Gore Pass RR - 09/09/06

(Nate & Andy awaiting their prizes, and trying to stay warm amid the rain and sleet at the finish line)





In the famous words of Yogi Berra, this was "Deja Vu all over again."

First off, Feedback Sports kicked ass! This entry will explain that. The most challenging part of the race was in dealing with the generally miserable, bipolar weather. . .

We arrived at the race site, between Kremmling and Steamboat, well in advance to ensure a relaxed pre-race prep. On the east side of the Eisenhower tunnel, the weather was beautiful - crisp temps and blue skies. However, coming out the other side of the tunnel, we were met with dark grey skies and rain. It was little better at the race site. Pretty damn cold and rain that came and went. Warm-up was relegated to about 10-15 minutes and mostly in the rain as well. As J-Rod and I have mused in the past, this was shaping up to be one of those "Bring it on!" weather days.

About 60 riders showed up for the first race on the final weekend of road racing. A race like Gore Pass isn't about numbers, though. It's a really tough race, so it only matters who at the top shows up or stays home. The "who's who" of the peloton was generally there - Feedback Sports, Greg Ross from Spike!, Jordan from HART and they guy from Echelon who was leading the Rocky Mountain Cup, as well as other one-off riders. Feedback's plan was to control the race and set Andy and Nate up for top placings. As we were the only team members who could score BAT points, this was important for us to accomplish.

During the initial 12-mile climb, there were plenty of people going to the front and keeping the pace hot that Feedback was saved from having to accomplish this task. Unfortunately, the pace was a little too hot for Bryan, Jerry and Kelly (his week-old, sea level lungs weren't doing him any favors), and a few miles from the top they had faded off the