Out of principle I have a bit of a problem with this; it is a spring classic: when was the last time Roubaix or Flanders was canceled because of poor weather conditions? That aside the weekend was a success. Paul Esposti, Will Hickey, and I [Brad Cole], loaded up the car bright and early at noon, and rolled down to Superior for the Koppenburg circuit race.
We weren’t sure if the rest of the guys were going to make it after the collegiate race (see "Plagued by Runner-Up") or if we were going to be rolling three strong. After a few phone calls we were in line registering just the three of us, the rest of the crew was going to stay and hold things down in Golden.
So we hit the line, underwent the traditional pre-race chatting, and catching up with old friends who would soon become bitter foes. We rolled out the wind gusting out of the northwest and ready to tackle the gravel.
The day was going to be short, 44 miles, but demanding, half of the racing would be done on gravel roads and the selections would be made on the Koppenburg climb, a 50 meter 17% grade climb. As expected it was a race to the Koppenburg, everyone scrambling for position.
The first ascent was Paul Esposti and I [Brad Cole] running, as someone decided to throw themselves onto the ground. We were forced to chase into the cross-headwind and all three of us tagged on in the tail wind section heading to the start finish.
The second lap saw the winning group roll off of the front, none of us in position to follow. This time on the climb, Paul Esposti again found himself running and chasing back on, while Will Hickey and I [Brad Cole] dug in to stay in the group.
On the next lap I [Brad Cole] found myself in three different moves, the last of which, finally stuck. I ended up spending the rest of the day in a four man break that contained Jonathon Baker (Vitamin Cottage), Corey Carlson (Rio Grande), and Jonny Clarke (Toyota United) we rolled smoothly until the final lap when Baker went on the offensive, attacking every time I came off of a pull.
Baker knew the race was between the two off us after we dropped Corey on the final ascent of the Koppenburg and didn’t expect to beat Clarke, one of the best sprinters in the country, heads up. I [Brad Cole] ended up coming off on the downhill unable to spin my 53x12 any faster as the two rode away in their larger gears.
Paul Esposti and Will Hickey had fairly mundane rides once the break was established, they road strong in the group and made the decisions and moves needed to be competitive. Paul made the splits and road to a solid 14th overall and finished in the main group. Will continued to make huge strides as a rider and fought hard to finish, he finished just outside the main group but took the steps necessary to move to the next level.
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