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MBRT had two riders out at Copperopolis Road Race this past Saturday, Dean Knudsen and Jeff Malnick. Brutal road conditions, big climbs, and solid wind broke the fields down early on in the Category 5 race. A field of 100 riders left the start at 8:30AM and only the top ten finished in the front pack with 4 minutes on the nearest straggler. If the broken asphalt with conglomerates of rock embedded in a cement-like mold to create only the faint idea of a road-like infrastructure wasn't enough, the wind, tough climbs, and competitive fields would become the deciding factors for the day. Given the circumstances it was surprising not to see more people go down, unfortunately Dean got caught off guard by the man in front of him who thought fixing his rear brake during a dodgy decent towards the finish of the first lap would be a good idea. He hit the ground hard, injured his shoulder, and had a significant amount of road rash. But given all this he pulled himself together and chased the front group for 40 miles to complete the race and finish. Jeff Malnick got dropped on the last lap at the first climb, and after a swearing fit at the top of said climb when he saw the front pack hammering away from him he pulled himself together and chased them down for 25 minutes, eventually catching them before the last climb to the finish, placing a respectful 9th place.
Other riders who are friends of MBRT were also out to play in the heat and "American Cobbles" were Patty Selbicky who finished 9th in the women's race, and Scott Hennessy who finished 2nd in the masters 55+. Aside from a close call for Dean it was an overall fantastic day, and we’ll be looking forward too doing it again in 2009.
submitted by Jeff Malnick
Masters 45+ cat 1/2/3
Mens cat 5
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