Green Mountain Stage Race - 50+ - 9-2-08
The Green Mountain Stage Race is gaining in popularity with more top riders participating and the 40+ category being stacked deep as Fitchburg. This is my first year trying the 50+ category and had hopes for chasing the sprint jersey during the circuit race and a good place in the crit. The weather could not have been better being high 70’s most days. NEBC had good turnout in a lot of categories, and Jerry Jacobs and Jasen Rude joined me in the 50+ race.
The format of the race was changed this year to be time based, along with course changes necessitated by circuit course bridge problems and flood damaged Middleberry gap road.
The prolog was a 10K ITT with a 6K climb to a tailwind driven false flat down to a final hill at .5K. Jason had a good time (15:59.09) to place 19th, I managed mid pack taking it too cautious on the climb, but averaging 327 watts for the TT and a time of 16:37. Jerry got his first GSMR experience.
Dave Viney smashed the pack with a 14:15, leading the second place rider by 49 sec.
The 65 mile circuit race with 5K feet of gradual climbing was on a new course that is tougher than last years. My goal (slim chance) was to try for sprint points in hopes of getting a jersey to take home. The pack flew up the long climb when I dropped into a pot hole flatting both tires. I got 2 new wheels and started a very long, long, 60 mile 20mph tempo ride with two other riders to finish 31 minutes down on the pack. The pack managed to get a 6 man break away on the second climb that survived to the end. Jerry did a good job joining a small group and out sprinting them at the finish. Jason spent too much going for the KOM win, only to get dropped later and relax to watch the rest of the race. My legs were toast, and I knew I would be riding in survival mode for the rest of the races.
I started the 75 mile (7K ft climbing) RR thinking only of nursing my poor tired legs to the finish. A tail wind helped three men break away at the start with the pack chasing at 27mph average down the valley before turning up Branden gap. Branden gap was easier than Middleberry but still required my 180lb body to make 347 watts (normal power) for 15 minutes to hang with a climbing pack of 20 riders. I struggled at the top but happily coasted down the backside in the draft. The climbing pack was rejoined on the decent by most of the rest and we went slowly into a strong headwind back toward Appalachian gap.
The break pulled almost a 3 minute lead, fighting the head wind, only to get caught by the pack ripping up the steep climb just before the 5 miles of dirt road and 10 miles from the finish. Attacks on the dirt road brought the pace to around 30mph. My legs called it quits on the last rise up “baby gap” and I painfully cramped my way up App’ Gap to finish 36th. Jerry finished the race 52nd riding with a small group. Dave Viney won again despite doing tremendous work on the front of the pack.
The 16 mile, 24 lap Crit was the last chance for surviving 55 riders to do real damage to their, oh so tired, legs and possibly pull something off. This 6 corner technical crit with about 200 ft of climbing per lap to the finish line at a fast 26mph average pace. Dave Viney and his team mate kept the high pace and no breaks had a chance. I averaged 310 watts for the 36 minute race and had an HR of 169bpm average to my 180 max. I sprinted to 12th place not having the steam to position my self well for the finishing turn.
Jerry did a great job and lasted long enough be given a finish time and 40th place to officially complete his first GMSR! Congrats! Job well done.
33 finished in the field, 42 for the race.
Thats it, another GSMR done, legs are dead and the cyclocross season just starting.