Fayetteville Stage Race 2014 was a race of strategy and perseverance as the weather was rainy one minute with thunderstorms and windy the next. Stage 1 CAT 35+ on Saturday started with 60 or so riders and raining. We had already received word that flats were a huge factor as the road conditions wet and there was a lot of gravel in sections. We went out neutral and the group stayed together as people started flatting and the wheel trucks were running out of wheels. The race was pretty uneventful and at the sprint zone there was some confusion because the official blocked off one lane and we was suppose to have the full road. We all bunched up in one lane and finished without a true sprint. I ended that one in eighth place and there was only 20 left in the pack. Fayetteville Time Trial a 9 miler with some rough sections. As I lined up I felt really good and fresh. The started says go and I take off trying my best not to go to hard. First hard bump I hit my set post bolt strips out and I am forced to sit back balancing my seat on the post. I ended up in 11th but the good news is I still improved last years time by over a minute. That post will not fail me again! Fayetteville Road Race day 2. The weather had cleared up some but from what I was hearing the DNF list from earlier races was extreme. Our field was a little smaller today as maybe 45 guys started. We rolled out to neutral point and I had been watching the competition and noticed not to many were warmed up and I felt like the start was going to be pretty much the same as the day before. That was a rookie mistake as apparently one of the other teams had warmed up real well because when they said go, they took off like rockets. The start blew our field apart and I found myself looking for allies to for a chase group. I ended up in the second chase group of 6 guys and all but 1 of us was in the top 10 for the GC including the guy sitting number 1. We burned and churned but every time this one guy would get on front he would slow down and we realized. This guy is a teammate to the guys in the breakaway, a sacrificial lamb if you may. Well as it may this dude ended up wrecking himself out trying to block but by then it was too late to make up the ground. As we approached the finish my group split into 2 groups and I found myself in the first 3. When I got to the uphill finish it was all I could do to just get up the hill as my legs were flaming with pain. I ended up finishing this race in 13th and 10th in the GC. Not the top 5 I was hoping for but it was a good start. This was one of the best races as far as team tactics I have been a part of and I learned a lot. Stage racing is fun and were else could you ever get the experience of 3 races in one weekend. Lessons learned: always double check and triple check your equipment. Always warm up even if you believe you don’t need too and always know you competition. Train Hard, Race Strong, Kevin
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 14:19:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015