Race Report: SRAM Tour of the Gila - Stage 3: Tyrone Individual Time Trial

Well. That one hurt. The winds were exactly as brutal as they were predicting. I borrowed a 606 wheel setup and an aero helmet from a teammate which was pretty sweet. I was definitely hesitant to use it as there were pretty strong crosswinds but am glad I did as it still wasn't super impossible to fight the gusts.

The course today was 16 miles long and began immediately with a 5 mile climb up Little Burrow Pass. It was a pretty gradual climb and I had a hard time finding my tempo. Close to the top I was passed by the rider who started after I did and I thought to myself, "this is going to be a long 16 miles". After a quick descent there were 2 miles of rollers before the turnaround. It was there where I was passed by another rider.

Thankfully I had a much stronger second half and would not be passed again. The climb back over the pass was much steeper in the other direction and I made up some time there. The 5 mile descent to the finish was the hairy part. There was a strong tail/cross wind with some huge swirling gusts. Due to the tailwind and going downhill I was spinning out in my 53-11 doing about 55mph. The hairy part is when a huge gust would come and almost rip the bike out from underneath you.

I made it in safely but lost a lot of time. I finished 38th at +6:08. Ouch! This took me quite a ways down in the GC from 6th at +1:28 to 12th at +8:20. Ouch! I need to keep in mind why I am doing this race and what my intentions were when I entered. I came for the experience. I came to find out what sort of rider I am and to learn about my strengths, and weaknesses. I knew starting today that time trailing is a big limiter for me but now I see just how much improving I need to do and I now have an objective for the coming months.

While the leader's jersey may be beyond reach for me now, doing well in the GC is still a possibility and my chance will most definitely come on Sunday in the Gila Monster road race. Tomorrow is the downtown crit which I plan to sit in and relax on. It will be on Sunday on the CAT 2 climb in the final 50k where the final selection will be made.

Good night.

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Race Report: SRAM Tour of the Gila - Stage 2: Fort Bayard Inner Loop Road Race

What an awesome day in the saddle! I'm laying in my tent right now just relaxing before going to sleep and recapping about today. Before going into today I'd like to correct myself about my finish position from yesterday. I actually finished 7th and started today at +1:26. I was pretty surprised when I heard that I had lost so much time on the final section of the climb but it does make sense as I was definitely way in the red.

That is where I started today (in 7th and 1:26 off the leader). We rolled out of fort bayard at 10 and started our 80 mile route at a blistering pace. It seemed like people who weren't too happy with their times from yesterday were out with a vengeance and I was happy to get sucked along. Around mile 8 we began our first climb: 1000 ft up the pinos altos. I rolled over it fine and the group stayed together. On the descent from the summit I was sitting around 20th and was behind some very sketchy riders.

We dropped down to 6500 ft before starting another 1000 ft cat 3 climb up meadow creek. Things got a little more broken up on this climb and I went over the top in 5th heading into a very tight and technical descent. On the way down I advanced to 3rd and was feeling very fast on the hairpins and switchbacks.

Once we got down to the valley there were 7 of us off the front and we started a rotating paceline. I was certain that this was going to be the move to win the day but after about 5 minutes those dreams were shot. Although there were 7 of us, only 3 of us were doing any work. After about 20 minutes and extending our lead to a max of 1:30 over the field, we were caught and it was again gruppo compacto.

From there we rode a pretty easy 20 miles through the Gila, over the continental decide, and then down to the Mimbres River. There were a few break away attempts but nothing would stick.

It was at the Mimbres and the following cat 3 1000ft climb where the attacks started. A few riders were able to secure some pretty substantial leads on the long, shallow climbs there. It was also on those climbs that the lead group whittled down to about 20.

Coming into the finish we picked up all but one break away rider and were really picking up some speed. As we turned into the final mile into the fort there plenty of attacks but I just hung in and set up my sprint. As I was just about to luck it into high gear another rider pulled in front of me and blocked my route. After going around him I was still able to gain some spots before the finish but not enough to contend the win. We caught the break at the line and although he still was able to cross first we were all given the same time.
I finished 6th for the day and am sitting 6th in the GC at +1:28. Tomorrow is the ITT and I'm definitely nervous about it. Time trialing is not one of my strong points but I need to do well in order to maintain my position in the GC. There will be a lot of climbing as well as a mega crosswind which will hopefully improve my odds of doing well particularly since I don't have any TT equipment. I'll let you know how it goes

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Race Report: SRAM Tour of the Gila - Stage 1: Silver City - Mogollon Road Race

Just got in from stage 1 of the Tour of the Gila and so far it is beyond epic. Today's stage was a 73 mile point to point race with one major climb. We rolled out of Silver City after a parade lap around town and were instantly faced with a few miles of climbing. After climbing out of the town we rode down towards the Gila River basin. It was mostly downhill with a few rollers at that point and it was around mile 10 where two riders broke off the front. Near the first feed-zone which was around mile 20 we were told by a race official to continue on the road we were on instead of taking a right and climbing up a short hill (which is where we were supposed to go). The two riders off the front had climbed up the hill and done the additional loop and by the time the race officials had made a decision about what to do they were about 5 minutes behind us. We were then forced to ride neutral for about 20 minutes to allow them to catch up. It was pretty frustrating (although certainly not as frustrating as it was the the two in the break) but everything seemed to get a least a little sorted out.

