Mela
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Welcome back race fans!! The tour is now in it's fifth week and I have to say it is a very exciting tour so far. Change is the on constant in the universe and the tour as well,
The Team Time Trial was won by the Kokomo Cycling and Fitness Team which moved them up to second on the Team GC, the Flying Squirrels remained in first however the lead they had has gotten much smaller. The win for KCF also gave Markus his first ever stage victory. The individual GC also tightened up a touch. Rob Land of the FS team still holds first by 3 seconds over Kaleb Naegeli of the TL. 3rd is Markus Naegeli (KCF) at :13 back, 4th is Sehr(FS) still at :14 back and 5th is Francis at :15 behind. On a related note the average GC deficit is now at 1:53 which in 2008 it was 2:53 at this point in the race. In short its a close race right now, that means: well I'm not exactly clear on what that means. It does make things a bit more interesting and raises some questions. Like how long can Rob hold onto his narrow lead? And who if anyone will be able to pass him? The real question, I believe, is who is the best climber? Since the riders will now be facing the biggest climbs of the tour one would think that the mountain goats of the peloton would now have the advantage. So who are the climbers? Kaleb Naegeli certainly looks like a climber, he is fairly light at 149 lbs and has shown good power so far, but how will he fair with the steep grades we face this stage? One look at Rob and you would think more of a sprinter then a climber, same could be said of Markus. Stephen Sehr is a good all rounder but not known as a climber, then there is Francis who is known as a time trialist leaving us looking elsewhere for someone who is likely to dominate this stage. Tom McMahan was able to pull of the win in 2008, can he do it again and with only being 41 seconds down could he make up enough time to vault himself to first place? There are so many possibilities with a tough stage like this and the times being so close that predictions are so hard to even begin to come up with. We know that the FS squad will be trying to look after Rob but I would not be surprised if he shows any signs of weakness that the ok will be given to Sehr if he feels he has the legs to do so. The same might be said over at the KCF camp, Larry Barnhart is known to be able to climb well so if Markus cracks Larry might try his hand today or should I say legs. The stage itself is likely to be decided on the biggest climb of the tour, the climb is a tough one for flatlanders in the winter to say the least. I think if there are going to be a big attack it will happen on this climb during the flatter section in the middle of the climb where the grade is only at 4%, if anyone sees that the steeper section prior to that has taken from the legs of the other riders a strong climber would then give it a go there. Make them chase you going into the steeper slops, if you can get a gap here then one could gain some time by the end of that stage. Remember this stage has a summit finish hitting 10% at the end.
I see the teams are chatting with each other as
they roll through the neutral zone, Rob up front wearing the yellow jersey; his
team all around him. They maybe making last minute plans for the stage today,
making sure everything goes right today. The peloton seems to be in a good mood
so far as I see a lot of smiles and some joking going on as they get nearer the
start of the race, looks like the calm before the storm. As they get the start
the pace picks up and the Flying Squirrels have accepted their role as pace
makers up front. They, I'm sure, are happy to try to control the pack even if it
does mean doing most of the work. So far it doesn't look like most the other teams are
setting themselves up this early and are willing to see what the Squirrels can
do. It's a flat start today so it won't likely be until the first climb to start
seeing much action. I would not be surprised if the peloton just rolls along
together over the first half of the stage, saving their strength for the bigger
climbs. As they reach the first climb today the FS team are still up front doing
the work, at the moment it's Mitch Reeves setting the pace as the road starts to
climb upwards. This first climb is about 1/2 a mile long with an 12% grade as
they reach the summit, if we see any early attacks it might be
on that section.
Mitch is setting a fast pace now, the rest of the Flying Squirrels team is in
line behind him along with everyone else. Rob is sitting in third looking
relaxed as they reach the steeper grade. Mitch gets out of the saddle and powers
upwards, he is looking a little under stress keeping this pace up. So as they
pick up speed on the down hill "Super Flying Tree Rat: (Superman) Reeves" gets a
bit of rest as he tucks in behind Brewer. The Peloton strings out in a single
line as they zoom along through the twist and turns of the downhill. Andrew
Maibaum of the Time Lords zips past Mitch and is pedaling very hard down this
hill. He is taking some chances on these turns but he has gotten a gap over the
peloton.
The rest was short as the next climb looms over the riders like a dark cloud of despair, looks like its Steve Brewer's turn to set the climbing pace. Larry Barnhart leads his team up next to the Squirrels, so we may have our first challenge of the day. Steve keeps the pace high, Mitch is keeping a watchful eye on the KCF team as he rides next to Sue Barnhart up this slope. This hill does not have the same bite as the last one however it's 6% and 7% grades will still punish the legs of these riders. Larry pulls a head of Steve Brewer slightly, it doesn't look like the KCF team is willing to just lay down and let the Squirrels dictate the race pace all the way to the finish line. However no one is taking up the chase to reel Andrew back in just yet. Riders are bunching up a bit, all trying to stay in contact with the front of the race. Over the top Andrew goes still with a gap, Steve makes room for Mitch to take the front again. Mitch powers up to speed on this short downhill dragging his team along behind while out pacing the KCF team slightly, however Andrew is starting to stretch his advantage out a bit. Who does he think he is today Jens Vogt? Looks like a close call near the back of the pack as Shawn finds himself on the wrong line during one of the switch back. He nearly kisses the guard rail but manages to keep the bike up, it slowed him down but he is now chasing to regain contact with the back of the group.
