I promised to follow up when it was irrelevant and untimely, but I have today off so I decided not to wait any longer.
Labor Day weekend in Greenville has come & gone and a fantastic race was witnessed by all in attendance. I reviewed some of the rumour du dopage comments on the RR Live thread and personally, do not know what to say on that subject relative to the day’s winner. I usually try to focus on the righteousness of the actual event and “try not to look back, dahling; it distracts from the now.”
BLUF (“bottom line up front”) – Garmin came out in force, pushed the pace and controlled the breaks, but in the end, Tyler Hamilton put himself in the right position and played it perfectly.
I would like to commend Chief Commissaire for pointing out on the Preview Thread that Tyler finished last year in the top 10 despite lack of teammates. This year a couple of Rock Racers played in the breaks, but it was TH’s wiliness and experience that earned him the victory. He probably would’ve been in the same position sans teammates.
DISCLAIMER: I’m the poster boy for "no excuses" but I would like preface my photo essay by stating my camera sucks. All I have is the "family camera" (Kodak Easy Share 7530) that has been sneezed on by the cat; there’s a chunk missing from the selector knob from being dropped 12 too many times and you have to aim the little reticule thingy a little up and to the right of the subject to get it centered. That being said, I promise to have a new, super-whamidyne set-up for next year.
IMPRESSIONS:
1) I thought Garmin-Chipotle did what WE recommended: sit on George Hincapie; make the pace hard; be in every break; protect CVV. In the final two small laps, they had 3 guys in a 5-up break with little hope of a heavy hitter bridging across. That’s following the plan 101.
2) Of the GarMen, Tom Danielson, Lucas Euser and especially Steven Cozza rode a perfect race in support of their leader. I don’t think I saw CVV without TD either on his wheel or closing little gaps in front of him. And Cozza was a monster, schlepping bottles & ice-filled nylons. He appeared to orchestrate that final 5 man break coming into town from the last trip up Paris Mtn. Yep, Danielson & Cozza jumped up on my respect-o-meter.
3) Hincapie couldn’t get away or get help to get away because nobody wanted to get punked by him in town. CVV didn’t have to jump because he always had someone up the road. Christian and George basically cancelled each other out.
I stationed myself at the 200 Meter sign because I thought since it was a slight downhill sprint, whoever led through the last corner (at approx. 275m) would take it to the line. (Plus, I didn’t want #1 son to get lost in the finish line scrum and he was getting a little whiny. What is it with kids? They gotta follow you everywhere.)
FINAL THOUGHTS:
1) The radio scanner I borrowed was a great idea! I couldn’t find the correct frequency before the race started so I found the first promoter dude strolling around and he hooked me up. He also recommended that next year I contact "Medalist Sports" for a media package that has that kind of info., they’ll send it to me free. Also, next year I’d like to figure out how to work the scanner better so I can listen in on the actual team radios. As it was, I was limited to the main race marshal’s traffic.
2) It only took me 8 hours to get down there and had I planned better, I could’ve checked out the TT. Next year…
3) Tagging Paris Mtn with some "Podium Café" chalk wouldn’t have been a problem. Again, next year…
4) Whiny kid? Not sure what to do with that one.
Here are just some of the pictures. I was going to just throw up a link to my new photobucket page, but then you'd miss out on my smarmy comments.
Kayle & Freddie roll to the sign-in. The guy in the grey shirt...just ate a baby!
"Podium Cafe? Doesn't ZoeRochelle hang out there? Dude, I'm there!"
George's Legs? Battle hardened.
CVV - Feeling good before the start.
Your future champion's steed.
Your future champion trying to figure out what number he is before sign-in.
OK, the only reason I include this picture is this: Zabriskie is right behind that BMC rider. Besides that guy standing in the grass taking a picture, my son & I were the only ones standing in this eerily quiet spot about 1 mile up the climb. All you could hear was the whir of the motorcycles. Then, in slow motion, DZ looks over at me (without moving his head) and we made eye contact for a strangely long time...it kinda freaked me out. Instead of screaming "GO, Dave!", all I could manage was a normally audible "alright, D.Z.".
That final break? All Cozza!
Cozza driving the final few downtown laps.
The Tomestique, protecting his leader.
Tyler into the radio: "Hey, I got 3 GarMen in this break with me...I don't have a chance. What's that? Wait until Caldwell attacks at 350m, sit on his wheel for the final few meters before coming around and winning by an inch on the bike throw? Okay, sounds crazy, but I'll give it a shot."
Tyler tests 'em while Pate looks whipped.
Uh-oh. One lap and 200 meters to go!
At about 225 Meters, both Hamilton and Caldwell passed the test of the burning blade...
...but only Tyler was able to tame the savage heart.
Danny Pate finds two girls with green eyes...no word on whether he'll marry them both.
Ever wonder what happens to the champagne corks?
Pate's landed right at me feet! Cha-ching!