Iceman Report - Derek Graham

Derek Graham (Bissell) - 8th Place

My start went pretty smooth and I was able to stay at the front on the road and through the school grounds, avoiding the crashes. The front group was pretty big for the first few miles, about 15 - 20 riders. After the first single track section it was whittled down to a dozen or so and eventually seven. The pace was fast and around 19 to go Brian Matter took a really hard pull on the front then JHK pulled through and upped the pace even more, which took us into the hill entering the "Steve's Secret" section. I lost contact on the climb then lost a little more time on the next hill. I was about 20 seconds behind and could see the group on the hills and long straight sections. I started to recover and was pulling back the leaders. I eventually caught them just after the Williamsburg Road crossing, but as soon as I tagged onto the back JHK saw me and put in a hard attack. I was already going all out to catch the leaders and couldn't match their acceleration. I rode alone until about 5 miles to go when Jake Rytlewski and Graham Howard caught me. (Graham said Jake was flying on the dirt roads!) We stayed together for a few miles until Graham was dropped on one of the steep climbs. The leaders were out of reach so Jake and I just kept a steady pace, taking turns on the front in the double track. Going into the final kilometer I passed Jake just before the fenced off section in the campground and opened up good a gap. Then I went into the second to last turn too fast, my front tire washed out and I went down. Jake passed me as I was getting up and I rolled across the line in eighth place.


The course this year was as fast as I've ever seen it. The weather was unbelievable and the crowds were huge. I was amazed how many spectators were at the Wiliamsburg Road crossing. It was incredibly loud! It was a great race.