After Saguenay we drove 2 hours south to Saint George where the weather turned for the better for the Tour de Beauce. Rain and cool weather became 70's and crystal clear blue skies, a welcome change. Nolan and Evan left after Saguenay to race the North Star Grand Prix in Minneapolis while Barry and Mike filled in the gaps in our squad for Beauce. The race was a mix of fresh riders and riders still trying to recover from Saguenay finishing just two days before.
Stage 1: Saint George - 185km
The peloton felt tired on the first stage. A group of 3 disappeared within 5km and the field went back and forth between attacks to start a second break and moments where we were barely pedaling and spread out across the entire road. After 50km a group of 5-6 with Chad finally got free of the field and the pace in the group slowed even more. The gap to the break went up to almost 7:00 before Rally, Silber, and Jelly Belly decided to control the pace, but they waited further still to really start chasing. A crosswind just strong enough to make the racing hard but not split the field beat down on us all day. Thom, Matt, and Mike did a great job sheltering the rest of us all day to ensure we rode as easy as possible. With 30km to go the break still had 4:00 and would hold it to the line. A stiff 3km climb split up the chasing peloton leaving about 30-40 guys left (myself, Chris, and Barry included) but otherwise provided little interest. Chad sprinted to 3rd 1:17 ahead of the reduced peloton and took the KOM jersey in the process. A good start to the week.
Stage 2: Mont Megantic - 171km
The second stage, along with the TT to follow, really set the GC for the week with another long day with a stiff 5km climb at 9.4%. 9.4% may not sound that bad, but there is a downhill in the middle and the first 2km is all over 12%. Ooff. The racing at the beginning was on and off with splits in the field occurring and coming back together as the pace stayed fast on the rolling hills around Lac Megantic. Eventually a big group got away with Matt and Thom, unfortunately they also had 3 guys from the break the day before high on GC so we had to set tempo to keep it close. Starting at 60km we rode the front to keep the group close but it was a fight the whole way. The breakaway worked full gas to stay away. Myself, Mike, Barry, 3 Silber riders, and 3 Jelly Belly riders all rode the front to keep it close and under control. The break never had more than 1:30 but we weren't bringing back much time either. Matt and Thom eventually got dropped on the last loop up the 1km 12% climb we did three times and came back to work bringing the chase back. Eventually the gap started coming down but with 25km to go when I got dropped up another big roller they still had 35s. The peloton kept working and while they didn't quite catch them the winner came from the peloton with the break getting caught on the climb. Chad lost some time on the climb but still sat top 10 overall. The team road super well and controlled the race, but the day was also incredibly hard. Even for Chad who sat on all day it was a long grind that never allowed time to relax, just steady solid riding all day with a hard final 5km. Many of us weren't jealous of Chad having to ride the TT all out the next day.
Stage 3a: Saint Prosper ITT - 19.4km
The time trial has been a little bit of a week point for the team this year. It's self admittedly not Chad or Chris's best event and the rest of us were taking it easy after the huge effort yesterday and focused on ripping the afternoon circuit. I cruised the TT and really enjoyed not having to die a slow death on the 20km course that may have seemed flat according to the race guide, but was assuredly never flat. Chad and Chris unfortunately both lost a bit of time to the GC contenders who all finished in the top 10 on the TT. Without a real GC threat anymore we focused on getting another stage result or two to finish off the race. First up the circuit race in the afternoon.
Stage 3b: Saint George Art District - 80km
After racing the TT in the morning we had time for a nap before the afternoon circuit race that started at 6:00pm. After feeling a little sick the last two days I completely crashed after the TT for 3 hours, barely waking up for our pre-race meeting. After 3 hard stages of racing we thought the GC teams would want an easier afternoon to relax for once, meaning the stage winner could likely come from the breakaway. All hands on deck for the guys that rode easy in the TT to get in the break and see if we couldn't do something special. Barry started the stage off by smashing it and we were in two small breaks that got brought back. My legs seemed to be feeling better and I attacked over the KOM line and started the break of the day as 6 riders joined me. We rotated smoothly but we weren't really smashing it just a steady paceline. We still got 1:30 but it wasn't enough to stay away as we ripped downhill for the last 7km.
The circuit finish was extremely sketchy with a bridge crossing where the peloton funneled from a 3 lane road into a 5ft. wide road across a dam before a couple turns and a super steep 200m climb to the finish line, like 15%+. The break was caught just before the bridge and it became a crazy mix of guys form the break going backwards while others tried to sneak in to the peloton flooding over us. I think I sat up 3 times and then slotted back in trying to stay safe into the finish. Eventually I committed to giving the stage a go, but hit the climb in the very back of the lead group and while I moved up in the first half the leaders were too far away and I sat up and rode easy the last 100m into the finish. I wish I would have committed to the stage and been ready for the peloton to catch us since my legs were feeling really good and the finish would have been good. It's another lesson learned and I was hopeful the legs were coming around for the last couple days, maybe the sickness would be put behind me.
Stage 4: Old Quebec City Criterium - 70km
The team was hoping the four corner criterium would be simple and another place to recover before the hard final stage, but that was not to happen. The course was essentially 700m uphill, flat, 700m downhill, flat. I still contend I've never suffered more and pedaled less in a race. Every time up the hill it was stiff and an initial break that would have allowed the pace to relax was brought back by Hincapie. Eventually another break went and it sort of relaxed, but I was so on the edge it never felt easy. After the race it seemed liked everyone was in the same boat, reeling from the past 3 days of hard racing and 4 weeks of being on the road.
Stage 5: Saint George City Circuit - 122km
The last day brought 12 laps of a 20 turn circuit in Saint George that included a steep fall to the river and a hard 1.3km climb back to the top of the course. The day was sure to be an attrition fest an another opportunity for the break to disappear for the day. The team was definitely hurting a bit and I fell asleep between breakfast and the race start still dealing with the stupid cold. I thought I'd either be off the front in the break or off the back, crossing fingers for the former. Matt jumped in 2 early moves in case the tight roads let the break roll early but everyone felt good enough to keep it interesting. I ended up in 3 moves with the last one getting 20s and I thought I'd actually done it, but we got brought back heading into the hill on the 3rd lap and I literally went from off the front to out the back as the peloton stormed up the hill with Thom joining the break that formed.
Missed it by a move. I settled in to a group just off the peloton but knew even if I got back I wasn't doing much, the break was gone and Axeon (yellow jersey) was in full on control mode riding the front. I made it to the feed zone and decided it was time to get healthy. A pretty bad day for me, but at the same time I could have tried to last in the race and never cover any moves and just survive, but that doesn't help anyone and isn't the plan, I did what I could and then pulled the plug. The rest of the race was fairly boring as Axeon controlled the field for the entire race and brought the break back with 2 laps to go. They retained the jersey and only 11 guys finished in the lead group, that's a HARD day.
In the end Beauce had some ups and downs and we would have loved to come out with a couple more podiums, but we rode well as a team and rolled the dice when we could. The race was hard, but lots of fun and I look forward to coming back. For now though, I'm really enjoying being at my parents new home in Raleigh, sitting at a coffee shop, and not having to race my bike tomorrow. A much needed break before heading to Utah for some altitude training, then Bend, OR for the Cascade Cycling Classic and then the biggest event of the year at the Tour of Utah.
Keep those pedals spinning,
Bryan
Keep those pedals spinning,
Bryan