Golden Nugget Stage Race by Marcus Smith

posted by Larry on behalf of Marcus Smith

Stage 1 Friday
9-mile time trial with 3-mile hill at end

It was 97-degree weather, which made others tire. I drank a lot and started a low pace trying to not over heat. When I hit the hill I was still fresh. As I went up I started to dehydrate but because we drove the course before the race I knew I had only a few miles to go. I got into a rhythm and with 1.5 miles to go I passed my minuteman. I finished first out of my group by 3:15 on Alexander Freund from Davis Bike Club and 4:30 over Bjorn Fox from Above Category.

Stage 2 Saturday
25-mile road race (5 laps)

The weather was good and we started with the 10-12’s. The first lap we took easy but at the end on the hill I did a 75% effort to see how everyone was feeling. Only Bjorn stayed with me but he did want to work hard and we were caught on the downhill. The next lap was the same but when the 10-12 were sprinting for their finish I rested behind them then attacked. I got away but on the downhill I had a mechanical and stopped to fix it. When I got it fixed I was last and everyone was by themselves. I caught Alexander and when I tried to pull us up to Bjorn, Alexander fell off. At the end I lost to Bjorn by 2:15.

Stage 3 Saturday
4-mile hill climb time trial

The weather was good but my legs felt bad after the road race earlier in the day. I got into a rhythm quickly and won by 1 minute over Bjorn.

Stage 4 Sunday
24-mile road race

We started good but had lots of negative racing. On the first lap I jumped every 10 seconds on the hill wearing down the riders. This worked well. Then at the end of the first lap Bjorn attack and I chased him down. I caught him and he attacked me again but this time I stayed with him. On the hill Alexander attacked but Bjorn chased him down. On a small rise about one mile from the finish I attacked and stayed away to win the stage and the entire race.