Andrew is still leading as they start the next climb, he is trying to keep the pace high once again. The strain is starting to take it's toll on the riders back in the peloton as it stretches out in a long line. The Flying Squirrels team are still up front, they are not panicking over Andrew being up the road a touch. Near the front I see both Naegelis, Manfred, Rossiter, McMahan, Barnhart(L.) and Bell. The teams are behind that, so no strong reaction from any one right now. Mitch does an elbow twitch and Brewer takes over at the front, then Mitch slides in behind him. Looking like the Blue train has conceded the fact that they are going to have to haul the peloton up the climbs today. Andrew, who is not known as a climber is not being pulled back in yet despite Brewer of the FS team doing an excellent job of keeping the pace high as the peloton nears the summit. The next climb is the biggest climb of the day, it starts out with an 8% grade, flattens out to about 4% in the middle then hits 12% for the last section. Andrew slams in to the next hill like a flying brick and he is quickly out of the saddle, I can't say he is dancing on the pedals unless its a clog dance however he is climbing better then expected.
Well here is a surprise, as they hit the base of the hill Mitch picks up the pace going round Steve Brewer, his team was ready for this though and Steve gets on his wheel with Rob and Stephen in tow. A lot of the riders are out of the saddle trying to match this acceleration, there are 2 BRW there, 2 KCF, 2 TL and 2 Moose. Looking like the Blue train has just become an ark, limiting it to 2 of everything. There is a gap to the rest of the peloton and its growing. They are nearing the "false flat" section and it looks like Mitch's work isn't done yet, nor is Brewer's though Steve it looks like is going back for some bidons as he drops out of line and slips back to the peloton. So in this group there is Land(FS), Sehr(FS), L. Barnhart(KCF), M. Naegeli(KCF), Leonard (BRW), Manfred(BRW),Rossiter(TL), K. Naegeli(TL), McMahan(MM) and Bell(MM).
There is an attack, it's one of the Wraiths, Shawn I think, he jumped right before the the road flattened out to 4%. The group is chasing, Sehr is pulling Land and the rest of the group back into contact. It was Shawn and he saw he had a small gap, put his head down and was trying to fend off the chase. Looks like this has shaken Brewer out the back as he looses contact, the group are letting the Squirrels do the chasing. Shawn now sees he isn't going to stay away long...it was a good effort but it was well covered. The group have caught him, we're just before where the road turns aggressively upwards and with that catch there is another attack. Barnhart this time has jumped off to the right side of the road and has gotten a small amount of real-estate over the group. Stephen Chases, looking back to make sure Rob is there and the two are joined by Rossiter(TL). The rest of the group are fighting to get up to speed on this steep slope. Barnhart is picked up by the Squirrels and the pace slows a bit. The rest of the group are closing in now, at the back Kaleb(TL) looks like he is starting to crack under the pace with him is Jeff Bell(MM). As the group comes back together Francis keeps the speed up and goes off the front, again its Sehr to be the first to react and grabs the wheel of the attacker. The action is really picking up now with several people wanting to test this Flying Tree Rats Team. So far I have to say they have answered the challenge well as Stephen leads Rob up this 12% grade. Meanwhile Andrew still on his solo adventure is nearing the final bit of this climb. This tough section is once again stretching the group out a bit, Francis is now sitting behind team mate Shawn(BRW) who is doing the pace making at the moment. Rob and Stephen are next with Markus(KCF), Rossiter(TL), Larry(KCF) and McMahan(MM) still all there, it looks like Kaleb has cracked today on this hill for he has lost contact with the group. I don't know if Ryan R. has noticed or if his orders are to just stay with the lead pack. Andrew has kept away as he goes over the crest of this beast. So as yellow jersey group reaches the top and start the last decent the top group continues to slowly thin out. Shawn was followed by Francis of the the top with Ryan R.(TL), Markus(KCF),Stephen(FS),Rob(FS), Tom(MM) and Larry(KCF) all in tow.
Andrew has gotten to the last climb with a nice lead over the yellow jersey group and looks to on the way to a stage win. Meanwhile as the group containing Rob gets to the base of the climb Stephen is now setting the pace. This hill is only a 5% grade at the base then goes to a 10% grade as it gets closer to the finish line. The group is struggling along as they hit the 10%, there is no way they are going to get to Andrew now... yes Andrew has done it today he has gotten himself a stage win this year. The rest of the field looks to be about a minute behind him so this should help him move back up in the GC. And coming up this hill Stephen has picked up the pace and it has splintered this group, Rob is with him as is Francis, Mitch, Shawn and Markus. A small gap back we see Tom, Ryan and Larry. Rob and Stephen are looking around a bit, Stephen is going very hard now and small gaps are appearing he rounds corner, there is a Sprint to the finish.. Stephen is closely followed by Mitch and thats how they finish. Rob is being challenged by Shawn but holds on for forth on the stage. Shawn is 5th. Francis lead Markus to the line for 6th and 7th. So the Squirrels may have not gotten a stage win here today but I would say they did win the battle on the stage, the other teams put them to the test and they showed just how strong they are. Other riders are still coming in, Kaleb was well off the pace today which may topple any chances he had for a win this year. Well for what the rest of the stage did you will have to just go to the results page.
Mike out