It was halfway up the climb up 10,910-foot Molas Pass where Easter and Wachtendorf were able to make their move and get past Thompson. Overend estimated Griffin set a pace of nearly 20 mph climbing Coal Bank and Molas.<\/p>\n
Easter, Thompson and Wachtendorf descended past Molas Lake and into the town of Silverton together, setting up a dramatic sprint finish. Wachtendorf finished third, three seconds behind Easter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started with two other guys on the base of Coal Bank and could ride at my pace,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cThe fast guys behind us kept it steady, and we all got back together on Molas. I knew I wanted to get into some move early, and it worked out for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Descending into Silverton, Thompson knew he had done enough to secure a podium finish in the top three. He wanted to play it safe to not mess it up. Playing it safe led to a second-place finish when Easter edged him by a bike length at the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just hoping I wouldn\u2019t crash so I could go to work on Monday,\u201d said the 36-year-old Thompson, who hadn\u2019t raced in an IHBC since he was 16. \u201cThe race was just as painful as I remembered it, but fun.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we got into Silverton, I wasn\u2019t sure if the other two guys had a good sprint, so at the edge of town, I tried to jump both of them. I had a 20-yard gap and then the legs shut down. I regrouped, playing cat and mouse, looking at each other and seeing who was gonna make the first move. It was awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a gutsy breakaway ride for Thompson along with Albuquerque\u2019s Mark Aasmundstad, who is no stranger to making that move. He did the same in 2017 and had gained as many as four minutes on eventual champion Sepp Kuss before Kuss used his supreme climbing prowess to edge the now 45-year-old from Albuquerque near the top of Molas. That year, Aasmundstad finished second ahead of Howard Grotts. This year, he faded to ninth overall.<\/p>\n \u201c(Aasmundstad) and I kept it steady, taking 20-second pulls each on the climbs,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n Much like 2017, Overend had no idea Aasmundstad and company had made a break, with so many early starters from the Citizen Tour clogging. Eventually, word got out to the chase group that the break had formed.<\/p>\n \u201cI had no idea they were up there,\u201d Overend said. \u201cIt was confusing. I don\u2019t remember ever seeing the three guys go.\u201d<\/p>\n The racers broke from usual form and crossed the double-yellow center lane several times after the road blocks on U.S. Highway 550, but those moves started even earlier on the climb of Shalona Hill and even in the Animas Valley, with pro men\u2019s riders swerving into the lane used for traffic. Overend, who has raced in every IHBC since 1982, said that was far from typical. With all of the leaders doing it and Colorado State Patrol seemingly allowing the moves, everyone followed suit.<\/p>\n \u201cSafety in numbers,\u201d Overend said with a wry smile. \u201cYou figure they aren\u2019t going to DQ everybody. They didn\u2019t emphasize it much at the beginning. Guys started taking the whole road. When the leaders went through the turns, everybody follows them.<\/p>\n \u201cIf only one guy crosses the double-yellow, sometimes that gets checked. A lot of time, a cop is there saying don\u2019t cross the yellow. But they didn\u2019t do that this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Skilsky finished a strong fourth, while Overend was fifth and Wiens sixth. Jameson Ribbens placed seventh, and Sonntag eighth after he was dropped from the chase group on Coal Bank. Rotem Ishay, another FLC alum, rounded out the top 10.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I was gonna get worse than fifth,\u201d Overend said. \u201cI was struggling on Shalona. Like 15 guys went up Shalona fast, and that was painful. Then it went 5 mph after that. Had I known that, I wouldn\u2019t have been going so hard when it was fast up Shalona. Several times, I was gonna let go, but I felt good about fifth.\u201d<\/p>\n Easter had never raced an IHBC pro men\u2019s road race before Saturday despite attending FLC and racing for the Skyhawks. He had done several downtown criterium races but had never checked the road race off the list.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so honored to win this race and be part of this race,\u201d Easter said. \u201cWhen I came here in 2010 for school, I always wanted to do it and never had the chance. For the first time, what a way to start. I\u2019m honored to be part of Durango history.\u201d<\/p>\n