Highland Rim Classic
29th May 2008 by brtoone
McMinnville, TN
May 10-11, 2008
Pro/1/2
Posted by Brian Toone
Quick summary: 3rd in the road race, 15th in the TT, 12th in the crit for a 7th place overall in the omnium.
The road race was pretty much unbelievable because I attacked within the first mile and our small breakaway managed to stay away for 109 miles and have over 3 minutes on the field by the end! The break started out with five riders, but one rider couldn’t hold on towards the top of the 3 mile climb on the course. Chris Harkey and Geri Mewitt from Coca-Cola/Hincapie Sports were in the break. Ty Stanfield (racing for Myogenesis) and me were the other two in the break. The four of us worked together well for the next 100 miles until Chris Harkey attacked and rode away for the win. After Chris’s attack, Ty attacked once to try to bridge back up and Geri had to cover that as I was struggling a bit. Then Ty and I started to work together to make sure that the three of us stayed away from the chase group. Geri sat on our wheels since he had a teammate up the road. On the 2.5 mile descent, I realized that I could let Ty ride away and force Geri to chase, leading me into a position to possibly have the freshest legs for the sprint. That’s how it played out but I couldn’t quite come around Geri on the sprint as he timed it to perfection waiting until 150 meters to go before jumping Ty. I took third, and Ty came in just behind us for fourth.
The Hillclimb TT should have been one that I could do well at, but I had massive burning in my legs and couldn’t push through it to earn any points towards the omnium. Ty did really well, though, placing third.
The criterium was frustrating because it was very cold and very windy (but thankfully no rain). My legs felt better than I thought they would, but I missed the correct moves to go with and ended up placing twelfth. I tried very hard to escape from the group and managed to win a $25 prime along the way. It was a disappointing finish to a good weekend. My legs are feeling very strong though and I am hoping for a good showing at the Tour de Winghaven.