North Star Grand Prix - Whiff of White

Stage Racing:

This past week would mark my second NRC stage race of the year. It would prove a test of will and mental capacity. I would experience pressures I had never before experienced, failure, more fatigue then I imagined and success.

Starting with the obvious, the race was a 5 day, 6 stage, race starting with a ITT, Crit, Road Race, Crit, Road Race and final Crit (hill circuit). The pain came from the get-go. The ITT was hard but I slipped into 3^rd for U23 GC that stage. That evening we had the first crit. This was a very technical crit, with multiple turns – some being more than 90 degrees. I managed to stay with the lead group and finished. Apparently I had made up some time because I slipped into the white jersey. Wow! That was exciting. I had to jump off the trainer and run to the podium. Zipping it up, the pressure was now on.

The second day, third stage, would unveil the hardest day of my life. Extreme winds would tear the pack a part. It was a necessity to be in the front spilt if I wanted to make the group finish and keep the jersey. Well, when the time came and we hit the second KOM, just as the course was turning into the crosswinds and Peter was not at the front. The pack was shattered leaving about 6 groups in full echelons chasing as hard as they could. I had just slipped off the back of the front group. The front group quickly split into two groups and I was lost in no mans land. Tailing the chase group by about 10 feet for twenty or so minutes was devastating. I was giving everything. I was going 55km/h and not making any ground at all. I eventually lost ground and was picked up by another pack. We chased, and chased and eventually made contact once again with the front group. This was short lived as the group had just crested out of the feed zone and kicked wildly hard. I was clinging to the last wheel as hard as I could. No luck. I was shot out the back. The rest was respectively: chase, chase, lose ground, get caught, roll in. I was shot. I lost the jersey by 10+ minutes. This was bad.

Third day was a nice easy crit. Not much going on here except for a lot of crashes that were miraculously avoided. One cool thing about this stage however was how dark it got, seeing we started around 8pm. Going into one of the turns someone clipped a pedal on the ground sending a shower of sparks. It was wicked to see, and scared the hell out of everyone around him.

The fourth day was miserable. It was raining. It was cold and we were racing for 160+km again. Kevin, Anton and I wanted to get in the early breakaways since we had nothing to lose. After 30 minutes of racing I realized this would be a bad decision, so I sat mid pack for the whole race. Kevin got into a break, and as that one got reeled in Anton got into the next one. Just as Anton’s break was being brought back another one went. This break stuck - unfortunate luck for the boys.

The final day was allegedly a write off. It was hot, the crit was more of a hill circuit than anything and we were all cooked. I made a comparison that this crit was very much like a mountain bike race. It was going to be hard, lots of sprinting, then a good amount of recovery. I was excited to see how I would fair. And I faired well, because I was able to stay with the lead group until 4 to go, when the week of racing caught up to me, and the legs refused to turn. I rolled around until the end of the race. Finishing just a few minutes back but I was satisfied I stayed in the race and clawed some time back on the white jersey.

Cresting in a lot of pain

Overall a very satisfying week with JetFuel – Norco at my second NRC stage race. These races are hard. I look forward for when I am strong enough to be a contender and be up at the front pushing some wind. Thanks to Alex Sanna for all the support!