Thanks to Ben King (Trek-Livestrong), Jon Baker (KFAN Composite Team) and Vince Owens (Z Team) for providing their view from the saddle of the Tour of Utah.
STAGE 2 130 km
Ben King
The last 35 km of today were straight up a mountain climbing to 9000 ft. Since we lost time yesterday, Ryohei, Ryan, Jesse, and I tried to get into a break early on. When we missed the one that finally stuck, it was time to settle in and let Rock Racing ride the front until the climb. Starting the climb at the front was critical, because Rock was riding so hard on the early slopes. I surged up to the top 20 but got swept back 3 or 4 times. When the climb started, I was around 100 riders back, and for 2 km I worked to move up and help Bjorn. Finally in the top 50. In fact, there were already only around 50 riders left by now. All of the sudden, the pace seemed too fast. I was confused, until we went through a switchback and I almost wrecked. My rear tire was completely flat. I had to wait for neutral support, and then ride the grupetto to the finish. The climb was brutal, but the views on the way up were spectacular. I wish I was in a position to describe how Bjorn “manned up” and is now in a position to crack the top ten on GC. The other U23 riders here are proving their potential and the value of the various development programs we’ve been a part of.
Jon Baker
That was a long climb! I thought I had prepared myself pretty well for the Tour of Utah, with some 5+ hour days in the saddle climbing in the mountains above my hometown of Boulder, CO. However, the stage 2 mountain-top finish on Mt. Nebo, just south of Salt Lake City, came as a bit of a shock to the system. According to the stage profile, the climb started at 100k into the stage, and finished up 30k later, but with what looked to be a manageable 4500 ft of elevation gain. I’ve done that before. What turned out was a climb that took 1hr and 45 minutes, with a seemingly never-ending series of false summits and short decents in the upper half of the climb. I had actually started the climb in quite good position; in the top-20 or so riders, as the OUCH team set a fierce pace for the first 5K of the climb. When Brad White pulled off, however, instead of a bit of a lull as riders looked at eachother, instead the real action started, and the bunch exploded. I was demoted to the 3rd group on the road at this point; suffering from some unexpected cramping in my hamstrings. Not able to go at my limit, I watched with disappointment as riders I’ve outclimbed all year jumped away up the road. In the end, I limited my losses somewhat, finishing with a group of 10 or so riders at 7 minutes down. I’m left scratching my head at my lackluster performance, but am still looking forward to the Queen Stage up to Snowbird on Saturday as a chance for possible redemption.
Vince Owens
Today was just plain brutal! It started out with 55 miles of flats and then ended with a 20 mile climb. The flats weren’t exactly easy either! The early break took about 25 miles to go, so it was really strung out. The break finally went and the pack slowed down just enough for everybody to get a feed and then Rock Racing road a tempo consistantly over 30 mph! By the time we got to the climb I was already feeling it. I came off pretty early and found a group of about 8 guys that were riding a tolerable pace. We continued to pick up riders and by the time we got towards the top we had about 50 riders. Cruised it in and made the time cut. Are team leader Nate English did much better today and finished alot further up the road. I suffered pretty bad today! I knew I was in trouble when I was hurting pretty good and then I saw the 20 km sign! I think all the racing this season is finally starting to catch up to me. Tomorrow is a 15 km time trial, I am sure it will hurt!
STAGE 3 14 km TT
Ben King
After tonight I’m thinking of switching sports to moto gp… or nascar because AC would have been nice in the 100 degree temps. Even at 30 mph, the serpentine turns on the Miller Motorsports Park track were exciting to navigate. It was fast and flat. Eventual winner, Tom Zirbel, started 30 sec behind me and gave me another reason to reconsider this sport when he blew past me at the half way point. I caught my 30 second man and went a little too deep. The last 2 km were torture. However, I’m realistic about my 40th place finish. I gave it everything, but at the end of the day it’s just one more race, and tomorrow’s another day.
Jon Baker
In 95 degree weather, the KFAN Composite Team arrived at the Miller Motorsports track looking forward to our promised air-conditioned garage space to warm up in. Turns out, however, that our spot had been taken over by the Kelly guys, who had been previously squeezed out of their shared spot by Rock. And so the pecking order is established. After a bit of negotiation with the organizers, we were granted our own private garage, somewhat down the track, but not too bad. The actual racing went much as predicted, with me settling into a mid-30′s placing, despite setting what was likely a personal speed record with a 30+ mph average on the very fast racetrack. Net result, I moved up a couple spots on GC, but I know it will all come down to the Snowbird stage if I want to crack the top-20. Vince Owens
Today was a 9.2 mile time trial. I wasn’t feeling to good this morning, but after I spun my legs out for an hour in the morning I started to feel a little bit better. The course was kind of cool it was this twisting out and back on a race track. I haven’t seen the results yet, but I know for sure that Tom Zirbel won. He totally crushed it posting a 17:00, beating Dave Zabriski! I know Zabriski hasn’t really done much since the tour, but that is still impressive to beat him! I rolled in with a time very far from the leaders at 19:03. That actually isn’t to bad for me. I am by no means a good time trialer! I felt ok so hopefully by tomorrow morning I will feel a little bit better. I am going to need everything in the tank tomorrow to just survive! There is a very difficult climb early in the race and then it finishes with an even harder mountain top finish!
