Finally a chance to write a Tour of Virginia wrap. The last two stages went pretty well, but were very tense affairs. The gaps separating the top riders were all pretty close and there were only two chances left for the sprinters to show their stuff.
For Saturday night’s crit it even looked like it might rain, so I just worked to keep the guys calm and prepared for whatever could happen. We decided to run race radios again too just in case there was anything I needed to say, but fortunately it was actually a pretty uneventful race. I even had enough time on my hands to make a stop at the beer garden on the course and enjoy a nice cold beverage to benefit a local charity. It actually turned out to be a great spot to watch the race as it was away from the noise of the start/finish and I had a chance to chat with some locals who wanted to know more about what was happening.
My sister Bridget also came down from Georgetown on Saturday with a couple friends and had dinner with us. If there was an upside to not being in the race anymore, it was being able to just relax and hang out with them.
And speaking of relaxed and hanging out, after Stage 4 the team and I moved off the “hotel circuit” and into the home of former ABD’er John Semmelhack and his wife, Amy. We all had a great time staying with them. John took me out for a little ride around Charlottesville the morning before the crit too, and it’s a really beautiful area.
Sunday’s final stage was another road race that departed and finished right in Charlottesville, and the guys said it was probably one of the hardest stages of the race, despite it’s lack of any categorized climbs. They had to tackle an 80 mile loop followed by 3.5 finishing circuits. Here’s a breakdown of this soap opera of a stage:
- Ryan crashed 20 miles in but was able to jump up, work his way through the caravan, and rejoin the group.
- Alex put in his bid as a Sherpa when he came back to the car and loaded up half his weight in bottles and food.
- A group of 10 riders had a 2 minute gap on the field, but was mis-diverted on the circuits so that they actually ended up behind the field.
- The caravan was diverted onto open roads which resulted in a “Mad Team Managers at Thunderdome” scene between team cars and unsuspecting residents also caught in traffic.
- The various groups on the road were given a lot of conflicting information on the circuits regarding what lap they were on.
- A frustrated field neutralized themselves the last lap as they’d already sprinted once, but one rider attacked the neutral field for who knows what reason.
- A fists of fury, bloodshed, smashed carbon bikes, fight broke out 20 yards from the finish line, right in front of the mayor, sponsors, organizers, police and spectators between said rider and others.
- 4 riders were ejected from the race, three suspended from USAC, and over $1000 in fines handed out.
- Oh yeah, Ryan kept the U-23 jersey!!!
After the race it was quick showers, a delicious meal courtesy of Amy, and the start of the long drive home. We finally made it back to the PPC parking lot at about 5:30 on Monday afternoon, and I had a Board meeting that night, Dr.’s appointment Tuesday morning, Multisport meeting Tuesday night, and a flight to LA Wednesday morning – from where I’m writing this report… exhale.
So that Dr.’s appointment? That’s tonight or tomorrow’s update.
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