Last night we picked up our game again, only this time it was Sammy and Ankney; Gifford and Chad; and Mike and myself. We stooped to a much lower level this week. The first stooping occurred only six miles in, when Ankney stopped to take a leak. Chad saw it, so he and I went to the front and drilled it, forcing Mat to chase. I was pretty confident with Mike and I on the hill and we went into it with good positioning. We conserved and just kept a steady tempo, our rivals were no where to be seen. All of the sudden I look back and see Mat and Sammy, and then as soon as I see them, they launch a hard attack. I quickly realized what this secret weapon was they had been talking about. It was a bungee cord stretched from Mat’s bike to Sammy’s. I had to put an end to it, so I jumped up there and attached myself as a caboose, with no engine. There were definitely plenty more dirty tactics (e.g. hip slings) throughout the ride, but that was by far the funniest move of the day.
KOM
- Mike and Alex
- Mat and Sammy
- Chad and Josh*
*Chad didn’t check to make sure Josh was on before he drilled it at the beginning, popping his pony as usual.
Intermediate Sprint
- Chad and Gifford
- Mike and Alex
- Mat and Sammy
Final Sprint
- Mike and Alex
- Chad and Gifford?
- Mat and Sammy
Last night on the Wednesday night ride we played a game where each Mercy teamed up with a Sound Pony guy. Mat was with Mike, I was with Gifford and Chad was with Mickey. Gifford is a power house for short efforts, so he and I launched early before the climb (the neighborhood). We got a big gap, but unfortunately we were caught and attacked at the end by the Miko Simoni and Matiano Cunego duo. It was a convincing win for the polka dot jersey, but we were still second. Eventually we heard Chad’s voice telling Mickey “it’s okay you’re a sprinter, you’re a sprinter”. Next we had an intermediate sprint, and this time Chad and Mickey played the aggressive role, but unfortunately not everyone can hold Chad’s 400+ watt efforts and Chad quickly popped his pony (© 2006 Mat Ankney all rights reserved). Chad and Mickey did recover and Chad went to light it up for the next intermediate sprint. Well Gifford took that sprint in convincing style, coming effortlessly off my wheel and passing Chad like he was standing still. Gif and I also took the 2nd intermediate sprint in similar fashion. Chad and Mickey were out of the equation by now as Mickey couldn’t install a governor on Chad fast enough. We needed to beat Mat and Mike in the final sprint to take green and overall, but I have to admit we got worked. This time it was me who stood up too soon and screwed up the lead-out. Mike and Mat actually passed us seated laughing. With that they secured Polka dot, green and overall, but we got most combative and intermediate sprint. Chad and Mickey were lantern rouge and after the ride all Mickey could say was “team meeting, team meeting”. The funny thing was that Mickey actually passed us in the sprint without Chad, who obviously did more harm than good. I told Mickey that this isn’t the first time Chad has popped a teammate, it happens to Mat and I all the time.
