Stage 1: TT 14.4mi basically flat
Report: What had always deterred me from VOS was the flat TT, flat RR, flat Crit. But this year I had a full TT rig and have been training a bit on it. Jason and I had TT setups and Mario was going Merckx style. The wind was pretty calm in the AM and started to pick up on as it got closer to when the 3s went off. Mario rode hard but did not want to leave it all out there because without a TT bike and all the gear he knew he would not be a GC contender. Jason left it all out there and had a solid time of 33:36 good enough for 19th of the 80 or so riders that started. I did not know what to expect a flat TT is something I am not typically fond of, but what the hell I warmed up well and was setting a good pace on the way out. About 4km from the turnaround I felt the sign of a side crank coming on…damn…I dialed it back a bit to see if it would go away, nope, so I held it at that lovely line where my side stitch was not getting worse but still pushing hard. In the end I came across in 21st with a time of 33:42. For reference the fastest time in the 3s was 31:32 and 29:29 for the Pros.
Discussing the finish.
Again the plan was to sit in and stay in good position because the GC guys were not going to let anything go. From the gun Jason gave one solid attack. He drilled it trying to get a small group to go, but instead it just set the pace for most of the race it was pretty fast and strung out. It got pretty sketchy at times so I grabbed a $50 prime early stayed either in the top 10 riders or at the back chatting. Being only 35min, 3 to go came really quick and I was too far back. I waited for the time to move up and not waste too much energy and with 1.5 laps to go finally moved all the way up to the front. Just when I got their one rider hit it hard and I tucked in 3rd wheel. He took it that full ½ lap but realized that the entire pack was on his wheel so he pulled off. The rider now at the front took a short pull and then I was at the front just past the start finish on the bell lap. Realizing there are like 5 quick corners ahead of me I said what the heck I would rather make it through them cleanly and not have to hit the brakes. I rode high tempo to the back straight and then eased a tad and waited and waited. Started to feel like a Miss-N-Out at the track do just enough so they don’t come around and then be ready for the big move. So one of the local squads was on my right and had a train of 3 guys ready to go the first rider jumped and I jumped to follow he was on the inside so when he swung wide to take the corner at full speed I held my ground and he basically just move in front of me leaving his teammates in the wind….oooooppppss. He drilled it for the double right turn that spits you out onto the front straight with about 350m to the line. As he eased exiting the corner I knew it would be strung out single file for at least the top 10 so this was my chance to get the gap. I jumped hard and went for the smooth outside lane, got the gap then sat back in the saddle and spun up through the gears. I knew that I was moving, had a gap, and just had to keep it going. As the line got closer I looked over my shoulder to see no one was there just in time to raise one arm to win the field sprint again but this time for the WIN. I heard Mario yelling and put his arm up when I turned to look at the pack coming across the line behind. What a perfect last lap! Couldn’t have asked for a cleaner and more fun sprint.
Stage 2: Road Race
Course: 74miles, 4.5 laps of a 16miles loop with one 6km +/- gradual climb each lap.
Report: Well not being in a great spot in GC we were hunting for the stage. They moved the finish closer to the top of the climb this year so this suited me better. We made up a game plan but none of us had ever ridden the course so it was subject to change. It was 80degrees and pretty windy at high noon when we went off. We assumed that a break would not stick because of everyone riding for GC. The first lap and every lap for that matter was pretty slow until the climb which we hit extremely hard the first and third laps. Well maybe it just felt crazy fast because I was carrying 3 full water bottles up the climb. No neutral feed so we were all hauling our own water. The second lat a group of three broke away and got a good gap. The pace remained pretty slow on the flat sections and as we planned were content to sit in and save energy and eat. The third time up the climb they hit it again, I stayed near the front on the climb and as we crested the top we realized that ½ the group was off the back including the leader, but the guys close on GC did not have the teammates or the strength to drive the group away on the flats so almost everyone cough back on. This continued and the race was pretty boring until the final lap. In the last two laps we were neutralized a few times and this gave the break and even bigger gap. Leading up to the final climb Mario got me to the front and hit it leading up the climb. Mario’s legs were done so he gave me one last effort and set me at the front. There were a few attacks/surges after Mario’s and but everyone was chasing everything down at this point. I found myself a little farther back than I wanted to be while Jason was near the front. We caught one of the Pro breaks going up the climb so they were neutralized and we were allowed to go over the yellow line..my chance to move up 20 spots. Perfect I was right up near the front with Jason when we hit the 3km to go sign. Just a short while after Jason hit it. He jumped clear of everyone and I stayed near the shoulder just watching everyone look at each other. Riders started to ramp up the pace and we caught him and one of the guys in the break just before the 1km sign. Then a rider I recognized from Chula Vista jumped and I followed. He is a breakaway artist and climber and that is his best shot so I knew was going for the line as it was his only shot. I looked back to see who was following as I tried to stay as close to his rear wheel as possible and only one Helen’s guy was with us. Everyone from SoCal J. I yelled at Josh and said we have a gap so that he would not give up and leave me to take the front with 500m. So he took it all the way to 200m before I jumped for the line. I looked under my arm and saw the Helens rider sprinting but not gaining, raised one arm and took the field sprint for 3rd! Team rode smart and our plan to save energy and let the GC riders do all the peacemaking worked.
Discussing the finish.
Stage 3: Crit. 35min (all races were shortened)
Course: ~1mile Technical and bumpy 7 or 8 corner flat course.
Report: When warming up for the Crit Swamis got a big complement from Tribe a local team. One of the riders came up to me and said that they were happy to have us in AZ and that we were the smoothest riders in the peloton and we should be sure to come out next year.
RESULTS
TT: 21st 33:42 (2:10 off the leader)
Road Race: 3rd (50 seconds behind breakaway minus 4 second time bonus for 3rd)
Crit: 1st (w/ 10 second time bonus)
Overall GC: 14th, 2:29 back
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