Valley of the Sun Stage Race

Race Report: Valley of the Sun Stage Race
Date: Feb. 15-17, 2013
Teammates: Craig, plus Larry and the Juniors in other fields
Field: Elite 2, 69 riders
Results: TT - 27th, RR - 28th, Crit - 10th, GC - 23rd

I had been looking forward to this stage race for a couple of reasons.  This was the first time I headed down to VOS and the first time that I would get a chance to meet many of the juniors.  As for racing, Craig and I had made the decision to jump into the 2s to do the extra mileage in the road race.

Stage one was a mostly flat, 14 mi TT. It was slightly uphill to the turnaround and back with both legs featuring a gusty cross wind. The last time that I raced my TT bike was back in August (due to a slight UCI overlook on my part at Nationals in September). So I really was not well acquainted with my TT ride. I felt pretty good going out and held decent power coming back, passing a few guys and being passed once by my 30s guy. I came in at 32min for a slightly disappointing 27th place. 

The road race started just before noon, as the wind really started to whip up.  The race was 6 times over a 16 mi triangle, with a 400ft tailwind climb to the finish. At first thought it should have been easy, so I marked down some GC numbers to watch and rolled out. With a stiff headwind on the first leg, the pace was on/off the whole way. This led to a stupid crash within the first mile. I got caught behind but stayed upright and caught back on.

The second leg was a cross wind which could have easily lead to a split, but it never really came. No one really drove the race and it was just a matter of surviving the surges.  After suffering up the climb as the pack went full gas, I had enough on lap 3 and rode off the front in the windy section. Rolling up to a twosome up the road, we worked together for almost a full lap before being caught. Then it was back to trying to sit in.

Somewhere around 65 miles I really started to rue the decision to do the 2s and not the M123 race  I tried to stay near the front as best I could.  Unfortunately the miles took their toll and on the final climb to the finish I got shot out the back and rolled in a minute or so down. Moved a few spots up on GC due to the number of DNFs to 23rd.  Special thanks to Mike and Ian for working the feed zone.

The last day was a figure eight crit in downtown pheonix. The legs felt pretty good spinning around and the GC leader had enough of a lead that it was likely that the race would come down to a field sprint. So I looked for breakaway opportunities, but tried to psych myself up for some sprinting.

About a third of the way though the race I found myself second wheel on the final turn of a prime lap. The sprint is a straight 300m runin. I jumped shortly after the turn and just held off the guy on my wheel.  I was felling pretty good about myself until I ran trough some choppy pavement on the backside of the course and flatted my front.  After limping to the pit to snag Craig's spare wheel, I got reintegrated with 8 to go.

After sitting in for a while longer, I worked my way to 5th wheel with about 5 to go. They rang the prime bell again and going down the backstretch, Craig rolled up and slotted in infront of me and pulled me through the final turn. This time I timed my jump better and took the prime by a few bike lengths. I had visions of continuing solo, but the field rolled up quickly and I slotted in again.

Fast forward to the last lap and I started in good position, but got swarmed on the first part of the lap. I had to make an effort down the backstretch to get to about 10th wheel. Coming out of the final corner, a guy a few spots infront of me bit it pretty hard. I was able to slow and swerve and then opened my sprint. Never had a chance to run down the leaders (should have been 5th wheel or better), but I held my position for 10th. The GC positions didn't change with the field sprint.

Overall, decent showing for Feburary. It's a long season, but need to work a little on the top end (especially going uphill). Great fun racing with Craig and hangin out with the kids, Larry and Billy, and the families that made the trip. Now a little rest and time to hit it at Merco.

Cheers,
Jeromy