Sep 04, 2013 at 03:39 AM
Stage 3 - Mad River Road Race
The queen stage. 70 miles. Flats and rollers are the baseline. One hefty KOM at mile 40, and then fireworks at the very end -- first comes Baby Gap at about mile 60, which is a Bradley-like climb except about twice as long, if that makes any sense. Fairly gradual, but seems to drag on quite a bit. A few minutes of mostly descending follow, then begins Appalachian Gap at around mile 67. This is a climb that has no comparison around here. It's hard from the very start, then it gets truly punitive for the last 1 km.
My plan for the day was to hide like a coward and watch out for Konrad, who was all up in the KOM competition (2nd) and within spitting distance of a top 10 GC spot (19th, but under 30 seconds out). As soon as I got to Baby Gap, I intended to shut it all down and ride it in at my own pace. The idea being to conserve my legs for Monday's crit and try not to duplicate my cramping issues from the day before.
Mission accomplished.
There was an admirably vexing early solo break that kept us really fast until the first KOM at mile 40. Some scrawny teenager from University of Vermont went berserker. On a really patched-up stretch of road about 30 miles in, I heard another familiar "BOTTLE!" chorus, and saw what looked like a heavy Sriracha bottle zooming along the pavement through the pack. It was Konrad's, I knew instantly. He was kind of proud of that bottle, and we'd talked about it a fair bit. Quite the conversation piece.
"Oh, no, our GC guy is down a full bottle of drink -- do I give him my full seat-tube bottle and attempt to grab multiple bottles of water at the supposedly neutral feed zones and extract a couple gels off the particularly small juniors in the field so I don't cramp/bonk (cronk?) 10 miles before the finishing climbs? Do I pretend I didn't see Konrad's bottle veer unpredictably not six inches from my front wheel, and stay away from him, hoarding all my pineapple Skratch drink for my own insatiable thirst? Do I give him my full bottle and down all eight of my Enduralytes and hope they're magic? Do I commit myself to riding directly alongside him for the entire rest of the race, rationing our hydration resources back and forth according to hardball negotiations?"
No. I gave him the extra bottle I stuffed in my middle jersey pocket in case of, well, this. So yeah, mission accomplished. I sidled up to Konrad a couple times along the way for a swig off his bottles out of sheer paranoia, but really we had enough.
Once I get serious cramps in a stage race, I am basically doomed. They will return at their earliest convenience. I was determined to race cramp-free on this day so I'd be able the race the crit hard. I kept my nose super clean and conserved every single pedal stroke. I made it a game to try not to touch my brakes. I expended great effort to go over the top with the front group of KOM 1 at mile 40 and then reverted immediately to pure energy conservation mode.
Again, mission accomplished. When we hit Baby Gap, I politely recused myself from the proceedings and rode it in a very gentlemanly fashion. I utilized the final feed zone, in the middle of the climb, as if I were a platinum member at the American Airlines Admiral's Club Lounge. I politely accepted the proffered soft drink and leisurely made my way up to the next volunteer for a complimentary water bottle as well, because, why not?
Crested Baby Gap, did the descent, regrouped with a few friends, started up App Gap.
A bunch of stuff happened after this. Chalk on the roadway. Frooming. Insane summit finish. Konrad moved up. Met up with Harry. Broken spoke. Beerecovery. Recovurritos.
Mission accomplished: finished the 70 mile queen stage without burning any matches and somehow avoiding cramps.
The crit is looking GOOD!