After we crossed the Gila River we starting gradually climbing although it was mostly rolling. The course was pretty flat and, except for a four-man break away getting away, the race was pretty uneventful until the end. The last 7 miles was the Mogollon climb. This is where all the excitement happened for the day. The road began to steadily pitch up and there were a few sections that went u[ to a 13% grade. This section was only about 2 miles long but it really split up the group. The course then flattened out for about 1.5 miles before the start of the final climb. It was there that I found myself with about 10 other riders in the lead group (minus the four that were still in the break-away). The final climb started with 4 miles to go and pitched between 7 and 19%. In the first 2 miles of the climb we caught the break and the group I was with whittled down to 4. It was at the 2-mile-to-go mark where another rider put in an attack, my legs were already screaming at me and I was left behind. I kept the group in my sights for a mile but I was already gasping for air and loosing steam. I lost sight of them with about 0.5 miles to go but finished just behind them and somewhere around 5th place (it was hard to tell who was in our field as we were passing some straggling masters).

It was a pretty awesome day and I felt really good. I'm sitting pretty high up in the GC and am looking to hold onto as much time as I can. Now I'm eating some food and drinking a whole bunch of water to get ready for a huge day of racing and climbing tomorrow. Tomorrow's race is around 80 miles with 6000ft of climbing.

Sorry that this post is void of pictures. I will add some once I get them.

Race Report: Deer Trail Road Race

I just finished up with the first race of the season: the deer trail road race in deer trail, CO. It went very well considering that I was trying to take it super easy as stage 1 of the Gila is on Wednesday. The course was very boring. Two out and backs that we did twice totaling 60 miles. It was super flat with a few rollers and dead straight. It was snowing lightly which made it a little less bland and more epic. With about 20k to go the pace started really picking up and the group diminished in size. Coming into the final 2k I felt that I had great positioning and was gearing up for the sprint when a group of 7 broke off the front. I found myself just behind them with two others and a completely shattered peloton. My group of 3 wasn't able to reconnect with the leaders but I made it to the line before those guys for an 8th place finish. I worked hard but was never concerned about blowing up despite riding away from about 40 other guys. I'm feeling good about my fitness and am really looking forward to seeing how I'll fair at the Gila and through the rest of the season. Also, the race wheels kicked ass. I was astonished at how much faster and lighter I felt on them

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Fruita Trip and the New Bike

About a week and a half ago I went with Kate and a bunch of folks from Ubikes to Fruita, CO for 3 days of mountain biking. The terrain and trails in Fruita were spectacular and world class but totally different from the style of riding that I've done in the past. The trip was wonderful for so many reasons other than experiencing the trails in Fruita. The first was because of the bike I was on. We received some Cannondale demos from the Cannondale rep including the new Jekyll and the Scalpel Ultimate. I was riding the latter which was tricked out with SRAM XX and weighed about as much as my cyclocross bike (around 18.5-19 pounds) which is totally insane! They keep the weight so low firstly with the carbon Lefty fork. That is an instant savings of about about. Beyond that they keep weight down by going for the expensive/weight saving equipment wherever possible and removing the pivots from the rear triangle and allowing the frame to flex to create rear suspension. The bike was unbelievably punchy and climbed superbly. It didn't have quite enough travel for what I was trying to do with it but it was not created to excel at taking big drops. Another reason that the trip was so sick was because of the fact that it was a company trip. Kate and I are both so happy to have come to Colorado and are amazed with Ubikes and the way in which they care for their employees.

I also finally got my road bike for the summer and it is sweet! I went for the Specialized Tarmac Comp over the Expert that I had last year in order to save a few bucks. My friend, Zach, convinced me that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the SL2 and the SL3 frames and he was absolutely right. I also swapped out the 105 that came on the bike and put on my Ultegra that came on the Expert and then was on my Ridley for the CX season. I'm definitely going to be testing the longevity of the Ultegra gruppo as I'm planning on putting it on my CX bike this fall as well and then hopefully finding an inexpensive TT frame to put it on for next year. The big improvement in my equipment this year though is definitely the weelset. They were custom-built by a mechanic at Ubikes named Chris and they are 38mm carbon tubulars with Dura-Ace hubs, DT-Swiss Revolution spokes, and I'm gluing them up with Challenge Strada tires. the tire is super interesting as well as it is a 24c with a max of 200 PSI. I'll let you know what I think of them once I get them glued and race them.

All-in-all everything is awesome. I've been spending a lot of money recently trying to get my equipment together, which is not sweet, but I'm really looking forward to this road season and am very excited about my team, the races on my schedule, and where I think I'll be able to take my fitness this year.