submitted by Mtbr member “feltbee”

“Once you are midway up Columbine, it’s every man for himself.” This is a quote by Lance Armstrong a day or two before the race. While he surely believed this would be the case, I’m sure he never knew just how true it would be. In a race with a field of 1,628 strong he would ride alone for 60 miles; tested physically, mentally, mechanically, and finishing the last mile on a flat tire.”

“The morning started off with a few rain showers, cool temperatures, and a buzz in the air. The words on everyone’s lips and everyone’s minds were the same – In this David vs. Goliath touted rematch, who would be the victor? I set up camp at the Twin Lakes Aid Station and waited. When the riders crossed Lance was in the lead pack consisting of Max Taam, Manuel Prado, and Len Zanni. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the great Tinker Juarez, but later found out he had to abandon the race because of a broken seat clamp. It was a couple minutes later that David Wiens would cross.”

“On the Columbine climb the gauntlet was thrown. While others began to falter, Lance showed why he is one of the most talented and arguably one of the greatest riders of all time. He began to climb and began to pull away. It’s every man for himself. He had 11 minutes on the other racers at the turnaround. Wiens came back strong on the climb and passed the other racers to become 2nd. It was truly amazing to see how fast each of them came down the trail back through to the aid station at Twin Lakes. I think just about everyone was amazed at how fast Lance came down the hill and blew through the aid station.”

“I gathered my belongings together and made a dash for town for some primo space along the finish. The countdown was on. 5:30. 5:45. 5:50. Was Lance going to make his goal of breaking 6 hours? 6:00 came and then 6:15. Where is he? Could he possibly have had an accident or mechanical? What if he’s burned out and Dave’s caught up to him? The questions began silently swirling in my head. Oh I hope that Dave has caught him and then they’ll battle each other all the way to the line. Only with Dave finishing slightly ahead of Lance! Then came the sound of the helicopter and instructions over the hand held crew radios that Lance would be coming in soon.”

“At 6:28:50 Lance finished the race. Almost exactly 30 minutes later Dave finished in 2nd place. Every man for himself indeed. Dave had the following to say about Lance’s victory, “He’s Lance Armstrong. And he’s just off of the Tour. Last year he was just off of the couch. That made it a pretty fair fight for he and I. This year I rode fantastic today. I’m happy.” So what’s in store for next year? Lance has said he’ll come back to defend the title. Wiens has talked about riding but not at a competitive level to win because it takes too much away from family time. Tinker said he’ll be back. How about some other top racers? JHK (Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski), Jeremiah Bishop, Adam Craig, or Chris Eatough?”

Thanks to Mtbr member “feltbee” ( http://forums.mtbr.com/member.php?u=395183 )for the race report!