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Dubbed as “America’s toughest stage race,” the Tour of Utah finally arrived.  After taking last year off, the promoters orchestrated a grueling five-day, five-stage race that toured the challenging but beautiful Utah mountains and countryside.  The race covered nearly 450 miles while climbing a total of just about 30,000 feet.  This warranted a field dominated by climbers.  Seven US professional teams comprised arguably the strongest start list this race ever saw.  Adding to the mix, our roster was nothing short of impressive.  Led by Captain Trent Wilson, the Jittery Joe’s team also included Neil Shirley, Matt Shriver, Ryan Sullivan, Ben Kneller, and Jared Barrilleaux.  Most of the team spent some time riding at elevation prior to the race knowing that the difficulty of these stages was found within the altitude of their locale.

The first stage opened with a relatively flat 101.8 mile course as a dozen spectators cheered on the racers.  Our goal in this stage was to get a sense for the altitude and find out how each rider was feeling.  Over the first ten miles, we climbed over 1,000 feet while paying witness to non-stop attacks.  All our guys were active in these attacks however unfortunately didn’t make the breakaway.  Surprisingly, this break ended up lasting the entire day and the three lasting members managed to keep a lead by a matter of seconds.  The rest of the field finished together trailing the leader by about 30 seconds.

The second stage consisted of 85 miles while climbing nearly 11,000 feet.    Wilson, Kneller, and Shriver covered attacks as the field released some aggression early on.  However it was Sullivan that found himself in the early break.  The mountains did not waste any time arriving.  After 7 miles of a slight incline, the roads turned up.  Consequently the break shattered once the hills started.  A screaming pace left the peloton strung out over the entire mountain.  A lead group formed after the climb containing Shriver, Shirley, and Barrilleaux.  After covering a move on a difficult climb in the middle of the stage, Matt Shriver was unable to hang on and finished with the group of riders behind Barrilleaux and Shirley.  Jared and Neil finished among a strong group of about 20 that trailed behind the leading group of 11 riders by about a minute and a half.

The third stage was a short 60 minute criterium held in downtown Salt Lake City.  As part of a very vocal and optimistic Utah crowd, some friends and family of our team lined the start/finish stretch.  The simple four corner course made for a fast paced race.  Shriver and Wilson were active in covering early breaks. However Team Garmin/Chipotle rode the front of the field, keeping any moves from advancing up the road.  Sullivan tried his luck with an attack late in the race, but fell short competing against the Garmin/Chipotle lead-out.  Trent Wilson offered a free lesson to the young guy on the team instructing how to properly lead out a rider.  Barrilleaux came off of Wilson’s wheel with under a lap to go and finished sixth.  The rest of the guys finished in the pack comfortable knowing that GC didn’t change for the day.

The fourth stage was by no question the hardest stage of the tour.  With Shirley and Barrilleaux sitting in the top 20 on GC, they would be put to the test by some of the top climbers in the pro peloton.  The stage started out with approximately 50 miles of a net loss in elevation.  From this point forward the road was either going severely up or severely down with three climbs separating the peloton from the finish line.  Trent used his experience to guide the rest of the guys cleanly into the climb.  The pace was comfortable as Garmin was riding on the front of the field.  Midway up the climb a couple of BMC riders jumped to the front accelerating the pace tremendously.  Jared barely hung on over the top and joined back with the front group on the epic descent down the mountain.  Following the first big climb, any chance for the other Jittery Joe’s riders to chase on to the front group was obliterated due to uncontrolled vehicle traffic on the roads. For riders behind the front group, stopping at red lights and yielding to traffic became necessary to avoid any accidents.  Barrilleaux was able to hang on to the lead group up until the final climb where it became every man for himself.  Finishing 25^th and about six minutes down for the day, Jared fell to 21^st on GC.

The fifth and final stage involved a 7.5 mile time trial incorporating the Larry H. Miller Raceway.  Ben Kneller was able to show off his time trialing prowess as he aerodynamically sped around the course.  Close to follow in his tracks, Shriver and Barrilleaux posted respectable times. 

Although the team was not able to secure a top 20 on GC, the tour was an amazing experience showing off the undulated and scenic views of Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.  A huge thanks to all those that showed up in support of the Jittery Joe’s cycling team for the 2008 Tour of Utah!

-Jared

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