Take Two

Take Two

(Madison: WBL # 11)

1. The Final Attack Zone (Wire Bridge)

2. February 2013: Thomas Brown a.k.a. Mr. Consistent snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and literally stole one from Great Britain's Lord Daniel Parrish and Athens' own A.J. Dancing Shoes Meyer as he and the lance head of the line swept past the two daring (but dying) escape artists less than 100 meters from the finish line in this past Saturday's 55nine-Lexus South Madison Classic. Thomas's dramatic win was due in large part to the heroic efforts of celebrity photog and international hipster Jered Gutcheck Gruber, who was heard to utter, "Not in my house" in the closing kilometer, after which he went to the front and turned himself inside-out with a gut-wrenching, brain-exploding, lung burning, snot-blowing pull into a stiff crosswind.

Meyer and Parrish had attacked in the final 2 miles of the brand new Wire Bridge Attack Zone when the road tilted towards the sun. They were quickly joined by Indiana's trashy super model Jonathon Catwalk Atwell and the three poured gasoline on the fire as the blacktop continued slanting slightly skyward—it would do so the entire way to the finish line. The three protagonists opened up a seemingly uncrossable 10-second chasm. Though the chasers behind were flying forward with the throttle wide open, the catch appeared hopeless—the winner would surely come from the group of three that were off the front. But Fortuna's wheel hadn't stopped spinning.

The Wire Bridge Attack Zone, a 6-mile stretch of swerving, swaying and rolling roadway that was being used for the first time in the WBL, proved to be a worthy foe for the Zealots. The first 4 miles of the Wire Bridge Attack Zone dip and bend and rise up and fall back down every 100 meters or so. There are no flat stretches, there are no straight sections, and there are plenty of places to throw down the gauntlet. As soon as the Attack Zone opened Canada's National Criterium Champion and all around pedal-nabob Ben Chaddock went to the front and drove down the first hill at an alarming rate of speed. The pack was instantly spread out in a single file line as the long cue of riders ripped down the fast-flowing descent at 40 miles an hour. Chaddock proved once again that Canadian's are curs as he refused to yield and hogged all the time at the front. He and his Canadian confederate Brother Bruno Langlois had ridden in the same ruthless manner the majority of the ride.

During the first four miles of the Wire Bridge Attack Zone the attacks flew off the front in bunches as Catwalk, Brother Bruno, Chaddock, Meyer and more hammered away into the wild blue yonder. But the pack behind, which was essing through the turns like a sidewinder slithering across the desert, was hale-bent on running the attacks down. But the wicked accelerations were taking their toll on those behind. If suffering is truly the key to consciousness, as many mystics profess, the Zealots were achieving transcendence one pedal stroke at the time.

Though many tried, no single person or small pack could break the ties that bind in the first four miles—the group was too strong. When the front group took the final right hand turn on Flat Rock Road, there were a little over 2 miles to go to the finish line. But this final 2 miles slopes upwards at a wretched angle. The steepest section is the first 300 meters, but after that, though the grade is less severe, it is constant and unrelenting all the way to paydirt. There is no place to recover, no place to catch one's breath. It was at this juncture that A.J. and Parrish first punched clear.

The group behind the two was speeding and in boiling hot pursuit but could not make much of a dent in the two's lead. And when the chasers hesitated for a split second, Atwell rolled through an open seam at the front and accelerated away. He stomped hard on his pedals and made contact with the two off the front after a gutsy 30 second bridge. Only a person with a big engines and finely tuned catalytic converter could even pull off such a feat. Even though Catwalk's a trashy super model who likes to shake his little money maker, I couldn't help but whisper Damn!

Atwell made contact and the three fell into a finely tuned formation. Each was giving it all he had, rocking back and forth on the bars, gritting his pearly whites, and dreaming of gold. The three maintained their ten second gap, but the chase behind was cooking. This was a full-fledged, take-no-prisoners, big-ring hammerfest. Catwalk, fresh from a snow-covered northern clime, sat up, his day of punishment and atonement for his sin filled days on the catwalk were done.

As the chase behind rocketed forward the front group continued to rapidly shrink as those hanging on the back were lopped off in one's and two's. As the front group hit the flame rouge banner with 1 kilometer to go, all the favorites (Travieso, Lydick, Brown, Emile Abraham, and Brendan Cornett) were still in contention though the front group had been pared down to a mere ten. Passing under the 1 k banner Gutcheck uttered his prophetic remark and slid into the forward position. Gutcheck proceeded to bare his soul and leave blood on the pave as he sacrificed himself for hometown hero Thomas Brown. Gutcheck ran the two defiant pedal-fools down with under 100 meters to go. They flew past the two like they were two telephone poles standing still.

