Green Mountain Stage Race

[djming]

Incredibly awesome weekend! (there, that's my race report )

This whole thing for me started about two weeks prior. I thought my mind had been made up that I was not going, but of course was still checking who was signed up. My wife and I were browsing thru and noticed the 4/5 field was within a handful of filling. She says, "oh you know you want to do this, just sign up". In.
Secured some lodging, offered up some space which was taken by Tyler and Brad, and set about for race weekend prep.
The bottom line for me is it ended up being by far the most intense racing experience I've had in my just over year of USAC racing. I learned a ton, and got so much input from bouncing stuff off "roomies" Brad and Tyler throughout the weekend that I am so thankful for. Then having Todd J and Kevin T as teammates in the same race where we could talk and work together and make some various plans (that we could actually see work!) was even more bonus.
So this will get a bit wordy:

Masters age 36+ 4/5 field (yes, the GMSR results website shows 33+ but it was actually 36+)
Day 1 (ITT): I was damn nervous about this. Was confident my TT form was solid from some workouts but the start of this sucker is nasty. Got some feedback from Brad after his morning crush of the course which helped verify my initial game plan and off I went. One of these days I'll get a power meter, but for the time being my running background has me pretty dialed in for HR training which does help in a TT. Set my computer to only show HR and cadence. Didn't want to see anything else till the finish. Stopped the Garmin showing 15:52 which ended up 15:54 official. It was hard and don't think I left much if any out there. Daily result was 3rd, 13 seconds off yellow. But as an added bonus, Todd J put in an incredible effort to grab 2nd.
Day 2 (circuit race): 53 miles, 2 3/4 laps. Neutral uphill start into a scorching descent. Mostly flat with a couple rises to the finish sprint, then two more laps with KOMs on each climb. Climb is legit but too early to have any significant effect. We agreed before that first couple laps would watch and see and not to initiate anything. Ended up that we didn't need to cover any attacks. There weren't really any but anything that did try was being covered by yellow's team. My personal plan was to mark Jon O'Connor from NEBC. I only had 6 seconds on him from the TT and I know he can climb so wasn't comfortable with that time gap. Guy in yellow was an unknown Canadian. On the KOMs I started maybe 10-12 positions back and just went into "Froome mode" spinning an easier gear. Had a max HR effort I wanted to reach with no plan to go for the KOM but just see where that effort landed me. Todd was just behind me and yellow was up front on each so realized he needed to be watched. Ended up grabbing 3rd and 2nd respectively while feeling very controlled. After the final KOM Kevin pulled up alongside me and suggested we stay on the front on the descent to not get swarmed. I agreed and the two of us kept rotating and held 1st/2nd wheel coming into the sharp right turn at bottom of descent. Todd moved up as well and I said lets keep the pace high but not crazy for the final 12K. String the field out a bit. Kevin kept calling for some others to help but nothing doing. There were 5-deep time bonuses on line. I was feeling really good so I told the others that if there was an attack I was going to cover and counter and see what happens. Sure enough with just about 3K to go one guy launched. Got right on his wheel and we got a gap. Felt him slowing so off I went. Committed now. Trying to drill it but with just before 1K realized it wasn't going to stick and wasn't going to have the legs to sprint. Made sure O'Connor wasn't contending for top 5 and watched the fireworks. Benefit was we did really string the field out so it wasn't a total free for all and Kevin grabbed 5th which with time bonus moved him up a spot on GC so now we had 2,3,6. Yellow jersey unfortunately did take the win with great sprint which was the downside, so now I'm 28 sec down and Todd 21.
