Tuesday night's Stage 2 Criterium in Lynchburg seems to fit the current standard for US stage races: ridiculously narrow sections of road with a few intense turns. Courses that are perfect for very challenging, spectator friendly events that come down to who's the toughest (or craziest). However, a bit wacko for 150+ guys in a multi-day stage race. It doesn't make sense to test guys cojones on top of their ability.
Fortunately, since this is a stage race on time everyone was pretty well behaved and just grabbed the wheel in front of them to go along for the ride. There were about 20 guys gunning it up front to keep it really fast, and then a two block long line of riders just following their wheels. Near the last couple of laps, I even started easing up a little bit to save the legs for Stage 3. Thus, I finished second to last in the field on the day, but with the exact same time as first place and I probably spent a lot less energy, easy peasy.
Unfortunately, saving the legs didn't help me much today. To make a short story shorter, I just never hit a rhythm and by the third significant climb of the day I was done. I couldn't hang with the group I was in, couldn't hang in the group that caught me, and ended up just hanging it up. I climbed into the van at the second feed zone 85 miles in and went into manager mode - racing towards the finish with James, a local who's helping us out. A quick stop at the convenient store and we had Coke, Water, snacks and cold towels for the guys at the finish. I'm glad we did too, they faced a brutal 25 minute ascent between that last feed zone and the finish, and it was a long, hot brutal day for them.
And the payoff? Our man Ryan Baumann is now in the Under-23 leader's jersey. It's a big deal at an event that prides itself on showcasing America's up and coming talent, and a great motivator for Brett, Alex and Ryan as they face a monster stage tomorrow (Thursday).
The official race photos aren't up yet, but Ryan has a race report and few photos over at his blog.
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