It all came down to this. After three tough stages, Clash of Clans Stage 4 headed to France to settle things once and for all with a 50km drag race on Petite Boucle. With one small, short KOM on the Aqueduct and four more sprints sprinkled throughout the stage, there was plenty of points and plenty of opportunities to shake things up.
Previously, On Clash of Clans…
In an upset, WATTZ took top points to topple Mitten after the new DIRT club on the block started the series 2-for-2. EAT also skipped over Mitten on the stage, leaving the team points picture as tight as you’d expect, and hope, for it to be heading into the finale.
- DIRTy Mitten: 28
- DIRTy Wattz: 27
- Eat DIRT: 26
- DIRTy Rascals: 20
- DNDDTC: 18
- DIRTy Steamers: 16
Even more importantly, we kicked off the Slava Ukraine mug fundraiser. So far, we’ve sold 8 mugs, raising $160, matched by TC Eye for a total of $320. That doesn’t count the many folks who elected not to get yet another mug in their cupboard and donated directly to Save the Children. They are doing incredible work to support the millions of displaced families and children in Eastern Europe right now.
The Imperial Race
The A Race
It was the world’s worst kept secret that Eat would need a huge day from hits A and A+ riders and they sure delivered. Bill IV was in the top three of half the sprints and KOMs, with Michael Brosterman and Doug Obermann both pocketing plenty of points for Eat as well. For Mitten, it was nearly all Yanku, who was in the top three in 3 times, while Ted Schneider also contributed a third. For Wattz, Olivier Gagnon delivered with one win, a second and a third.
On the line, it was Brosterman for the win, with Yankus second after the pair went clear. Overmann and IV went 3-4, with Gagnon coming up big for Wattz. Mitten squeezed two more riders across the line with Schneider and Jon Roobal.
The B+ Race
Jeb Stone capped off a stellar season with the B+ win, battling week in and week out with Rascals’ Yousif Alhajery. The two put on what was consistently the closest and most exciting race-within-a race. Joey Bianchini came home third, while Marshall Wikowski, along with Alhajery, likely saved the weekend for Rascals with their strong rides.
The C+ Race
Yet again, the Mitten squad offered up what was a veritable phalanx to escort Jesse Brennan to the win. He owes Kent McNeil and Jim Jackovatz a beer after that one! Jesse swept up full points yet again this week, a big haul for the team. David Veeneman gave Wattz a second place finish, with Mitten racking up points in 4th and 5th.
Imperial Race Results from Zwiftpower
The Session Race
The B Race
Wes Sovis called his shot. With a pre-race vow to attack and attack early, he backed the chatter by going clear 10km into the race, racking up all of the FAL points, and coming home with a healthy 50 second margin. To ice the proverbial cake, Joel Techman delivered a crucially important 1-2 for Mitten, with Baris Key of Wattz (my favorite name of the series), coming in ahead of a Rascals trio that included Mike McIntosh, Sacha Guenette, and Theo Geogelos. Mitten was able to sneak three more riders into the top ten, one of the most dominate performances of the series.
The C Race
Meanwhile, Travis McD confirmed his strong performances all month with a C win, nearly a minute clear of Mitten’s Fast Jimmy Kindle and Clash debutant Jeff Wentzloff. A special nod to the Wattz quad of Loco Lococo, Jim Davenport, Eric Felz, and Richard Barnhill. They STACKED the top ten for the squad, with another teammate, Robert Deal, also sliding in 10th. That is a huge shift in the total points tally.
The D Race
All the Ds (still 3 of them) raced together and:
- All of them were DIRT
- All of them finished
- All of them pocketed an illicit number of points.
Kudos to Ed Saxton, Ayo Lawson, and Pat Crooke for toeing the line and possibly winning the team series for Eat!
Session Race Results on Zwiftpower
Final Team Standings…Available Soon.
After a lengthy and detailed points tally, we have a winner! DIRTy Mitten, the new kids on the block, take the win! The Clan mobilized in a big way, turning out dozens of riders each week and coordinating closely.
What’s Next?
Spring, in theory. That’s a wrap on “official” events for the season but keep your eyes on Discord in case of pop-up races when the weather is terrible.
Make sure you join the DIRTy Mitten Race League on Strava to keep up with everyone riding outside this summer, and maybe check out the kolo t.c. Club, too.
We’ve also got a RAD newsletter. Check it out.
Most importantly, thank you Brad Hochstetler for investing an incredible amount of time to make the DMRL and the non-stop fun such a huge part of winter. There are a few of us that wouldn’t make it through the long, dark months between November and March without it. Thank you!