Day 3 (road race) 64 miles including Middlebury Gap then App Gap summit finish. No way around it, this was gonna be tough. Kevin told me last year a group got away initially to take early KOM points. We agreed to watch for that but like yesterday, yellow's team was pretty vigilant (think they wanted sprint points as well) so it was all together hitting Middlebury. We hit the tougher parts of Middlebury and I knew I was going well. Pretty effortlessly matching any surges, yet holding some in reserve. Came in with the first 5 over Middlebury and down the backside we went. I kept looking back to see if I could catch glimpse of Todd or Kevin. Group of 12 now off the front. Initially a few guys trying to get something going to stay away. I did take part, but more for appearances as I knew it wouldn't be a bad thing to have two teammates catch back on. It did end up being too disjointed and by the turn onto 116 the group had doubled but both Kevin and Todd back on. Now it was my job to mark O'Connor as they marked yellow. Thru all of Bristol and Baby Gap I did no work, just followed what O'Connor did, as he wasn't letting yellow get away. Unfortunately Kevin flatted on the gravel after Bristol, but Todd kept a good rhythm on Baby Gap which could have helped dissuade any attacks there. Alright, now for the fun part. Right turn onto App Gap proper and up we went. There was quickly a select group of 8 or 9 including yellow, O'Connor and an Exeter Cycle guy who had taken Middlebury and Baby KOM. I was holding the rear of this for awhile finding my rhythm. Picked off a few and was up to 5th and ahead of yellow. Next switchback I look back and I've got a good 10-15 on yellow with still over 2K to go. One little push. Another switchback with just after the 2K mark and the gap has widened. Okay, this is it. No more waiting. Passed two more guys (so now in 3rd), got on O'Connor's wheel with maybe 1.5K left and yelled we've got to go, we're riding into 1st,2nd. Exeter cycle still up ahead but he started the day 1:40 down. Jon and I did what we could together on those grades but at 500 to go I was cooked. Desperately trying to hold him to a 5 second gap but he got 7 on me to take over the race lead by 1 second. Exeter Cycle took the stage by 23 seconds so awesome ride by him! But we put over a minute on yellow so we had 34 seconds on the former yellow (now relegated to 4th). Now even with time bonuses he couldn't move up after the crit (well, barring crashes or him getting away which wasn't gonna happen!), so it was a 2-person show tomorrow!
Day 4: Burlington Crit: Some wonderful tips from Brad the night before and a dinner meeting session with Kevin led to a very restless night of sleep. I'm still not that comfortable with crits. 25 laps. Time bonus laps (8-6-4-3) with 20 to go and 10 to go. Finish time bonus of 15-11-8-5-3. This was gonna be exciting. I got a horrible start. Just horrible. Kevin and Todd on the other hand just fine. Okay, don't panic. Found the lines I wanted and moved up onto Kevin's wheel after 3 laps. Hit the first bonus lap and he was phenomenal. Drilling it into the final turn to the uphill rise and we've got a slight gap on O'Connor. Just before the line I yelled for him to pull off and I thought I had 1st but the former yellow took me by less than half a wheel as he was trying to move to 3rd on GC (which he did so kudos to him). Kevin 3rd on the sprint. I didn't see but in my mind planned O'Connor took 4th which would give me a 2 second lead. Next GC sprint coming up. Leading up, one guy got a bit off the front. I couldn't afford to go after him and risk dragging O'Connor. Kevin again did what he could for me and I grabbed 3rd but Jon nipped me at the line for 2nd so we're dead even. You've got to be kidding me. Into the final few laps. Kevin still riding awesome. I'm trying to play the game of being ahead of O'Connor but seeing if a few guys could be in front of me and Kevin to do some work. Right with 2 to go O'Connor puts in a move and I panicked. Didn't even realize Kevin still with me (mistake!) and I chased (mistake 2 as Kevin after said he would have gone) and caught him. Into last lap and coming into the left downhill turn I really though I had him. Hit the final turn into the rise and that was it. Legs done. We had been I think 3rd, 4th wheel. He surged great to grab 2nd while I faded outside the top 5. 11 seconds to him and so it was decided.

So final result of 2nd on GC and two daily 3rd place podiums. Way more than I was at all thinking possible when I signed up.
Thanks for indulging me. Sorry for the lengthy read.

[JeremyC]

Great report Dave, and obviously a great result. Nice job in the crit, you made a valiant run at the GC win. Also nice to hear the teamwork throughout!

