Morgan Stanley Smith Barney/Specialized team riders put the screws to the 35+ field, whittling it down over the rough (and unpaved) roads before the major climb of the day. From there they launched Chris Phipps, who fought the conditions for the remainder of the race to take the big win.
From teammate Paul Dyrwal, who came in an amazing 6th place:
"Chris attacked from the big climb and solo'd the remaining 2 hours to victory, in hot, windy, rough conditions. Very impressive.
Briefly, we had somewhere between 17-20 guys to start. We absolutely drilled the rough section of road in the cross winds leading up to the climb -- with Alex Smith doing several impressive turns at the front and guttering the rest of us in the process -- to the point where there were only 6 or 7 of us left when we started the climb, with Phipps and me still in there. (I think Harlan might have had a mechanical earlier.) I was at my limit when we started the climb and soon fell off. Shortly after I came off, Chris saw an opportunity and drilled it, dropping everyone for good.
I ended up holding on for 6th."
Comments