Race Report: 100k Classic

By Thomas Smith:

The day started off at 5am(a lil early for my race blood) but we also were staying 30min from the race start, so I decided next year the race hotel sounds great!

Jason, Andrew and I started with 120+(?) guys racing for $15,000 that paid out top 35. I only knew of the race from stories, and checking past results told me that it was going to be a stacked field. The weather was nice and pleasant which is some what unusual for Atlanta this time of year. The first few laps were pretty mild, a few guys thought that an early brake might work this year and gave it a go. I was a bit eager myself by the 3rd lap and started playing at the front for the next lap and half. It was apparent that nothing was going to stick, or at least I thought; 3 guys had managed to break off from the consistent attacks on the first few laps. Aerocat seemed to be the dominant force in numbers for the day and were trying to pull everything back. The pace was up and down for the next several laps, and then the bell rang with 6 laps to go. The pace went up and my computer was telling me that this was the fastest lap yet. The one hill in the race was starting to take it's toll on the field and every lap more and more riders were dropping off. The group finally reeled in the 3 that had snuck off the front earlier, with about 3 laps to go. Jason and Andrew both were feeling their way through the pack, and with 2 laps to go I checked in with both to see how they were feeling. I started edging back into the top third of the field with Andrew beside me, and with one to go it was on! We were stringing out single file. I had heard of the sharp left into the finish, so I started preparing for that, but then we hit the last little hill and I heard nothing but bikes on pavement behind me. My first reaction was to look for Andrew... "sweet he's still here!", then the sharp left another rider went down forcing the group to split wide...and then...the hill! I heard everyone scrambling to shift as quickly and powerfully as they could and the sprint was on. It was the fastest finish I have ever been a part of, as I came across the line the crowd was cheering so loud it gave me chills. I thought "25th", but when your going that fast you really can't tell where you are! I finished 35th - last spot for money with Andrew around 40th, and Jason getting stuck behind the crash on the hill placed not far behind.

It's a race that I came away thinking "I really didn't like the 7am start, but with a few more guys next year we will do a lot better!! I look forward to it!

As always, thanks to our sponsors, who without their support we couldn't do this!

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