[Fintan]

Great report and super result. Congratulations Dave.

[Bradford]

Congrats Dave - tremendous result. It was very gratifying to watch you, Kevin, and Todd dig deep in pursuit of the GC during the crit. The three of you worked very well together, doing everything you could to bring back O'Connor, who had a brilliant performance as well. Working together certainly strengthened our chances.

Men's Cat 3 | 65 starters:

I wasn't planning on racing GMSR, but decided to bail on a wedding in Toronto and treat the weekend as a learning experience, and an opportunity to grab volume in preparation of Mayor's Cup. This was my first stage race and looking back a day later, I can certainly say it's a different animal.

Stage 1 Time Trial:

I had only done one TT before (in Ontario), and hadn't done any specific TT training - so I wasn't sure what to expect. The course was 5.7 miles - the first 2.3 were up hill with grades approaching 8%. After that, it was slightly downhill for the back half. At mile 5.3 there was a sharp dip into a steep kicker, leaving .3 miles of false flat into the finish.

Traditionally, I understand it's best to pace yourself through a TT, steady at first, and ramping up towards the end. After reviewing the course profile with Jeremy, he advised to go hard on the first half to get over the hill as quickly as possible and use my weight and legs to carry me through to the finish. I came out of the blocks hard, focusing on continually applying pressure throughout my entire pedalstroke and keeping a higher cadence. Once I got to the climb, I shifted to a more aero position, with my hands flat on the tops and face hovering above the stem. I ended up clocking in at 15:06. I had reviewed last year's results, so I knew this was a fast time - but didn't know until about an hour later that it would be the fastest of the day, 12 seconds ahead of second, and 28 seconds ahead of third. Obviously the TT is always a big effort - I think the course suited me well, with a long enough uphill that I could lay down some power, but not too long that I would blow up.

Stage 2 Circuit:
This was actually our longest race of the tour - 72 miles and 4000 ft of climbing. It was also my first opportunity to rock my new GMSR Yellow Leader's jersey.

We raced 3 3/4 laps of the circuit. I was looking forward to this stage as I liked the look of the profile, and was optimistic about a bunch finish. I sat in for the first 3 laps and was feeling pretty fresh, holding my position near the front. Patrick ended up with a front puncture on the back side of lap 2, but was able to make his way back up to us only 8 minutes or so later. Great effort by Pat to get back on. It also helped that the pack was rolling at a lethargic 14-16 mph (this was a theme throughout stage 2 and 3 - everyone was cognizant about efforts in the days ahead).

Fast forward to the last 3/4 lap - roughly 12 miles to go. Attacks are coming off the front, and I'm getting increasingly uncomfortable about letting them go this late in the race. Several would go, and I would accelerate, bringing the group back onto their wheels. One guy ended up going with a big effort and he started to disappear. Moto gave us updates, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 1:30 up the road. Again, nobody wanted to expend any energy chasing. I began to panic and started shouting to organize the chase. People would simply reply 'it's your yellow jersey', 'you've got teammates', or 'can't do it mate' - I felt like my only option was to attack to initiate the chase (because whenever I made a move, people were glued to my wheel). After a few attempts, we had a nice group of 4 or 5 rotating to varying degrees with good efforts from Emmerson at GLV, Torpey at Foundation, and the guy sitting 3rd in GC. With 5km to go, we had him caught - but this had taken a pretty significant toll, and I was feeling the effects of the efforts. As we moved closer, attacks continued to fly off the front. Being positioned 3rd or 4th wheel, I would watch the front two guys get gaped and just sit there waiting for someone else to take up the chase. Unfortunately this was me. I came to the line trying my best to throw down a sprint as the pack charged behind. I managed to grab 6th on the day and Patrick came through for 5th. It was disappointing to miss the time bonus, and what I thought was a good opportunity for a stage podium, but finishing in the bunch meant I kept yellow for another day. I also learned a lot about myself and tendencies in races - I'm still too quick to take up the chase and I probably shouldn't base my actions around feedback from competitors (it's your yellow jersey etc.)

