FLCC> Sutton Stage Race

[Glenn Swan]

I'm kind of swamped with work, so I won't go into too much detail 
either.....The hoped-for plan was to stay kind of close to the winner of 
the hillclimb prologue and try to get the jersey in the TT. After that it's 
not too hard to hold onto it in the Crit, but it's difficult for the wearer 
of the jersey to find any friends in the final RR so the winner of the 
General Classification often comes from behind.... To add a little color 
and intrigue to the strategies of the race, there is a competition between 
the Americans and the Canadians (hence America's Cup).

Dave Viney is a legend among the Canadians. Like Olav Stana, Dave is made 
of different stuff, and as he told me at one point, he trains a little more 
than some of us....like 25-50 hours per week, starting in Florida where he 
spends his winters, before migrating north in the summer. He is tanned and 
ripped....like he ripped our legs off in the prologue, taking close to a 
minute out of the rest of us in a 3 mile climb... But I jumped away from 
the group that Ernie and I were in at the last 200m to be "the best of the 
rest" and get 3rd in the hillclimb. (One rider did a suicide breakaway from 
the gun, and actually survived for 2nd !)  As Ernie described, Viney had a 
mechanical problem with some high-zoot equipment and lost time on the TT, 
so I inherited the leader's jersey after riding a pretty good time on my 
new TT bike.  The yellow jersey didn't change hands as the criterium came 
down to a field sprint. Viney and I drove things pretty fast toward the 
final turns to try to keep things strung out and safe. I settled into a 
good position waiting for the sprint to light up. A move went up the right 
side. I was all over it, thinking I was possibly in a position to win. Then 
one rider moved across my wheel. I hesitated just for a moment. Ernie came 
blasting across my wheel going really fast. I wasn't going to pass him and 
nobody else was either....so I sat up and enjoyed the view as he came 
around the leader and zipped up the sprint !!!!!!!   Cookies won both of 
the day's events !  Not bad.

In the RR I felt pretty strong, but we all knew that Viney wasn't done yet. 
He was 40 seconds behind me on GC, but he took that much time out of me in 
the prologue up much the same hill that we would be finishing on, and after 
50 miles I would probably be in a lot worse shape than one who trains as 
much as he does... We discussed how our best strategy might be to let him 
ride away early and hope (not likely) that he might get tired and become 
vulnerable to us mere mortals if we caught him.  It actually played out 
that way, with Ernie doing the lion's share of the work to help reel Viney 
back in after he had crushed the field on the opening climb. At about the 
halfway point in the race a break went up the road with two americans that 
I like, and one that I am okay with.  On the one hand I would sort of like 
to win the overall race. On the other hand I want the Americans to stomp on 
the Canadians (especially since I had been ganged-up on in past years). I 
decided to take a chance on the break staying away, and put the Canadians 
on the spot to chase. (including Viney, since he was still a real threat to 
win the whole thing. If I chased hard I might just hand it to him on a 
platter if he countered my work later.) I'd rather see Brian Rafferty 
inherit it with a gutsy ride if the chase didn't materialize...

In the end the break stayed away with a big enough gap to take the 1st 3 
places on GC. My real race began as Viney countered a stupid break attempt 
on my part prior to the final climb, and opened a big gap before we even 
started climbing. Ernie helped get me into town and into the hill where 
life started to get desperate. I couldn't let Viney get more than 40 
seconds and it was a long haul to the finish. Ernie took some good pulls, 
but mostly he seemed somewhat puzzled by my intensity as we continued to 
hammer long after we had shredded the other riders who had started the 
climb with us. I was timing Viney off landmarks up the road and it seemed 
as though he had about 30 seconds. Ernie must have thought I was insane and 
about to croak as I pounded myself over the last of the climb and down the 
run to the finish line, gasping for air. He easily roasted me in "the 
sprint" for 5th place, but I was hopeful that I had held my GC placing. 
Turns out Viney had only gotten 27 seconds, so my 4th place on GC was 
secure...  Yes, it might have been nice to hold the jersey, but Brian 
looked pretty good in it and was certainly happy and deserving. Phil 
Beliveau, who won the final stage was thrilled to win the day, and I had my 
own little personal victory to savor. Besides I get to keep the leader's 
jersey that I had worn for 2 days.  I'd say we spread the pleasure...and 
Ernie and I both felt pretty satisfied that we had put our stamp on a 
premier North American Masters stage race.

Glenn