Green Mountain Stage Race Re-Cap

By Martin • September 8th, 2009

vermont OK, so a few days ago I promised daily updates on the MABRA contingent at the Green Mountain Stage Race in Vermont. But with the amount of racing we did over four days — not to mention the recovering for each following day — I think it’s excusable that I wasn’t rushing to find the first available Wi-Fi signal in the hinterlands of rural Vermont.

In lieu of the day-to-day post, consider this the omnibus summary of the Green Mountain Stage Race. (I’m speaking mostly for myself, Tim B. and Tim R. of The Bike Rack, Drew Armstrong and Steven Black of NCVC, Brian Sacawa of Kelly Benefit Strategies and Rob Sheffield of Squadra Coppi, since they were the guys I raced with or shacked up with. Other MABRA racers were at GMSR, including an Artemis rider, a few Evo guys and an ABRT racer.)

Stage 1, September 4: Covered here.

Stage 2, September 5: 72-mile circuit race for both Cat 3 and Cat 2 fields. Very MABRA-esque course profile, with flat sections and hills. The main uphill drag, though, was two miles long, more than what we have around here. Each lap was roughly 20 miles long, and there were KOM and Sprint points up for grabs. The weather was spectacular, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid- to high-70s.

In the Cat 3 race, things stayed together nicely throughout, with no one really trying to launch any breaks. The pace varied, though I wouldn’t call it terribly hard. (We did finish in under three hours, though.) Tim B. took the first KOM points and fought for the remaining two KOM sprints, ending up second at the end of the day. Possibly the most notable thing about the race was the amount of crashing. There were four crashes on the day, three of them in the final kilometer of racing. Brian S. was taken down in the final sprint, suffering some road rash and a bruised shoulder. The rest of us finished in the field, with Tim B. scoring a top 10 finish.

It’s hard to blame any one person or team for the crashes that occured, but I will say this much — a particular French-Canadian team raced like a bunch of nihilists. Not only did they have the biggest squad in the field, but they also rode a little too aggressively for their own good. Going into the first sprint point, I saw one of the riders almost cause a severe wreck. On the second run through the sprint point, one of his teammates succeeded in causing a wreck. I suppose that when you have numbers you can sacrifice a guy or two, but not many any other guys seemed amused.

In the Cat 2 field, things were more aggressive, with breaks getting away and getting brought back on every lap. Tim R. was the strong-man for the day, working himself into the KOM jersey. Steven Black attacked his breakaway group in the final lap to take the stage win and leader’s jersey.

Stage 3, September 6: The queen stage, a 75-mile point-to-point road race (no laps!!!) with three mountain passes — Brandon Gap, Baby Gap and App Gap. Another beautiful day, though a little chillier than during the circuit race. We broke out the arm warmers for the first time in months.

The first 20 miles or so of the Cat 3 race were moderate, with the field rolling down flat Vermont country roads enjoying the scenery. A small breakaway group got away, but no one seemed to intent on chasing them just yet. The first climb of the day was Brandon Gap, a 2.5-mile uphill drag with steep kickers along the way. The tempo was tough, but most of the group made it over the mountain together, only to face a four-mile screaming descent that saw speeds approach 60 miles-an-hour. Another 20 miles or or so of flat roads followed. (I fell off the pace a little on the climb, and spent the better part of 10 miles TT’ing to catch back on. I did, and it felt damn pro to do so.) The break was still up the road, but again no one made any effort to chase.

We hit a few short, punchy climbs and traversed two miles of dirt road (Brian S. went down again; his race was over) before coming to the Baby Gap. Four miles of steady climbing later and a brief flat section brought the group to the day’s closing climb — App Gap. Just over two miles long, the climb ranges from 12 to 20 percent, with the steepest sections being in the final 500 meters. The group started splintering at this point, though Tim B., Drew and Rob finished near the front. I ended day the day almost 15 minutes off the pace and totally spent, though finishing such a punishing stage was a reward in of itself. And yes, the breakaway group did survive, at least mostly, until the end. Impressive.

In the Cat 2 race, Tim R. valiantly tried to defend the KOM jersey, but the contest was taken from him by a breakaway group. Steven Black tightened his grip on the leader’s jersey by taking the stage, his second in as many days.

Stage 4, September 7: A six-corner crit in downtown Burlington, 20 miles for both the Cat 2 and Cat 3 fields. A third consecutive beautiful day, with cafes and restaurants along the course packed with spectators. A great way to finish a great stage race.

From the beginning, I was told that staging really was everything. Get to the front quickly and you’ll survive, get stuck in the pack and you’re bound to get spun off in a pinch. From the gun our group was flying, and gaps were opening up all over the place. I staged badly; race over in just 12 laps. Drew lasted about 17, while Tim B. and Rob remained in until the end. Rob took third in a bunch sprint.

The story of the day was the one-man breakaway in the Cat 3 race that came with mere feet of lapping the field and winning the whole stage race. He had taken the opening TT by over 30 seconds, lost the jersey on Stage 3 and had to make up over 1:30 to get it back. And he tried. He broke away as soon as the race started, gobbled up every single sprint point, preme and time bonus and won the crit. But was it enough to take back the leader’s jersey? Nope — short by five seconds. But what a performance.

The Cat 2 race saw plenty of riders get pulled, but Tim R. and Steven stayed strong until the end.

All told, the Green Mountain Stage Race was a fantastic experience and an incredible race. MABRA represented well, with Steven taking the Cat 2 GC, Tim R. claiming the KOM jersey for a day, Rob for taking third in the Cat 3 crit and Tim B. for placing 11th overall in the Cat 3 GC. Other MABRA riders also rode strongly. The hardest part? Driving back after the crit. Nine hours in a car after four days of racing was more painful than the racing itself.