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Jun
27
Nature Valley Grand Prix
Filed Under Race Reports | Posted by Neil |
Seven of us headed up to the land of 10,000 lakes for the Nature Valley Grand Prix. The locals actually tell me that there are more than 10,000 lakes, but nevertheless there’s a lot more water here than in So Cal. The race consisted of six stages over five days throughout the beautiful state of Minnesota.
The first stage was an hour long criterium in downtown St. Paul. It was a tough way for me to get my legs going again since my last hard effort was in Philly ten days prior. The race came down to a field sprint and set up a reoccurring theme for just about every stage for the team, two in the top ten. Evan was sixth with Cesar in seventh.
Stage two was a 65 mile road stage with rolling terrain. It was a tough start for us when ten miles in a huge wreck took out five of us. Everyone was OK but it made for a tough chase to get back into the field. At the finish Evan was able to break into the top five and Cesar rounding out the top ten. The highlight of the day was our French-Canadian rider David taking the Young Riders Jersey.
Going into Friday nights Minneapolis downtown criterium we were still looking for a stage win, but the teams main goals were to keep David in the Young Riders Jersey and help Cesar move into the top three overall by Sunday. The crit ended in another field sprint. Evan and Hoppy both had impressive rides to finish in the top ten once again.
Stage five was an 86 mile day with four tough finishing circuits that included a one kilometer steep climb per lap. With the whole field together coming into the circuits the fireworks were sure to go off once we hit the climb. On the second of four circuits Cesar went with a group of six on the climb. As the race blew apart behind Cesar’s group kept a ten second gap all the way to the finish where Cesar sprinted in for strong third place. I finally had better legs due to the longer stage and the finishing climbs and was able to get my first top ten of the week. Although the stage went well for the team David wasn’t able to keep the Young Riders Jersey by the end of the day. He fought hard on the circuits and had a helping hand from Matt but he ended up needing just a few more seconds.
The Stillwater crit was the final stage. This is not your standard criterium. The “crit” is a two kilometer lap that has a 700 meter 22% grade in it. This was our last shot for a stage win and a great opportunity to get Cesar into the top three overall. The race was ballistic from the start, midway in there were only forty riders remaining. Cesar looked comfortable in the front group while Matt and Austin rode strong helping David try to take back the jersey. On the last lap Cesar got away with two other riders but was caught just short of the line to finish seventh. After repeated attacks David was not able to rid himself of his competition and had to settle for second in the Young Rider Classification.
Even without a stage win we were all very satisfied with how the week went. We finished third on team G.C., Cesar was top ten overall, David was the second Young Rider, and we had ten top ten stage finishes. It was great to see the depth of the team as everyone played an important role in every stage.
As for me, I have a few weeks to recover from a bit of bronchitis before I head out to Pennsylvania for the Tour De Toona. Cody is coming out to San Diego to stay for two weeks to rip out some miles with me. Maybe he and I can practice our team time trialing in preparation for stage 1 of Toona!
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Great racing by all. I was probably the only Bean Team fan at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. I look forward to seeing the team race again when you are in my neck of the woods. Great luck on the rest of the season.