At the line Brown pipped Big Frank by a nose hair and Cornett flew across in 3rd. And in a move that saved the day, young 15 year old phenom Fletcher paperweight Lydick inched by Abraham at the line and took 4th overall / 1st No-Pro. Though Brown won his second event of the year and rang up his 9th lifetime WBL win, young Paperweight held firm. We tried to talk to him after the event to hear his take on how the day unfolded, but his bodyguards threatened to break our legs if we didn't leave him alone. We sent an email instead. Though he hasn't responded, I'm sure he will. He's in great demand these days.

On the Ladies' side of the ledger Lady Z Mary Zider continued her run of dominant sprints, again infiltrating the front group and hanging firm all the way to the line, as she fought off a hard-charging Morgan Patton and edged her out at the line. In surviving this back-breaking Attack Zone both ladies showed they will be formidable opponents in any finish they contest on the circuit this year.

Final (Wire Bridge Attack Zone)

Tomas Brown: 10 pts.
Frank Travieso: 8 pts.
Brendan Cornett: 6 pts.
Fletcher Lydick: 4 pts.
Emile Abraham: 2 pts.
Pull Point: Ben Chaddock, Bruno Langlois (Canadian Conspiracy): 1 pt
Attack Point: A.J. Meyer, Jon Atwell, Daniel Patton: 1 pt
Leadout point: Gutcheck Gruber
All: 4 pts.

Ladies:

Mary Zider: 5 pts.
Morgan Patton: 3 pts.
True Grit Point: Namrita Odea, Shannon Parrish, Morgan Patton, Diana Ramos: 1 pt

Non Pro:

Fletcher Lydick: 5 pts.
Emile Abraham: 3 pts.
Pat Raines: 1 pt

1. The Fight For the Overall

With only 1 event to go, the fight for the WBL 2013 Overall Win has never been tighter. Fletcher Paperweight Lydick took the lead in December and hasn't looked back since. Of course, if he did, he'd see Thomas Brown and Big Frank Traviso breathing down his neck. Though both Brown and Big Frank have had stellar season (Brown capturing 2 events and Big Frank winning Alto for the second year in a row), Paperweight`has answered the bell, constantly racking up points in both the sprints and the finales. And in this past Saturday's rapid finish, perhaps the fastest of the year, Lydick showed that he can not only hang, but the young tyro can kick too. The fight for the win in 2013 is wide open and the final event will decide it all.

Though they are a little too far back to make the top 3, Brendan Cornett, Mary Zider, Morgan Patton and Damien Dunn have had superb winter seasons and have slotted into the Top 10, a place they will all probably hold. Rosskopf, O Clarke and Erin Winter round out the Top 10, but with Clarke and Rosskopf gone for the finale, only Winter can climb up in the polls. Fourth place in this year's Overall is still up for grabs.

2013 Overall Standings (with 1 to go)

Fletcher Lydick: 89 pts
Thomas Brown: 86 pts
Frank Travesio: 82 pts
Brendan Cornett: 63 pts
Mary Zider: 62 pts
Morgan Patton: 59 pts
Damien Dunn: 57 pts
Oscar Clarke: 57 pts
Erin Winter: 55 pts
Joey Rosskopf: 52 pts

2. The Early Part of the Day

The early part of the day started under crystal-clear, aqua blue skies. The weather forecast called for plenty of sunshine, temps in the low 60's, and smiles all around. The group headed south through Watkinsville and unfortunately during the Ladies sprint there was a bump and a spill. Shannon Parrish and Namrita Odea hit the deck. Both ladies banged hard and their ride was over for the day. Though both ladies were treated for their battle wounds, word is that both are at home, both are on the mend, and neither is crazier than she already was. Admittedly, one must possess a little bit of craziness to toe-up for these rides.

After both ladies were cared for and attended to, all sprints except for the Final Attack Zone were cancelled. As a result, the group blistered the roadway as they tore over the next 25 miles to the store stop at the magnificent James Madison Hotel in Madison Georgia. The group averaged around 25 miles per hour as they blasted down this segment of the ride behind the main impetus of the two Canadian provocateurs, Brother Bruno and Chaddock.

