Brisbane Circ Race Report

Rand's report detailing a tough, windy race in the Brisbane hills is below. A lot of top pros showed up and Rand did very well to make the break and to get a top 10.

Full Results

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Brisbane Circuit Race
Brisbane, CA
3/30/08
Field: ~75
Teammates: Rob MacNeill, James Badia, Jono Coulter, Matt Beebe, Neil Harrington, Graham Simpson, Tore Nauta

This course is one of my favorites...its a shortish circuit, probably 2 miles long, with about 200 to 300 feet of climbing per lap and a ripping fast downhill. Traditionally, there is a stiff headwind up the climb, which held true this year.

The race promised to be hard, as BMC brought about 8 guys, and Fred Rodriguez (Rock Racing) and Roman Kilun (Healthnet) also showed up. It was one of the largest fields I have seen at Brisbane.

About 3 laps into the race, the pace picked up a lot and I found myself in a break of about 15 guys. 2 BMC riders attacked and got a big gap over the break. Our break was caught about halfway through, but then two laps later the pace got hectic again. I felt really good the whole time, and went with several attacks that resulted in another break forming, this one containing about 10 riders including the remainder of the BMC team, Roman, Fred Rodriguez, and a few other
riders. I want to thank all of my teammates for spending the day keeping my breakaways safe from the clutches of the pack...great job.

I played the finale a bit poorly, as I failed to make it into a chase group of three that got off the front of the break, and I ended up finishing 10th overall. Not a great result, but not too bad either considering the strong field. Rob MacNeill sprinted hard for 3rd in the bunch sprint, and most of our guys finished strong (Rob 16th, Jono 21st, Tore 28th, James 34th, Neil 52nd). Overall, it was a great team effort, and I think we all communicated well and executed well. Thanks again to my fellow P/1/2 teammates.