djpluv

I raced the last stage of the Estes Cycling Challenge yesterday...and man, i'm beat!

I raced in the SM4 category and I swear that must have been the most competitive category! I can't believe how fast these guys were. I typically do rather well on group rides and rides with my friends, but this past weekend was quite humbling :-|

There were 71 guys who started in the SM4 category...

It started Thursday with a 3-mile TT...3 miles doesn't seem bad at all; however, the course was all up hill with the final 200 meters at a 8% grade...needless to say I didn't do too hot on that one. Let me put it out there that I am not a powerful rider, but my 144 pound gets up some hills pretty damn quick :-) after that was over with i was sitting at 58th in the GC - not as high as I wanted, but oh well, i never claimed to be lance

Friday's stage n Masonville was a disaster...it was so hot and i was flat on the 2nd lap. The race consisted of 4, 12-mile laps around a pretty mellow course with only 1320 total ft. of climbing. I picked up the pace on laps 3 and 4, but at that point I was off the lead group and just fighting to not finish last. I finished this stage in 51st @ 2:13:00 [20.9 mph/avg] - putting me 51st in GC.

Saturday was great! The weather was overcast and cool and the course was in Estes Park - which meant some serious climbing. The 40-mile course (5, 8-mile laps) had 3425 ft. of total climbing and one 1-mile section of around 7%. I was definietly in my element that day and hooked up with a great bunch of guys who were down to work together to get through. I did most of the work on the climbs and the others really helped me out on the flats. I finished the 40-miler in 34th place @ 1:54:30 [20.8 mph/avg], moving me up to 45th in GC.

Sunday's stage was a hot one! I felt pretty good and was all fueled and hydrated, so i wasn't too concerned with the temperature. The stage was a 40-mile road race with only 1720 feet of climbing. the only crap part of the course was the 1 mile of gravel road...thank goodness it was only 4, 10-mile laps! I wound up with the same bunch of guys from the day before...we worked it together and i finished 39th @ 1:51:48 [21.4 mph/avg], putting me in 42nd in GC.

Overall I was quite pleased with my performance...i wanted to finish each stage and wanted to keep all my avg speeds above 20 mph throughout the event. I think in the end only 51 or so of the original 71 actually finished.

It was good experience as it really shows what weaknesses I need to work on for next year. if you get a chance of riding a stage race, i'd highly recommend it.

paul

velo

Good-job. I'm glad to see you set goals for yourself going into the event. And let me tell you, those races don't sound easy at all! You should be proud of yourself.

Laggard

I remember my first race. Two miles in I got stuck alone in no mans land and was wondering how in the hell I was going to finish the damn race. I was so tired.

Eventually a small group caught me and I rode with them and had a lot of fun.

spazegun2213

congrats, those are some pretty fast times. Good job on your first race, i look forward to seeing your future races.

Revenig

Outstanding job on your first stage race Paul. Sounds as though it was a good experience for you. Maybe I'll try it next year.

Dan

Jason T. Martin

I love stage races, even if you have a bad day, there is always the next one to come back to...good job...

VegasCyclist

good job on your first road race....

stage racing isn't easy, so good job :thumbup: