Jones Adds to Tally
at Saucon Valley
July 14, 2013 - DeSales University
Dean Smith Reports:
"We planned it perfectly. It was a strong field on a hot day, and we fielded Doug, Rick, Rob, Dean. The idea was for Doug or I to cover (or establish) any early moves, and if it was still together after two laps for Rob to hit the hill hard and get a break going."
"Rob did just that on lap 2, and was solo over the hill and for the next .5 mile, when Spittal jumped and caught him, with a Swashbuckler guy in tow. They stayed away for two laps, and when we caught them I jumped and got away solo. I was away for two laps by myself, and then three guys bridged, and we got caught after another lap. Which set the stage for Doug to do his Doug thing -- the field caught me, and Doug knew it was time to go. Spittal was tired; the field was tired from the chase. He probably wasn’t happy about the timing (still about 8 miles left) but he launched with freight-train ambition, and Mike Zban (Thru It All) and Nao Yamashita (Cycledrome) went with him."
"The rest is history. Rob and I controlled the field, and Rick sat in ready to launch a rocket sprint in case Doug was caught. But it didn’t materialize. Spittal tried again at the bottom of the last climb, and if he had kept his attack going he may have caught the leaders, but it was pulled back. Doug went very early on the sprint to demoralize his opponents, and he did just that -- he hit the gas hard and neither the crafty Zban or the powerful Nao could get around the speeding twelve-cylinder Doug."