The following is a long race report from a long weekend of racing. Read or delete at your leisure.
I took the Evo colors to Vermont this weekend for the Green Mountain Stage Race. 4 stages over 4 days, and some serious racing. Three of the four races are in/near Waitsfield, VT which is a tiny town. No chain motels/hotels. Just B&B's But I found a good one that was cheap and served excellent cyclist friendly food. The Pro winner Mark McCormack and his Colavita teammates were staying there and they were super nice. They didn't give me all the secrets of their success, but I can tell you that they all bring a jar of all-natural Teddie peanut butter to breakfast every morning and liberally mix it with everything they eat.
Field: Cat 4/5, 100 starters.
Friday (9/3): Big World Prologue. 8.1 miles from the bottom of the east side of the Appalachian Gap to the summit. After a brief neutralized start through town, we hit the bottom of the mountain. I knew the first half of the climb was gentle, while the bulk of the elevation hit you in the last 5k. However, I was mentally unprepared for the 27mph we hit on the lower slopes of the mountain when the moto official let us loose. It certainly mellowed soon, but by the time the mountain kicked up with 3 miles to go, the field of 100 exploded all over the mountain. My 39x27 felt like it was lubed with crazy glue but I knew there were more people behind me than ahead of me and I just tried to keep calm and get to the top without my bike tipping over. But boy did that hurt. People in some fields were walking up the last 500m. I gave it what I had, fought off the only stomach stitch I've ever had on a bike, and finished in 26th place. I committed myself to a winter strength training program when Mark McCormack told me that evening he climbed it in a 39x15.
Saturday (9/4): Stage 1, Moretown Circuit Race. 52.6 miles. The longest race I had ever done previously was the Coppi race at 37.5 miles. There were no mountain passes today, but a rolling course similar to Coppi. A gradual 2 mile climb per lap was the attraction of the day. With the field tired from Friday and anxious for the next day's grueling stage, there were very few attacks, with the major acclerations coming for intermediate sprints and king of the mountain points. The field had only been whittled down to 50-60 (would have been 20-30 at coppi) and it came down to a bunch sprint. I found myself in good position and feeling fairly strong at the finish and I managed a 5th place finish. That result was enough to make the trip/race worth doing for me, no matter what else happened. GC after 2days: 17th.
Sunday (9/5): Stage 2, Sugarbush Road Race. 64.5 miles. You've got to check out the profile on this course (http://www.gmsr.info/mad.htm). Race down one valley, cross the Green Mountains at Middlebury Gap, cruise back up a parralel valley, and finish on the summit of Appalachian Gap, coming upother (steeper) direction than Friday's prologue. The action didn't start until the first mountain pass. A group of 12 or so split off the front on the climb but they were still within view of me. I was in a smaller second group. On the descent, we were intent on reeling in the lead group. I hit a max speed of 58mph (fastest I've ever gone by nearly 10mph) on the decent and we did catch them shortly after we got off the mountain. Unfortunately, a group of others caught up as well, so our pack wasn't quite the selection I thought it would be. Before we got to the final climb, we had to navigate a 2 mile downhill section on a gravel road with awful potholes. It was bad enough that Mavic stationed a wheel pit at the end of that section and it was used a lot. A group of about 45 hit the base of the last mountain together, which was split into two separate sections: 3-4 mile climb up "Baby Gap", 2 mile descent, followed by 3-4 mile climb up Appalachian Gap proper. Nearly half the group was lost on the Baby Gap, and I was able to start the final ascent with the lead pack of about 25. In no time at all, the pack became 25 indivuals climbing a mountain, because the mountain got steep fast. Apparently the last 500m was roughly a 17-20% grade. I wrestled my bike up that mountain at some appalling slow speeds at points and was happy with my 17th place finish. I can accept it when I get beat on mountains by guys that could have been jockeys, but became cyclists instead. It was definitely a different experience than most D20 races. GC after 3 days: 15th.
Monday (9/6). Stage 3, Burlington Criterium. 24 laps around a 1km, 6 turn loop. Super fast with AWFUL road conditions. Potholes, manhole covers, and sewer grates in most of the corners. Riders about to get lapped get pulled, and I knew from the previous year's results that more than half the field was lapped. Not being a strong (fearless) crit guy, and not having recovered psychologically from my broken hip in the state crit, my goal was merely to stay in the lead group and try to maintain my GC position in the race. It started so fast that some people were lapped as early as 5 laps into it. I sprinted out of every corner and managed to stay on the back of the lead pack, even as it dwindled, and finished 25th. Only 33 people managed stay on the course without getting lapped. The others were pulled and placed. But I met my goal of staying in the lead pack, and even improved my GC placing.
I finished the GMSR in 12th on GC. I was pretty happy because it seemed like a strong field and I managed to be consistent each day. I'm definitely going back next year, and some of you guys have to join me!