HARELBEKE, Belgium (Velo) — For a few moments, Ashlin Barry thought he won the prestigious E3 Saxo Classic junior race on Friday afternoon.
The 17-year-old won the field sprint of a small peloton after 139km of selective racing under grey clouds. Moments later, Barry noticed that someone else was celebrating the victory, too.
As it turned out, Mikita Babovich of Russia grabbed a solo win 10 seconds before Barry, who, like in all junior races, was competing without radio communication.
“Second,” Barry sighed, when asked about his result. “I didn’t know until after the race. To be honest I thought I had won but in the end there was one rider ahead.
“I’m still really pleased with it. I had a really good sprint. I didn’t necessarily expect to win the sprint from that group. I have to be satisfied without the win.”
It’s a first stint at the famous Belgian pavé climbs for the son of former pros Michael and Dede Barry. Already making an impression
In a race without TV coverage or radio communication, it’s up to the riders to read the race.Barry and his composite team with Team USA tried to make the race hard on the climbs.“I’m really proud with how I rode and how the team rode,” he told Velo . “We were at the front on all the big climbs, racing as hard as possible without spending too much energy on the fast sections. Over the top there were some gaps and it seemed like a group could […]
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