The group was treated like Saudi oil barons at the hotel and after sunning themselves and stuffing their gullets with fine fare and liquid refreshments, they cast off again and headed into more remote regions of the Emporium. And they didn't slow down. It was as if the turbo blasters were left idling during the store stop and as soon as the group was clear of the confines of Madison proper, the governor was taken off and they were back at it again. The group motor-glided past the Greshamville Mall, crossed over tributaries of Lake Oconee, and barreled up the Colham Ferry Road. They cut a jig over to Antioch Road, and dog-legged over to Wire Bridge Road. Once onto Wire Bridge Road, the fireworks began. At the end of the day the Zealots came home with about 90 miles in 4.5 hours at an average speed of over 21 miles-per-hour. Give yourselves a slap on the back. In fact, go ahead and take two.

2013 Overall Standings (1 to go)

Fletcher Lydick: 89 pts
Thomas Brown: 86 pts.
Frank Travesio: 82 pts
Brendan Cornett: 63 pts
Mary Zider: 62 pts
Morgan Patton: 59 pts
Damien Dunn: 57 pts
Oscar Clarke: 57 pts
Erin Winter: 55 pts
Joey Rosskopf: 52 pts
Zoe Frazier: 48 pts
Namrita Odea: 46 pts.
Benjamin Bryant: 44 pts
David Jordan: 43 pts
Catherine Peacock: 42 pts
Frank Crumley: 41 pts
Tim Lees: 40 pts
Shannon Parrish: 39 pts
Craig Tinsley: 39 pts.
Thom Leonard: 39 pts
Russ Foster: 39 pts
David Haney: 39 pts
Crowe: 39 pts
Reid Peacock: 38 pts
Scott Morris: 38 pts.
Jason Crosby: 38 pts.
Eddie Odea: 37 pts
Austin Ulich: 37 pts
John Butler: 36 pts
Parker Haney: 36 pts
Emile Abraham: 35 pts
Clarke Hurst: 35 pts
Hunter Garrison: 33 pts
Matt Miller: 33 pts
Sam Rafal: 32 pts
Shannon Wrege: 31 pts
Tony Scott: 31 pts.
Cal Hootin: 30 pts
Justin Smith: 34 pts
Robert Consaster: 30 pts
Brooks Lide: 29 pts
Michael York: 29 pts
Clay Parks: 29 pts
Blake Bradford: 28 pts
Tony Robinson: 27 pts
Phil Gaimon: 27 pts.
Maria Carrelli: 27 pts
Jason Bewley: 26 pts
Michael Waine: 26 pts
Brett Magner: 25 pts
Austin Hilliard: 25 pts
Tomas Petit: 25 pts
Nick Arroyo: 25 pts
Dalford England: 24 pts
Dustin Mealor: 23 pts
Jonathon Cucaz: 23 pts
Phillip Han: 27 pts
Paul Harkins: 23 pts
Huntley Nash: 22 pts
David Goodman: 22 pts
Kirk Mad Smith: 22 pts
Livli Radli: 22 pts
Big Cappy: 21 pts
Eric Murphy: 20 pts
Darrel Farlowe: 20 pts
Mike Edmonds: 20 pts
Nick Gastley: 20 pts
A.J. Smith: 19 pts
Ashley Gruber: 19 pts
Jered Gruber: 19 pts
Chris Blackmon: 19 pts
Yo Simpson: 19 pts.
Rob Butler: 18 pts
Ty Magner: 18 pts
Shannon Wrege: 18 pts
Nick Housley: 17 pts
Jon Atkins: 17 pts
Eddie Hsu: 17 pts
Elliot Caldwell: 17 pts
Alexander Dijkema: 17 pts
Tina Mayola-Pic: 17
Keenan Howard: 16 pts.
Chris Constantine: 16 pts
Chris Slone: 16 pts
Sam Morgan: 16 pts.
Greg Brown: 16 pts
Joe Dunlop: 16 pts
AJ Meyer: 15 pts
Michael Trivette: 15 pts
Christian Dicenso: 15 pts
Luke Broadwell: 15 pts
Don Newman: 14 pts
Nick Oestrich: 14 pts
Chris Deluise: 13
Casey Magner: 12 pts
Winston David: 12 pts
Jeff Shirey: 12 pts
Natty Dunn: 12
Iona Parks: 12 pts
Brian Molloy: 12 pts
Fat Cappy: 11 pts
Michael York: 11 pts
Nick Frazier: 11 pt
Pablo Di Marco: 11 pts
Nick Fragnito: 11 pts
Phillip O'Donnell: 11 pts
Ceci Crowe: 11 pts
Bruno Langlois: 10 pts
Big Cappy: 10 pts.
Eric Kirk: 10 pts
Jordan Heimer: 10 pts