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Race day, Saturday, July 22 started hot and got hotter for the Tour de Tysons.  By mid-day temperatures had reached the upper 90's and racers - mostly in the juniors and masters events - looked for ways to stay cool while racing.

But relief came in the form of a strong, mid-afternoon storm that brought high winds and heavy rains and by the 3:50 p.m. start of the premiere men's event, temperatures were much more reasonable.

All of the area teams, and most of the best riders, showed up for the start and the racing was aggressive throughout.  

In the end, DCVelo's own Ben Fogle out sprinted the talented field of riders for the win.  Another successful day in what is turning out to be a great season for Ben!

Here's what Ben had to say about the day:

From the whistle, the Battley squad set their sights on becoming a seven man wrecking crew...but DJ (Donald Brew), Marchio (Brian Marchionini), and myself were constantly on the tail end of any attack setting up for the inevitable sprint finish.

Jose Escobar sought to change the outcome going into the bell lap with a fresh set of legs and hit the front for the first time all day. Jumping immediately, I still wouldn't make the capture until the downhill. Looking back, it was apparent that we had a significant gap and thoughts of this move sticking began to emerge. So, I hit the front but not quite ready to go all in. This proved to be a sensible tactic as the field caught us shortly after rounding the corner to begin climbing.

I readied myself for the inevitable surge and was able float in the top 5 going into the final straightaway. I patiently waited for someone to make the first move and the rest, as they say, is history.

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