The Magnificent Tilson

by Jason Bentley

March 23, 2006 -- What an incredible weekend of racing! The race started off with a 16-mile TT. I felt very good, and had a great first half as I was able to pass 5 people who started ahead of me and held on to finish in fourth place after the stage. Tom was only about a minute and a half back, while Kirk and Jeremy relegated their efforts and turned in respectable times knowing that the most important stages were yet to come. Dr. D raced the Masters 45 category and also turned in a respectable time. Last but not least was Bill Goldapp’s fantastic Cat 4 7th place finish.

Saturday’s hill climb was a true leg-shredder. The race started off with a couple solo flyers going for broke before the climbing even started! Yep, Tom Kubicek was one of them. With about 5 miles to go, the dominant climbers took over and Tom was picked up pretty quickly, but settled into a solid pace just behind the lead group. I was right with Tom’s group after a mile or so when my chain popped off and my momentum disappeared very quickly. This cost me about a minute, which is about how far back I finished behind Tom, who finished only a couple minutes behind the lead group. Kirk and Jeremy worked together and finished a few seconds apart, and just a couple minutes behind me. Dr. D really fought his way up the climb finishing in the middle of a strong pack. Bill Goldapp looked strong on the climb and was holding a top 10 in the GC after the day’s two stages!

Sunday was a hard race. The repetitive, steep climbs allowed a lead group of 6 or 7 guys to get away towards the end of the day. As soon as we started the final descent, I messed up big time. My front wheel touched the rear wheel of another rider, and in my exhaustion, I went down hard! I got back on the saddle and pressed toward the finish, losing about 2 minutes at that point. Tom demonstrated great bike handling, and was able to steer around me. He went on to a top-10 finish for the stage and he finished a very respectable 11th in the GC! I finished 13th in the stage and 13th in the GC. Kirk and Jeremy also worked together really well throughout the day, with Jeremy finding an extra gear at the end of the brutal day finishing 21st. Dr. D continued to exhibit the strength he’d shown all weekend, finishing near the middle of the Masters 45. The mountains took their toll on Bill Goldapp, but he still finished well in the stage and finishing in 12th on the GC.