My name is Dean Haas from Lakewood, CO and I am new to the team for 2011. I traveled with Team Specialized to the Valley of the Sun Stage Race in Arizona. I raced in the Cat 2 men's field with my team mates Jeff Perrin, Willy Zillmer, Torey Philipp and David Benkoski.
Stage One was the TT and this race basically determines the GC for the race. The course is a 14 mile flat out and back and is fast. I didn't get the best warmup and along with being from Colorado where racing doesn't start until April, my time wasn't that fast. I did a 34:04 which put me in 48th in GC out of 85. Torey was down by about a minute with a 10th place finish, Willy was 40th, Jeff was around 60th and David got a flat tire.
Stage Two wasn't great for me either. The course is about a 16 mile loop where we did 90 miles in the cat 2 race. I put my race wheels and went through my whole pre race routine and to my misfortune, I had a mechanical problem at the very start of the race. My derailleur was malfunctioning and was actually broken and would not shift in any cog lower than my 19 tooth. I ended up getting dropped about 7 miles into the race and dropped down to near last in the GC. David however, was 3rd on the stage and had bridged a gap after crashing lap three. Torey finished with the gruppeto and Willy was not far behind. Jeff went down in a crash on lap two.
Stage Three was a great turning point for me, we raced the shortened 45 minute criterium in Downtown Phoenix. The course was kilometer long technical course with many turns and I had a lot of fun. We were down to four riders after Jeff's crash the day before. I went off the front a few times including on three laps to go which I thought might stick but didn't. I even won a $25 prime and I was chopped in the last corner but I still managed a 10th place in the final sprint.
I had a lot of fun riding and racing out in the sun with my team mates, regardless of my fitness level. I want to say thank you to everyone who made this such a fun experience, including the new equipment I received from Specialized! I can't for the next trip to San Dimas in March!
Stage One was the TT and this race basically determines the GC for the race. The course is a 14 mile flat out and back and is fast. I didn't get the best warmup and along with being from Colorado where racing doesn't start until April, my time wasn't that fast. I did a 34:04 which put me in 48th in GC out of 85. Torey was down by about a minute with a 10th place finish, Willy was 40th, Jeff was around 60th and David got a flat tire.
Stage Two wasn't great for me either. The course is about a 16 mile loop where we did 90 miles in the cat 2 race. I put my race wheels and went through my whole pre race routine and to my misfortune, I had a mechanical problem at the very start of the race. My derailleur was malfunctioning and was actually broken and would not shift in any cog lower than my 19 tooth. I ended up getting dropped about 7 miles into the race and dropped down to near last in the GC. David however, was 3rd on the stage and had bridged a gap after crashing lap three. Torey finished with the gruppeto and Willy was not far behind. Jeff went down in a crash on lap two.
Stage Three was a great turning point for me, we raced the shortened 45 minute criterium in Downtown Phoenix. The course was kilometer long technical course with many turns and I had a lot of fun. We were down to four riders after Jeff's crash the day before. I went off the front a few times including on three laps to go which I thought might stick but didn't. I even won a $25 prime and I was chopped in the last corner but I still managed a 10th place in the final sprint.
I had a lot of fun riding and racing out in the sun with my team mates, regardless of my fitness level. I want to say thank you to everyone who made this such a fun experience, including the new equipment I received from Specialized! I can't for the next trip to San Dimas in March!
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