Friday's stage was 64mi of rolling to hilly terrain with a tasty 9mi climb up Mt. Gaylor at about the 24mi point. Elevation at the base of the climb is 700ft, at the top it's 2050ft and the grade is pretty steady - nothing too killer. My job for the day was to cover attacks/be in any break within the first 20mi or so. Anne, Kristin and Lee were our top GC riders and so it was the duty of the team to protect them, ensure that they stayed out of trouble and that they were part of any group that got a gap that stuck.
We chased down a few early attacks and did a good job covering things off the front so we were all pretty much together at the base of Mt. Gaylor. Near the top right by the feed zone things got twitchy and a sizable gap formed. I looked around and saw that Andrea and Anne were both in the front group and pretty much felt that things would come back together on the descent but unfortunately that never happened. There was a relatively stiff cross/head wind all the way back to Fayetteville and with 2 of our riders in the lead group we were content to just pull through in the chase group and not work too hard. Kristin, Lee and I were part of that second group that finished a few minutes down on the day. I had some problems with cramping as the temp was in the 80s but managed to keep things together to the end. Kat was having a really hard time with dehydration but she, Mary and Amy all survived the day so we were looking good sitting 3rd in team GC behind Cheerwine and Revolution, just ahead of Advil-Chapstick.
I was ECSTATIC to have made it to the top of Mt. Gaylor nearly in contact with the front group - I think if I'd really punched it hard through the feed zone I could have made it across the gap but hindsight is always clearer. Lee and Kristin were with me and I wanted to make sure they got to town in good shape - which they both did.
Carolyn was kind enough to shuttle us around all day and then she and Marion were both there to greet us at the finish. After a long day they made us the most killer smoked chicken enchiladas - they are amazing hosts!! I cannot thank them enough for taking care of us - it makes recovering and preparation so much easier.
We chased down a few early attacks and did a good job covering things off the front so we were all pretty much together at the base of Mt. Gaylor. Near the top right by the feed zone things got twitchy and a sizable gap formed. I looked around and saw that Andrea and Anne were both in the front group and pretty much felt that things would come back together on the descent but unfortunately that never happened. There was a relatively stiff cross/head wind all the way back to Fayetteville and with 2 of our riders in the lead group we were content to just pull through in the chase group and not work too hard. Kristin, Lee and I were part of that second group that finished a few minutes down on the day. I had some problems with cramping as the temp was in the 80s but managed to keep things together to the end. Kat was having a really hard time with dehydration but she, Mary and Amy all survived the day so we were looking good sitting 3rd in team GC behind Cheerwine and Revolution, just ahead of Advil-Chapstick.
I was ECSTATIC to have made it to the top of Mt. Gaylor nearly in contact with the front group - I think if I'd really punched it hard through the feed zone I could have made it across the gap but hindsight is always clearer. Lee and Kristin were with me and I wanted to make sure they got to town in good shape - which they both did.
Carolyn was kind enough to shuttle us around all day and then she and Marion were both there to greet us at the finish. After a long day they made us the most killer smoked chicken enchiladas - they are amazing hosts!! I cannot thank them enough for taking care of us - it makes recovering and preparation so much easier.
