After winning the previous day's Ronde van Brisbeen, Matt
Dubberley was again McGuire/Langdale's lone representative,
but this time against a bigger field on a flat four corner loop.
There was a 5-10 mph wind that provided the non-sprinters
with some hope of finishing without a field sprint. No less
than five minutes into the race, Tim Larkin (Kodak Gallery/Sierra
Nevada) was on the attack. He and five others pulled a 20 sec gap
to the field.
With nobody willing to reel in the break, Matt jumped away to
bridge. A few laps later, (towing four guys without help) Matt
made the lead group. 30 minutes into this 90 minute race, Tim Larkin
sprinted out of the break to win a prime. He got a gap and kept
going. A lap later Matt bridged up with Pat Briggs (California
Giant) coming along as well.
For the better part of an hour the three leaders held on to
a 30 sec gap to the now-singular pack. With three laps remaining,
Matt attacked Larkin and Briggs. They held on Matt's wheel each
time he attacked for the remaining laps. Neither Larkin nor
Briggs would pull or counter-attack, so Matt's attempts at getting
away were unsuccessful. The final lap was a game of cat and
mouse with Briggs winning the sprint, Matt was second, and Larkin
third. |
Photo by Chris
Patterson
More photos by Dashaun
Duffy |