Stage 3 Road Race:

I knew at 64 miles and 6400 ft of climbing, that this would be a tough day for me. However, although I was a bit disappointed with yesterday's finish, I was no longer feeling the pressure of wearing yellow - Jeremy and I discussed strategy - which was to do absolutely nothing until App Gap, and then do what I could do on the climb. I listened, and sat in for the race from start to finish.

The race was marked by two key climbs - Middlebury Gap, and App Gap. Middlebury Gap was roughly halfway. I hadn't reconed this part of the course, and I can say it was longer and harder than I was expecting. I actually started to slip off the back of the main group as we were nearing the summit - but I knew there was a long downhill immediately afterwards so I didn't panic. I was able to catch on and rejoin the group for the rest of the race.

One guy, the eventual stage (and GC) winner, went off the front with about 8 or 9 miles to go. Nobody wanted to expend any energy chasing anything prior to App Gap - our 4 mile climb to the summit finish with grades of 18% and 20%. So we all watched him go up the road. Again, I was very ZFG about this. It turned out to be a great strategy.

We all jockeyed for position coming into the base of App Gap. I was in the leading group with Torpey #2 in the GC, Patrick Collins, and the other elite climbers. I was able to hang on for about a mile before I popped off the back. At this point, I just tried to find a rhythm and settle in for the remainder of the climb. I was up and over App Gap in 15:42 - finishing about four minutes back of our breakaway leader - and roughly two minutes back of the elite climbers. This put me 24th on the day, and dropped back to 14th in the GC. Patrick had a phenomenal climb, finishing 6th on the stage, and rocketing to 5th in the GC.

Stage 4 Crit:
By the time 12:30 rolled around on Monday, I was definitely feeling the effects of three days of hard racing. My legs felt sore - but I took comfort in knowing everyone else was probably as trashed as I was. 90F didn't help either - I was happy to have an ice sock for the speedsuit.

The downtown Burlington course had 6 turns and a sizeable climb into an uphill finish - while many characterized it as a technical crit, I think it provided fast lines and space where you needed it. I really liked the look of the course, and was targeting a strong result.

I stayed up front for the first half of the race, continually moving myself forward as people lined up for GC and points sprints - I didn't contest either, but wanted to hold my position inside the top 10. Somewhere around 15 laps to go, I saw a group of four attack off the front, and again, watched guys up front sit there and let the gap open. I shouted encouragement as best I could from where I was - but who really cares what the guy 10 wheels back is saying? (nobody). Another lap or two, and Gerry from GLV, who was still targeting points jersey, decides to make a bridging effort. I yell at the guys on front to go with him thinking this would be the start of our chase effort - unfortunately, more apathy. Not sure who they were thinking was going to make this happen as the laps continued to disappear, but it wasn't going to be them.

Although I was planning on sitting in for the sprint - I decided I had to make a move now if I wanted a shot at anything notable on the final stage. I spent about two laps chasing back Gerry who had opened up a sizeable gap on the main bunch. From that point, we spend about 4 laps together, taking half lap pulls, closing in on the break. With about 4 to go, I picked up the pace, and Gerry ended up coming off my wheel. I was now in solo pursuit of the 4 guys up the road. I would never get closer than about 8 seconds back, finishing roughly 10 seconds back - but the crowd, and the announcer seemed to love the suffering and agony all over my face. ha. It was pretty great to have the support from the fans lining main street and those enjoying patio pints on Church street - this race was a ton of fun and I was happy with my effort to cap off the tour.

I ended up finishing 5th on the stage. An unexpected (and unplanned) benefit of going off the front, I actually finished about 20 seconds ahead of the main bunch, moving me up from 14th to 11th overall in the GC. Patrick finished with the bunch and secured a very impressive 5th overall in the GC! Way to go Patrick.

