Well, it was not the best result for Carbon Racing as a team. Brian showed his usual strength and race-savvy experience by making the right move (actually, by covering or initiating most, if not all, of the early attacks) on the first lap.
After that first lead group was formed, it was up to the remaining Carbon Racing team members to cover and/or go with attempts to bridge to the leaders. Many attacks had the field splintering and lined-out. Tris and Ray found themselves positioned poorly and missed key jumps from usual suspects while Tom clung for dear life to the wheel of one Jeremy Grimm and eventually joined the lead group with Brian.
Meanwhile, back in the group, Tris and Ray tried repeatedly to escape, but could not manage to get anything going soon enough to have a realistic chance of catching the leaders. However, Tris did manage to get away with 2+ laps remaining along with Dave Steiner.
Here is a brief video of the pair as they work together to stay away from the chasing field:
2-May-09 Valley Race #3: Tris & Dave In No-Man’s Land from Tris on Vimeo.
Tris & Dave were joined by Thom Dominic, who made an impressive leap from the field. The 3 then later caught Bob Martin, who had originally been in the lead group. As shown in the video below, the 4-man group just barely held off the hard-charging field at the finish.
2-May-09 Valley Race #3: Tris, Dave, Thom & Bob Finish from Tris on Vimeo.
Up front, the Panther/RGF squad dominated the finish, but Brian and Tom still managed top-10 placings. Disappointing results, but – overall – a great day of racing. Many thanks to all the teams and volunteers that made the race series possible this year. Special thanks to Paul Martin for taking the lead and Brad Hansen for assistance after so many years of running the events.
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