Okay, no panic here but we can't wait for the last lap. Bubba is moving good and I'm now behind him, Dean on me. Lap and a half to go and I yell at Bubba to move left. He sits there. I yell it again. He must be in the zone. No, I have a sore throat and he can't hear me. Finally he moves and I take over. Up through start/finish, around the corner 1 but we don't seem to be getting closer to Jason. I'm hurting. Hummingbird heart rate is up and I start shaking my head - no way we are going to catch him. I pull off to turn it over to Dean. 2/3 of a lap to go.
Then the pack starts surging. Michael from Clif (I think that's his name) goes for a flyer and the pack is moving, faster, faster. Dean 4th, Dean 3rd, froggering his way around. I'm drifting back, sitting up, still wondering how we ended up in this position. The pack is getting close to the final corner.
I got hands off my bars (don't worry, nobody around, all is safe) trying to see through the business parking lot, over the grassy knoll and up the finishing stretch. On my tippy toes now and Dean is going. Oh my, is he going to make it? No way. I can't see anymore and turn an ear towards the announcer. j;jdasflkasdfj; j lkkjjapdf..... DEAN LABERGE WINS IT!!!
I laugh a bit to myself. I know Dean can sprint but I've only raced with/against him 5 times or so and I'm just starting to pick up on his ability. The year has started off very well for Dean and Team Specialized.
- Jason Walker, Team Specialized Masters
- Jason Walker, Team Specialized Masters
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