Yes, Bariani was an epic ride this year. In case you were wondering what happened up the road in the 35+ 4's, here's my version.
Part way into the 2nd lap, things were grinding along with lots of surges, braking, and nervousness. After we got going along the backside, I looked up to see that Fred & Chris were up front hammering and there was one long line of guys strung out and starting to split up. In my urgency to get past the splintering group, I tried to warn Lee that it was time to go without alerting the others around him but was perhaps too cryptic (I just hoped that he could jump on my wheel). It required a pretty big effort to get past about 30 guys and up to the front and by the time we made the right hand turn onto the uphill/tailwind section, I was pretty cooked. But, a break was forming and it was now or never. Fred & Chris were *really* cooked and I looked at them and they said "go!"
The break pushed hard over the KOM and I was redlined going into the crosswind section after the start/finish. The guys in the front rode along the left side, guttering all of us. We spit into several groups but ended up regrouping by the end of the headwind section. In retrospect, this did not help when it came to catching the three guys who finished off the front as we all had to work a lot harder than necessary into the headwind (though apparently, no one seemed to know how many were up ahead). Once regrouped, our 5 worked well together and caught 2 more guys.
The 7 then worked well until the final lap when there were several attacks which put everyone on the rivet. In the end, a San Jose guy attacked up the KOM and everyone let him go as he obviously had way more left than we did (this was after his earlier attack which practically killed the rest of us). The remaining group clipped along, chatting about upgrade points but it was clear that the energy level was low. One guy attacked with about 200 meters left in the crosswind section. I attacked next with 100 meters to the turn, held off everyone else but couldn't quite get around the first guy. With three ahead of our break, that left me in 6th place.
It was great to hear how well the DBC'ers worked back in the chase group, inhibiting the chase and then attacking near the end. Excellent team tactics!
In retrospect, though Bariani was similar to Snelling with the high winds, having 100 guys & a centerline rule made for a very different race. Perhaps this Bariani was more like a typical Copperopolis -- if you're not at the front at the beginning, there's an excellent chance you're going to miss the key break. Early on, it was very difficult to move to up in the pack or even see what's happening at the front.
At Copperopolis, make sure you line up early and stay near the front for the first climb. As things settle out into groups, save your energy for the climbs -- you will need it. -js
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