10 years after former team rider Robbie Dapice won this prestigious race, Phil Gaimon took the 2008 edition of the Mt Washington Hillclimb. You can read the complete article on cyclingnews.com

Gaimon Wins Mt Washington Hillclimb, August 16th

Last weekend, I had the good fortune of contesting the Mt. Washington Auto Road Hillclimb in New Hampshire. The legendary race climbs 6000 feet from sunny New Hampshire to “the worst weather in the world” at the peak, where the highest wind speeds ever have been clocked at 260 mph. A direct tailwind at that speed might have been fun, but I suppose we were pretty fortunate to enjoy mostly mild conditions (it hailed).

Reaping the benefits of experience, I showed up with some proper granny gears. Still, it’s a hillclimb, so there’s not much to report: I went hard from the gun, and held it the whole way up. One rider stayed a few feet behind me for 10 minutes or so, but he eventually cracked, and I finished almost two minutes ahead of 2nd place. More importantly, I improved 1:20 on my time from July, only 5 minutes short of Tom Danielson’s all-time record (which is now on my long-term to-do list).

With most of the big climbers out in Utah, the result isn’t that amazing, but it was still a great race to win, especially looking over the names of previous winners, like Tom Danielson and Tyler Hamilton. It was also a good opportunity to score some mainstream exposure for the team, as I was interviewed by tons of reporters, from Velonews to the local papers.

The squad put in some great races at nationals, with some fantastic photos on cyclingnews.com

Phil Gaimon 4th at U23 Road Race National Championships, August 10th

With my flat tire slowing me down to a disappointing 13th in the TT, the road race was my last chance to get a result at nationals, and pressure was on for the team to back up Eric's result in the crit. The course was 120 miles long, and basically went back and forth along a highway, with two medium-length, gradual climbs on each lap. We started the race at 10 AM, so heat and distance were the biggest factors.

We rode a smart race, tactically. Our two sprinters, Jamey and Eric, decided to hold back with Josh in case everything stayed together for a sprint. Toby and Alister volunteered to race early, and my job was to wait until the end, or watch the big players and make sure I didn't miss the move. Sure enough, a break went literally from the gun, and aggressive riding brought it up to 20 or so riders, some of them fairly dangerous. In perfect execution, Toby and Alister were there, leaving the responsibility for the chase to Waste Management and Rock Racing, as the only major teams to miss it.

That move came back about 30 miles in, and I found myself covering a well-represented counter of 25 riders, including almost all the major players. Amazingly for a group of that size, the "break" stayed organized, so we quickly built a lead on the peleton. It was clear that this was the race, and once the gap grew to just over three minutes, the field was pulled in a controversial decision, leaving only 30 riders or so on the course and taking the rest of the team out of contention.

With the move established, Slipstream didn't waste any time taking advantage of their numbers (they had 6 or 7 in the break), and Tom Peterson attacked with Nick Frey up one of the longer climbs. The group hesitated, so I jumped across with Peter Stetina on my wheel. The four of us worked well, and quickly gained a minute advantage after less than a lap. I liked the move because my odds were decent against just three riders, and it put Waste Management under pressure again in the case group. The move looked promising until Stetina flatted, forcing us to wait since Peterson wouldn't go without him, and allowing the chase to claw its way back.

This was when Slipstream really took control. Kirk Carlsen attacked alone, and no one felt like getting organized to chase and letting the rest of the Slipstream riders sit on, so there were constant attacks and counters, as the non-Slipstream riders chased each other down. Soon, Walker Savidge went, putting a second solo Slipstream rider up the road. At this point, I went to each rider in the group that wasn't wearing Argyle, and convinced them that we all need to work together against Slipstream. They got the point, and soon there were 8 of us constantly attacking. Slipstream didn't want to to chase at first, since they had two guys up the road, but when Ben King slipped away with Scott Jackson, I sat at the front of the group with Nick Frey, and we happily announced that we had "two teammates up the road." Walker was soon caught and dropped, and my two teammates were sure to catch one rider in 50 miles, so Slipstream had to start working. I'd like to give props to all my teammates in the break yesterday (Ben, Scott, Nick, Carter, Taylor, Kiel, Alex, Tyler, and Ryan). It's hard to let other guys go up the road, but we had to race against Slipstream, and it takes classy guys and good bike racers to make it work when you're that outmanned. Any of them could have been in the move that stuck.

