Georgia Cup Round 3-Dahlonega
Category: Masters
Date: June 11, 2005
by Blowin Doorsin
Round three of the Georgia Cup series kicked off this past weekend in
Dahlonega. Despite the threat of tropical depression Arlene, racers turned out
in droves for the opportunity to race the gaps.
Due to lack of police support and the varying degrees of ability within each
field, the officials decided to start the masters, 4’s and women all together.
On a course like this, it wasn’t going to matter all that much, so everyone
seemed to go with it.
The masters field was staked with perhaps its strongest field in a road race all
season, at least for a course like this. RBM showed up in force with about 6 or
8 riders. The Smith Barney train had 4 riders there, so it looked like game on
between these two local powerhouses and they would not disappoint. A great group
of guys from Birmingham also sent a few guys over to tackle the mountains and
proved that old guys can hold their own against guys 15 years their junior.
Half the way up Woody’s the selection had been made. Smith Barney and RBM each
had 3 riders in the break along with one guy from Birmingham. A gutsy CAT 4 from
Bikes Unlimited made the juncture to the group a bit later. The first KOM of the
day would go to a streaking Tony Scott from Smith Barney who caught the group
napping a K from the top. The group stayed together through Suches until they
hit Wolfpen Gap. Wolfpen took a Smith Barney rider out of the break on the way
up and an RBM rider on the way down. We all hope Phil is recovering well! Just
some scratches, a fat lip and one downed tree.
The now group of 5 masters and 1 CAT 4 seemed content on just setting a good
tempo until they got closer to the line as the peleton could be seen down the
hill on each climb. No fireworks up Neel’s until the sprint for the KOM where
RBM was leading out their strongman Dougie Pomeranz who made Tony dig deep for
his 2nd KOM of the day.
Things stayed together until the group hit the rock pile at R-Ranch. From there,
Tony and Big Jon Atkins relentlessly attacked on the way back to the school.
Counter after counter, but Doug and Greg Turner were having none of it. RBM
decided they would take their chances in a sprint. The Smith Barney train has
been as dominant as any team could be when it comes to sprinting this year and
this day would be no exception. Big Jon accelerated as the group crested the
small climb just before the school and as he let off the gas and the RBM riders
followed, Tony launched his sprint from about 500 meters out. Chomping on his
heels was Doug followed by Greg and Jon.
This was a great race from many standpoints. The course was great and the
competition was great. RBM rode a gutsy race and gave Smith Barney their
toughest test of the year. Hopefully, this will turn into a great rivalry for
the rest of the year. In addition, if all of the masters in Georgia could race
more often, perhaps they could combine their efforts and derail the Smith Barney
train that’s been motoring along all year.