Stage racing is a brand new challenge, adding additional complexity, tactics, and physical exertion to bicycle racing. I really enjoyed it and would like to line up for more in the future. Watching some of the 1s, I can definitely see how showing up with a squad in pursuit of a GC or points (or both in the case of Cal Giant), would be a huge advantage. I think MRC is building the depth where this could be an option for next season. Thanks to coach JC for the strategy and Scott for the GMSR insights - both very helpful.

Huge congrats to Dave, Patrick, Tyler, Todd, and Kevin for their massive efforts this weekend. I get emotional when I think about you guys digging so deep! Woot!

[djming]

Very cool write up Brad. You're spot-on about the announcer enjoying your suffering (either that or he just liked saying "Brad Bradford"). It was so cool to watch your field and seeing some very key differences in the next category.
Oh, and you mentioned a great point about which I was completely remiss. Jon O'Connor put in a massive effort to keep his yellow in my race. Team-wise I think we really had the upper hand and he was pretty much out there on his own at least after the halfway point. I wanted it badly but guess he wanted it that little bit more!

[jraguin]

Great job guys. I am getting chills just hearing about it.

It looks like there are a bunch of upgrades happening ... you all scored a lot of upgrade points out there!

[djming]

Too bad GC standing points don't count towards 4 to 3...

[Smudger]

Loving the teamwork guys. This is what sets us apart from the rest.

Wishing Brad and Patrick had another couple to help them in the 3s but I need to look to myself not racing in that regard. Good news is that we have some really strong 4s on the way.

[pcollins]

Congrats to all MRC members who competed, sounds like we all had amazing experiences and great results!

Cat 3
Stage 1 TT: I had thought a lot about how to pace this and had gotten some good advice from some people and looked at power data on Strava from Dean Phillips. I broke it up into 3 sections: the climb, the downhill and the last short hill to the finish. I had a power and time goal for each section. I paced the climb spot on at and made it to Airport Rd in exactly 8 minutes, which was my goal. The downhill sections proved to be my undoing for two reasons: 1. I don’t weight that much and 2. I couldn’t reach the power goal I had set, so I lost a lot of time in that section. The final hill after the “dip” was very hard but I met my power goal for that section. My Garmin time was 15:47 and my official time was 15:53 in 15th place. I was slightly disappointed but I knew I could make up the time later on. Brad had an amazing performance and won, taking the yellow jersey!

Stage 2 CR: With Brad in yellow I knew I had to be active on the front, so he and I worked together to chase back break attempts. All was going well until a little past the 2 hour mark when a few of us were rotating taking pulls on the front and I was sitting 2nd wheel, behind Jones who was pulling, when he took a bad line and led us over a pothole. My front tire immediately punctured. I got a pretty quick wheel change from Sram but the guy didn’t seem to put the skewer in the dropouts quite right so it felt kind of loose and wobbly. I started the hard chase to try to get back to the peloton while weaving my way through car traffic. The Sram car was stuck behind all the traffic and couldn’t provide any help. I took the hard right hand turn about 5km to the finish too fast and could feel my front wheel sliding out, luckily I kept it upright. The Sram car finally made it through traffic and provided me with about 10 seconds of draft, which brought me within sight of the field, I passed the car and quickly closed the gap to make it back on. It was a pretty stressful situation but I was extremely relieved to have made it back and to be honest, I was surprised because the all the other times I’ve had flats I wasn’t able to chase back on. I was pretty tired after that effort and needed to recover before the climb, which was about 10km away. The final time down the descent was very scary, as it seemed like I had little control over my front wheel, so I ended up off the back of the peloton a little bit, which I was able to close down on the small rise before the right hand turn onto the flats. Moving up was difficult on this stretch of road, as it was pretty narrow and the pavement was bad (where I flatted the previous lap). My plan was to just stay with the field and not lose any time. At about 3km to go I found myself on Boucher’s wheel, a guy I knew was a great sprinter from racing and doing a group ride with him when I was on vacation in Maine. I stuck to his wheel like glue and we started to easily make up positions in the peloton. All of a sudden I was 500m from the finish line and inside the top 10. At about 250m to go Boucher made a risky move, squeezing in between two guys, rubbing both shoulders, lots of yelling. This freaked me out so I made my way to the left side of the road where it seemed like not many people were utilizing and I sprinted, coming in 5th. I was totally surprised at this unplanned and unexpected result. I got some bonus seconds that moved me up to 14th on GC.

