Win, lose or draw, Copperopolis is one of my favorite races. It was the first road race I ever won, when I was a cat 4 two years ago. But that’s not why I like it. Copper is a mental grind thanks to the deceivingly hard first climb, cross- and head-winds on the back section, false flats and infamous bumpy descent to the finish line. Last year I merely survived the P/1/2 field and finished. This year I set my sights on 35+ field and expected a good result with my form coming around. However, after a somewhat unexpected trip back east this past week I set aside any personal aspirations to gladly ride for Billy and Kevin, particularly with a really big field for a masters race on the start line.
The race went more or less than expected as we’d seemingly broken the will of much of the peloton after the 1st climb on lap 2. A few attacks and re-shufflings later, Kevin rolled away with a small group, which was one of the scenarios we’d hoped for. I spent the rest of the race playing policeman and shutting down attempts to bridge. At the end of the day Kevin ended up 3rd. Obviously we wanted the win but with Dan Bryant and Chris Phipps taking 1st and 2nd, it’s hard to find two nicer guys in the master’s peloton that you’d like to see on the podium.
Results aside, I still love this race. Somebody commented that “when you’re going good you don’t feel the bumps. When it’s a bad day, they’re worse.” Even though my legs were never great the bumps weren't all that bad.
-Chris Lyman
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