Wells 4-25

[Bruce]

A shout out to Todd Savage. I saw him take two primes in the B race. The second one was all out. Nice job!

The A race was slower today, which was merciful after Paul D's ride to Wa Wa yesterday and 5,000 ft of climbing. That's a lot for a flatlander. Its great to watch experienced racers. No effort is wasted. In this race a break got up the road, still within site. Skip Foley's bridge was a thing of beauty. First of all, he jumped from about 10 riders back and surprised everyone. Second, he didn't try to meter his attack -- he just attacked full out and covered the gap in like 1minute. From what I could see he won the race -- some guys went too early in the sprint and he was patient, staying 7 or 8 back., Then boom.

I was pissed at myself because I sensed he was going to jump and hesitated even though I was in position to follow. So a bit later, when another very experienced racer, Mark Hagen, tapped me on the hip and asked if I had one more good pull in me -- there was no hesitation. Same thing. Powerful attack from the wing. No one else responds. Close the gap hard. No problem.

Both these riders have national championships for a reason. They're smart. They never pull the pack. They understand that there is little to be gained by bringing an entire pack with them. Instead they know how to shed the "hanger ons." And if you are a hanger on, like me, the best thing you can do is watch and wait for the big guns to go!

[tsavage]

Gotta like getting paid to race!