It's always tough to try and rally people to pull, espec when the break is pretty far away. It can be risky but, next time, just attack. Doesn't have to be full gas necessarily, but enough to get people excited and moving again.

So stoked you guys came up to race. 11th is a result to be proud of, I thought I was going to DNF from mile 55 to the finish lol

wow as someone who lives here its crazy seeing places i recognize in this video haha. thanks for shining a little light on our small town :)

You could certainly attack to encourage others to get moving again, but that really just depends on what other teams are there and if they have people in the break. If there isn't much cooperation with the group, then it'll just swing back and forth from being fast and then being slow, so you won't close the gap by that much. I think your best option would be to drive a steady pace trading hard pulls with your teammates -- except your protected rider -- to help bring the break back from 3-4 minutes to about 90sec-2min. Once the gap is closed a bit, your protected teammate can then attack to try and jump across to the break without bringing that many people with him.

Ha! Wild. I did this race for the first time in 20 years this year -- Masters 50+ 3,4,5. Cool to see you cover it. Baker City is legit.

Mens is living in his skinsuite

In your situation where there's an early break up the road, it really depends on the size and motivation of your team. With only a couple teammates, you could try to rally your team and others who aren't represented up the road. As others have noted, the field will likely not want to contribute to the chase. Instead, decide in advance if you're going to cover the moves and assign teammates (or yourself) who will cover moves. If your team has decided that you won't cover the early moves, you're along for the ride with the group and need to wait it out.

Please try racing on the velodrome, it makes for awesome content and is the perfect place to refine tactics and race smarts.

If all the big teams (say 5+ riders) have riders in a break if 7, you're pretty much screwed. They won't work and if you guys can get a few solo riders to help you bring it back, you'll get a grateful thumbs up as those same big teams counter attack you the moment you make contact. Try to win the sprint for 8th :) b) If the big teams are NOT represented in the break but they are NOT pulling through either they don't care about the result or they know something you don't. Maybe the composition of the break is bad. Maybe they have a plan to start reeling them in with 30K to go etc. No harm in chatting with them to see what the plan is. Naturally, they don't have to tell you but it can't hurt.

Great video! All of you did awesome You guys killing it!! And Han Solo Marking his territory! ohh and nice bike!! love the Scott!!!!! and its the only toilet paper brand i use!!!

Dude, so good. What a vibe!!

You can only do what you can do. My last Gran Fondo the whole Peloton was ripping. 30 guys and I was averaging 380 in the pack. Not sustainable for me so I just had to let it go and settle into the group I could roll with. We caught a number of those that tried to hang because they BLEW up.

Haha omg are you taping your arms to get a better contrast?? 😆 much love tho whatever you do EJ 😍

Gravel section sucked because many had no idea it was there. The riders who did, gunned it.

Grats on the wins

Bro, I feel the same way about hills. We have one race a year here in Fairbanks, Alaska and its all up and down all day long. Mostly up though.

The content we've all been waiting for

Right now, im saving up for a steel frame, 8 speed modern road bike (i have a 6 speed, steel frame vintage road bike right now, but i cant train well with it because its really used up) so i can train myself to hopefully join a club and mabye be a part of a race. Videos like these boost my excitement and motivation to put in money each time i can to buy the bike. If there's anything you guys wanna advise me about, please do comment below, because im still a bit lost on what im getting. Thanks!

What about the Catherine Creek climb? What happened there? We're you able to hold wheels there?

When you don’t really know the course, stay hydrated, take in calories, and save the effort for the climb. For sprinters in a hilly road stage, riding support for your climbers is a legit team strategy. A teammate got 6th and 11th for you was… top 20% ish? Which is totally respectable. I jumped into a race once, didn’t know the first thing about it other than there was a climb on the circuit. A break went early and no one seemed concerned, but I went to the front and kept it at a respectable distance. It seemed like around every corner the road turned up, and I kept thinking “oh *this* must be the climb. This isn’t so bad…” but it wasn’t, and then we came around another corner, the road turned up, and it turns out that was the bottom of the actual climb, and some guy came flying past me like a rocket, I was toast, and then the whole peloton went flying after him, and I spent the rest of the race off the back all by myself. I got to the top of the climb and there was a race photographer there and all I thought was “oh please don’t take pictures of me suffering.’ So 11th? It could have been worse. 😎

With a break up the road, no teammates up the road, 3 teammates in the chase group and no-one willing to chase things down I'd try getting the 3 of you running a paceline out front and either hope that you can drop the bunch, encourage the bunch to contribute or else catch the break without any 1 of the 3 of you being spent.

It is easier said than done but be patient and don't panic. So there's a break, let others bring them back. First empty other peoples plate so you have something left to unleash your sprint of 1600+ Watt!

When you don't know what to do, drop back and ask your teammates. Since you were riding for Mitch he could have given you some direction...or not. 😉

A special THANK YOU to Alyssa for her support!! ❤Cheri Neal

I messed up my hydration super bad in this stage and felt like I was dying after the gravel section.

Narly is the life of EJ! 🤣🤣🤣

This is my hometown I won this for the 4/5s in 2014 ❤

Good to know how to rest up the night before and pace yourself in the peloton

tough spot. Try to find another small team or unattached rider that looks comfortable and interested... (two committed riders might be bale to bridge the gap.) You both must make an immediate gap because the big team guys will want to cover your attack. Don't drag anyone else along.

Looking like a top prospect for the Mets

im curious, how was your nutrition throughout the race EJ? do you think you might have bonked a bit?

I’ve never raced but am a competitive guy I would off myself If I got dropped fr😂

What is up with the dude's arm @11:20, behind the guy on the Canyon 😂

what audio track is this?

You should of gone with the front group, since you are heavier.

This was my last race back in 2010. I was the last finisher.

what's your w/kg?

Mmmmmm, Jeff has Scott......AJ has Scott.........

You you kind of look like Sebastian Vettel

Some of u guys are so awkward 💀