ICEMAN 08 Mike Anderson edition 3rd place overall

The Anderson report:

Finish video:



After a lot of anticipation the 2008 iceman is in the books. This race has always been one of my favorites, and I look forward to it every year. I decided to drive over Saturday morning, being our start was at 2:30 in the afternoon. After a solid warmup and a few sprints with the Simonster, i was ready to go. The start was a little chaotic, with the underpowered roadies diving for the front line. I was about 3rd row right next to Sam Shultz. After a couple inside lines on the first couple turns I'm sitting top 5 and feeling comfortable. B-matter said you know your feeling good when the start of Iceman feels slow, I was ready for battle. I continued to follow wheels for the first 5 miles, the lead group was way bigger than last year and had me questioning if we were going fast. After Smith Lake road I took a little dig to test the waters, Bishop reels it back in. Back to following wheels, the group started to shrink one rider at a time. A few miles before Willamsburg Rd. Andy Shultz puts in a little move. The gap got pretty big, about 30 seconds. Simonster didn't like it and called B-matter and me out to chase. No Response. Right before a little technical downhill, I put in a acceleration and string out the group through Willamsburg Rd. Andy came back pretty fast and I was waiting for the counter attack. Nothing. Bishop pulls through and kept it pretty fast, I take a look behind me and see Sam Shultz and the Simonster gaped off, but they clawed back on. Weaknesses are starting to show. We hit the hills, and the legs still fell good. On the climb before Anitas hill, Bishop, Matter, and Marko roll away from the group. I wait for Andy and Colin Cares to jump across, but they do nothing. I jump across and tell Bishop we need to jam on it, we needed to accelerate hard to split the train, but we didn't go hard enough. When I pull through I some how ended up getting a good gap, and come to my first regret of the 2008 Iceman. I had the gap and didn't put in the effort to make it stick, I needed to fly up Anitas Hill, but I stayed within myself and B-matter closed the gap. Back to following wheels. Some how the group is still together, as we come into the last woodchip hill Bishop and B-matter jam on it. Andy Shultz and Colin Cares seperate me from the front of the race, I try to make a pass before the single track, but Colin shuts the door. My second regret of the 2008 Iceman, poor positioning on the last hill. Colin and Andy let the race roll away. When we spill out onto a open section, I make the pass and put down whats left. Round the last turn to see Bishop take the win and B-matter close behind. 3rd place.
Oh so close, this was one of the better races this year and I was happy with how I road, the power was there, the experience was not. Congrats to Brian, he always rides the smartest race, follow his wheel and your guaranteed to be in for a good finish. This was great way to start off with BELLS, I look forward to next season. Thanks everyone at BELLS for accepting me to the BELLs squad.
thanks
Mike

Mike hitting Williamsburg rd.