Stage 3 RR: My plan for this stage was to save everything for the final climb: App Gap. The peloton hit the first false flats along Rt 100 hard and I was wondering what the heck was going on and why we were hammering already. It turns out that a breakaway was forming to contest sprint points. On the downhill sections of 100 I realized that my rear derailleur wouldn’t shift into the 3 hardest gears, this worried me a little but I really didn’t need them anyway. We turned onto the flat roads leading up to Middlebury Gap and the moto said the break had something like 1:30, so I took some pulls to get things going. When we hit the climb I started to pack slide, then approaching the top I made up some positions. There was some small gaps but everyone came back together on the descent and the break was caught shortly after. On Baby Gap I found out that there was a break of 3 with a 1:15 gap, but nobody seemed to care as we knew what was looming ahead. I was in the top 5 wheels approaching App Gap and the gap was now 1 minute. I paced myself well, while others who hammered the beginning were now struggling to keep the pedals turning. I was with Torpey for most of the first half of the climb, he let a gap open and two guys were up the road but in sight, I worked with Torpey to try and close it down but he was fading so I had to drop him. I made it to the false flat alone. I could see a guy from the breakaway about 10 seconds in front of me with about 750m to go. The gradient went from steep to very steep with 500m to go and it never eased up. I totally buried myself all the way to the line but didn’t catch that breakaway guy. I was completely wrecked after the finish and lied on the ground for a while. I finished 6th and moved up to 5th on GC.

Stage 4 Crit: My plan going into this crit was to get some bonus seconds from sprints and from the finish (top 5) so that I could potentially beat 4th placed Torpey who was 9 seconds ahead of me in GC. I heard that the course was technical and hilly which I thought was perfect for a breakaway, and I wanted to be in it. During my warm-up I quickly realized that I was not feeling good, and the heat made it worse, so my plans shifted to just finishing with the pack. I got a call up to the line for being 5th in GC and got a front row staging, which was cool. I totally fumbled my clip in and lost a ton of positions, not a good start. It was super hard and I was sprinting out of every corner and pedaling when I could have been coasting if I was near the front (that’s crit racing when you’re mid-pack). About a third through the race, I broke a spoke on my rear wheel so I cut the course and got a quick wheel change. From then on it was just about surviving with the pack, which I did, securing my 5th place GC.

Big thanks go out to Dave M for letting me borrow his aero front wheel for the TT, Scott C for letting me borrow his powertap wheel for a couple months, PJ for letting me borrow his aero TT helmet, and to all who helped me along the way! I’m ending my road season with this race to finish on a high note and focus on cyclocross.

This was the best road racing experience I’ve ever had, with great weather, big mountains and quality time with my dad who provided amazing support. I highly recommend this race as I will definitely be returning next year!

[jraguin]

Ridiculous job getting back onto the field in stage 2. Let alone your ride in Stage 3. Great job Patrick!

[PJ McQuade]

Spectacular results guys, it takes a ton of focus and commitment to race a full spring and summer then save some top fitness for GMSR. The Cat 3 team is looking scary good for next spring, or will it be the Cat 2 squad?

[t_riegel]

Stage 1: I’ve never done a TT before, so going into this, I really had no idea what to expect. I did however have a speedsuit, an TT helmet (thanks Jeremy), and shoe covers (thanks Brad), so in the very least I looked fast. I knew that the hilly course would suit me and I needed to make the most the climb. In retrospect, I probably went a bit quick out of the gate, judging by the fact I caught two riders in the 1.5miles. As the road kicked up a caught another two, so I figured I was moving pretty quick. As it leveled out, I put it in the 11 and drilled. I hit the brief descent feeling good and then into the final kicker to the finish. The final 500m were an eternity, and I hit the line, thinking I got a time around 16:00min. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I checked the results and saw I had a time of 15:38 and was second in GC. The leader was at 15:19 and third place was 16:14. So I both had time to make up to the lead, but also a nice margin to third.