It took them a few minutes, but Slipstream brought Ben and Scott back while Kirk was still up the road, and I soon countered, with Stetina on my wheel. With a teammate up the road, he naturally sat on. It sucked for me, but there are no hard feelings. I know how it works. After 20 minutes of dragging him around, I was gaining time on Carlsen, but not fast enough, so it was clear that Carlsen wasn't cracking. I figured that if Stetina and I did ever catch him, Kirk would be strong enough to stay with us, and I'd get third, so I told Peter I'd let them take the top 2 spots if he'd help me out. That was a good decision. I took long pulls, but Stetina rode like he had a motor, and we started putting serious time on the chase group.

Going through the start/finish with 1 lap to go, we were 2 minutes behind Carlsen, and 1 minute ahead of the chase. This was when my legs started to give out. I'd been in the wind and heat too long. I took two bottles on every lap, but I'd finished both about 1/3 of the way through the last lap, as well as my Clif shots. Going up the first climb, Stetina pulled away from me, and I couldn't convince him to wait. He put some time on me by the first turnaround at the top of the hill, where I also saw Tom Peterson gaining on me from behind, with the chase no too far back. Bad news all around. After frying in the wind for a few minutes, Stetina came up behind me (I thought I was seeing things), apparently led off and back on the course, with Peterson close behind. They decided to get rid of me. Sensing the inevitability or staying with those guys for another 15 miles, I let them go.

No water, no food, 105 miles already completed, and stuck in no man's land, with three Slipstreams guys ahead of me, and 8 chasers behind, all gaining time. With no other options, I put my head down and settled in for a long, slow time trial. Tom and Peter caught their teammate, and the three of them cross the line together in an impressive display. The biggest team with the strongest riders rode a perfect race, and made the rest of us look silly. I ground my way up the finishing hill 2:30 minutes later, with enough gap on the chasers that I didn't have to kill myself on the climb. As the brave and defeated underdog, I got tons of cheering from the crowd, which definitely sped up that last kilometer. I'd also like to thank John Gable, from whom I have never missed a feed, and the team in general for being awesome.

Schildge 9th at U23 National Criterium Championships, August 7th

Fiordifrutta fielded a strong team of six riders for the U23 Crit at the Anaheim Angels stadium. Alister, Phil, Toby, Josh, Jamey, and I all lined up for what was sure to be an exciting race. The course was a non-technical loop through the stadium parking lot. It was fast and open. Our strategy before the race was to mark dangerous attacks and try and support me in the field sprint. There were several promising moves, and nearly all of them contained at least one Fiordifrutta rider.

With twelve to go, there was a lone rider off the front, and the field was not chasing. Phil, Toby, and Alister came to the front and took control of the field. In a few laps, they were joined by Josh and Jamey. The guys fought hard, and did well to control the field for as long as they did.
However, with four laps to go, we were overtaken by VMG/Felt and their sister team Garmin-Chipotle. For the next four laps, I tried to stay as near to the front at I could, but it was fierce battle with Time, Rock Racing, Kelly Benefits, and Successful Living all trying to position their sprinters near the front. Josh and Jamey tried to help me hold position, but in the end it was on me. Coming into the sprint, I was about 13 riders back. I was able to pass four riders as they fell back, and sneak inside the top ten with a ninth place finish.

However, the real story of the race was the five guys who used everything they had to help position me near the front. Taking control of the field and driving the pace for eight laps did not go unnoticed, and heading into the road race, everyone would know that Fiordifrutta had one of the strongest teams in the race.