This provided a rare and special opportunity for the team. Team member Davis Yarbrough was Sarah's boyfriend, and the entire team was affected by the tragedy. It also gave the UAH Team an opportunity to showcase their talent and promote the team's presence on campus. Most unique is that since the race was not sanctioned, all UAH riders got to race together.
All those factors made this a very important race. From the moment we knew of the race, we knew we wanted to deliver Davis the win. To do that, we had to successfully execute a solid team strategy, something we have never had the manpower to be able to do. At every race so far, we have been so spread across categories we have not been able to implement teamwork. We had a significant numbers advantage this time, bringing 8 UAH Riders to the line.
As we lined up, we knew the first goal would be separating our elite group from the rest of the field. There were a few riders we knew we would have to get rid of. Namely, an older gentleman from the SCCC, and a few others on road bikes. Originally we thought it would only take a decent 20-22 mph pace to distance ourselves. In reality, it was a good bit faster.
Decent to note that I was blatantly ignoring doctors orders not to ride...I had shoulder surgery in September and haven't been cleared to ride outdoors yet.
Off the line, Joe and I bolted, and that immediate burst is what we needed to make most of the selection. The riders that were strong enough would catch up, and the non-competitors would never get the benefit of the draft. Hunter had trouble clipping in and would have to fight for almost a mile and a half to catch up.
The immediate group was Me, Joe, Barrett, Davis, and the SCCC guy. SCCC was pretty strong, and we were not able to immediately drop him. It was not until we employed some deceptive tactics that we got rid of him. After I took a long pull, I waved him through, and he accelerated. Joe grabbed his wheel, and let him take a long pull off the front. After a minute or so (if that), i got Davis on my wheel, and led the train back up to Joe and the SCCC guy, then proceeded to pass him after a high speed downhill. I stayed on the front for a little bit, then pulled off and put myself between Davis and the SCCC rider. Even if he managed to hang on through the 2nd half of the race, there wasn't a chance he was getting around me. Barrett took over for me and kept the pace high. When I looked back, I could see the SCCC rider struggling. He hadn't quite lost contact yet, but when Hunter took control and when we hit the final hill, he cracked. This was just under a mile to go. Joe took over with a half mile to go. We kept the pace high until the final stop sign, about a quarter mile to the finish. Then we eased off , Davis took a great sprint and the rest of the team rolled across.
The plan was executed well, and we attained our intended result. This is a great indicator for the season!