Stage 2: GC was always my main goal going in, but now that I sat second overall, I knew I definitely wanted to go for it. The plan for Stage 2 was to sit in, stay out of trouble and watch the leader. The race itself was fairly uneventful. I said near the front, let the KOM jersey contenders play games on the hills and stayed out of trouble for the sprints for points. For me, Stage 2 was a political stage. I got to know the yellow jersey guy, talked with some of the better climbers and even made an ally with Juan, a talented Cannondale junior that Winslow and I have face before. I knew he would be a threat, and was most concerned for him on Stage 3. As we came roaring into the finish I was placed well at about 5th wheel. I was just about to start winding up my sprint when an overzealous junior came into me, almost taking myself and Adam Berstein from GLV out. It ruined shot at place on the stage, but I didn’t crash and finished in the group, there was no change in GC standings.

Stage 3: Obviously this stage was looming in my mind all week. Brad and I had taken the opportunity to drive the App Gap climb the day before, so we had an idea of the monster we were facing. I had talked to Jeremy the night before, and we decided the best plan would be to sit in an much as possible and then light it up at the end. The quarter of the race was dominated by a string of attacks, guys hoping to go early and collect the sprint points and maybe the early KOMs. One break with two guys got away and then a few minutes later a chase group of two went. The chase did contain the guy in third on GC and the main group still had the green jersey and the KOM leader (Juan from Cannondale), so I knew there would be some impetus to chase. After a bit of shuffling and yelling, we finally organized the group as we headed in the Middlebury gap, the significant climb about halfway through the stage. The peloton threw on the brakes just as we hit the bottom, I guess too many guys nervous about the climb? Juan and I broke off the front, and another lightweight junior joined us. The yellow jersey joined us about halfway up. It was a solid group and we let Juan take the points for KOM with the understanding that he would work with the rest of us to chase. We had a 30+ second gap over the peloton as we crested the climb and started descending. As the road flattened out we hit the feed zone and all slowed so we could grab water. I’m still not quite sure what happened, but the two juniors took each other out in the feed, and Juan wound up hitting the deck hard. The leader and I decided to wait for them to pick themselves up. As we re-organized the peloton came into view, so we decided to get re-absorbed and try again later. At about 15k to go we caught the very dead chase group and then one guy from the break. There was one still left and he apparently had a gap of 40seconds still. Did this guy have a motor?! We got through the Baby gap climb will a solid group of 12 riders. As we plowed into App gap the yellow jersey, the polka dot jersey, Adam from GLV, and this crazy guy on a old cross bike started breaking off the front. I quickly joined them as I knew this was the move. When you hit the bottom of the climb already in the 36x28, you know it is going to hurt. The leader took off from the bunch and I followed. I never was able to catch his wheel and he gained a nice gap of 20-30 seconds, but we had gapped the rest of the group, including Juan. I don’t really remember much from the climb, other than there were a lot of people doing the paper-boy across the road. I was so in the pain cave I barely noticed Brad running and screaming next to me in the final 200 meters. I cross the line second on the stage, only to the leader. He had solidified his place and I had put a great gap into the third place both on the stage and in GC. Awesome stage, felt very epic to complete

Stage 4: Doing the math I knew that even if the same person won all the GC point primes and finished first on the stage, I still have almost a minute on them in GC, so as long as I finished with the group there was nothing to worry about. The pace was high and everyone definitely suffered. There were no breaks and very little competition for the primes. I sat between 7th and 10th wheel the whole time and finished with the bunch for 12th place, same time as the leader, securing 2nd in GC.

Takeaways: 1) Stage races are awesome, definitely will be looking to do more last year. 2) I seemed to hang in on all the stages, so I think GC will be the target for when I go to those races. 3) The longer the climbs, the better for me. 4) These would be awesome to bring a squad to and just crush